Pennsylvania Stars Shine on US Paralympic Equestrian Team

by Suzanne Bush

The United States Para-Equestrian team will head to Aachen, Germany on August 15 for two weeks of quarantine prior to moving on to Hong Kong for the Paralympics, which use the same venue as and follow the Olympic games.

Two Pennsylvania equestrians are on that team, and they're currently training with the team's coach, Missy Ransehousen, at her Blue Hill Farm in Unionville, PA. For Rebecca Hart of Erie and Keith Newerla of King of Prussia, these days are full of anticipation, nerves and once-in-a-lifetime excitement.

Hart was a member of the USEF Para Equestrian Team that participated in the 2003 World Championship in Belgium, and the winner of the 2006 USEF Para Equestrian National Championship. Although she has competed internationally before, Hart says this is an event unlike any other. "This one is different because this is the big one."

Donna Crookston Short Listed for World Championships

by Marcella Peyre-Ferry

Pennsylvania driver Donna Crookston of Saltsburg, may be a part of the American team representing the United States at the at the 2000 Single Horse World Championship, to be held in Jarantow, Poland, Aug 28-31.

Crookston, with her 12-year-old Morgan gelding RG Cowboys Black Cadillac, is one of six drivers who have been named to the USEF's Driving Preliminary Training Short List for the event.

Crookston is a life long rider, but fairly new to the world of combined driving, starting about six years ago. Prior to driving she participated in a variety of equestrian disciplines, including three-day eventing, and she is an avid fox hunter.

Crookston recalls going to watch the Three Day Event at the Fair Hill International and seeing the CDE that used the same venue. She was impressed by the action she saw, and knew that combined driving was something she wanted to try.

New Bolton Researcher Cures $17 Million Stallion's Reluctance to Breed

by Stephanie Shertzer Lawson

War Emblem, the 2002 winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, has some amazing genes. To the chagrin of the owners who shelled out $17 million to stand him at stud, he has refused to pass them on.

The 2002 Eclipse Award winner is fertile but completely disinterested in breeding. In five seasons at stud he has produced fewer than 40 offspring.

Those few offspring, however, are stellar. Half of his first small foal crop, now four-year-olds, are stakes winners.

War Emblem, purchased for $17.7 million by the Yoshida family of Shadai Stallion Station in Hokkaido, Japan, has been in contact with hundreds of mares over the past five years but has been persuaded to breed only 70.

Struggling to Keep Hope Alive in an Urban Stable

by Suzanne Bush

The ancient stables on Fletcher Street in Philadelphia sit quietly on a sweltering July afternoon. Across the street, in a vacant field, stock trailers stand baking in the sun. In the distance Philadelphia's most recent addition to its skyline, the Comcast Center, dominates a horizon that includes little else from this angle besides scrubby trees, electric wires and a jumble of angled rooftops. Although the distance that separates the Comcast Center and Philadelphia's glittering skyscrapers from Fletcher Street is little more than a couple of miles, in many ways, they are separated by a chasm of missed opportunity and epic misunderstanding.

The people who care for the 30 horses at Fletcher Street, and the grown men who reflect on the lives they might have had if it were not for the stables and the men who taught them to ride, can be forgiven for feeling defensive. "In March the city came in. They had reports of mistreated animals. Licenses & Inspections (L&I), SPCA, police, and the media came in. We had made a request to the police department to find out where these complaints were coming from," says James Royal, of the Fletcher Street Riding Club. They never found out the source or the specific nature of the complaints. He said that two ponies were seized that day, while the cameras rolled. A day later, after veterinarians determined that the ponies were in good shape, they were returned—without any of the media fanfare.

Work To Ride Is Second in UNICEF Cup in Nigeria

by Marcella Peyre-Ferry

Four Philadelphia students from the Work to Ride program, based at the Chamounix Equestrian Center in Fairmount Park, represented their city and their country when they traveled to Nigeria to take part in the UNICEF Cup polo tournament.

"It's all about people you meet along the way," director Lezlie Hiner explained how the students were invited to participate in the tournament. "A gal named Terri Brennan, up in New York, saw an article about us in Sidelines Magazine some time ago, and donated her old polo equipment."

Since then, Brennan moved to Nigeria, where she still plays polo. "She knew they were doing this UNICEF Cup and approached the founder," Hiner said, explaining that the sponsors of the tournament made it possible for four riders and three chaperones to make the trip to Nigeria to take part in the event.

Work to Ride is a non-profit organization created by Hiner in 1994 to provide disadvantaged urban youth, ages 7 to 19, with constructive activities - all centered around horsemanship, equine sports, and education.

While most Work to Ride participants are trained in several sports, polo is the most popular. In 1999, the Work to Ride polo team became the first African American polo team in the nation, and in 2005 the team won the Eastern Regional Interscholastic Polo tournament.

Cancer Survivor Nicole Lakin, Now in Grand Prix Ranks, Reflects on Life Lessons Learned

by Nancy Degutis

Teenagers rarely think about death; they are more likely to live moment-to- moment in pursuit of passing fancies.

Few teens have ever had to face cancer and battle, minute by minute, day after day, the debilitating effects of treatment. Few come out of that struggle with the outlook of people many times their age. But one young woman did. As a teen she fought that battle and won, and came away with the knowledge of what in life is really important to her. One is a big gray horse that was her partner through it all, in and out of the show ring.

That horse is Alaska, Nicole Lakin's former junior jumper, now her mount in only her third grand prix appearance. Ironically it came minutes after the appearance of a group of cancer survivors who gave a driving demonstration at the Garden State Horse Show.

Lakin, 20, didn't leave the ring in a blaze of glory after her turn around the course in the $50,000 fixture at the May 7-11 show. She made a respectable trip, lowering only one rail, "but that was my fault," said the Reading (Pa.) woman. She had hoped to make it to the elimination round, to go against the likes of Olympians Beezie Madden and McLain Ward who rode off on multiple mounts against each other. The winner was Madden, sister-in-law to Stacia Madden, who co-trains Lakin with Max Amaya.

Be Certain Wins Third Triple Crown Leg at Radnor

by Marcella Peyre-Ferry

A different horse won each race of steeplechasing's Triple Crown this year, with stablemates racing head to head to the wire for the final leg during the 78th running of the Radnor Hunt Races.

The Radnor Hunt Races, held May 17, included the National Hunt Cup on its six race card. That featured 2 3/8-mile steeplechase drew nine starters including Imagina, winner of the Carolina Cup, and Temple Gwathney winner Planets Aligned.

Trainer Tom Voss had started the day with a win in the Milfern Cup with Dynaski, owned by Armata Stable, and ridden by Chip Miller, and now had two running in the National Hunt Cup – Planets Aligned and Be Certain.

Planets Aligned under Chip Miller looked like he might win a second of the three triple crown races for Fox Ridge Farm, but stablemate Be Certain, owned by Alnoff Stable under Matthew McCarron, ran right with him. As they headed into the straight for the final time, Be Certain moved to the lead and the win, edging the more accomplished Planets Aligned by a head.

"Going into the second lap I thought Chip had us," McCarron said after the race. "Chip kind of got away from me but he picked up and got back in it."

Porter and Jones, Owner and Trainer, Reflect on Eight Belles Tragedy

by Terry Conway

I'm not sure that Rick Porter ever changed the oil at his former string of auto dealerships, but then again, I wouldn't bet against it.

He is a hands-on guy.

He spends a lot of chilly, early mornings on the backside of Delaware Park or at his sparkling new barn at the Fair Hill Training Center watching his thoroughbreds on their way from the barn to a workout. More than anything else, he knows they love to run.

In a story I wrote last year about the sensational season with his prized colt Hard Spun, Betsy Porter described her husband's "all-in" philosophy.

"Horses are his passion," explained Betsy. "He is very organized. His attention to detail is why he's been so successful in the car business and now in racing. Rick puts his heart and soul into his horses."

Western Fling Outruns Trouble to Win Willowdale Steeplechase

by Marcella Peyre-Ferry

The 16th annual edition of the Willowdale Steeplechase is a Mother's Day tradition in Chester County, PA, drawing thousands of spectators to the Unionville racecourse for a full card of seven National Steeplechase Association-sanctioned races and four pony races for juniors.

The timber course at Willowdale took its toll on entries, with only three horses finishing out of seven starters in the $20,000 Willowdale Steeplechase. Western Fling, owned by Crestview Farm and ridden by Brooks Durkee ran ahead of trouble, giving him an easy win in a time of 8:34 3/5 for the 3½ mile course over 22 fences.

Hidden Key, owned by Alfred Griffin, and Lucy Goelet's Twill Do were the first to fall, going down on the early fences, before coming into view for the first time. Te Akau Five, and Dr. Ramsey refused at the third fence and Irish Laddie lost rider/trainer Desmond Fogarty, leaving Western Fling alone out front. Te Akau Five, under James Slater and Dr. Ramsey, with Diana Gillam, were able to continue and complete the course, but neither were ever able to regain the ground they had lost to make any kind of run at Western Fling.

Western Fling's trainer Katherine McKenna noted that the gelding had been hunted all year, so she was not worried about the distance for the race. Once he was alone by a large margin, he only had to stay safely on course. "I figured Brooks has ridden around this course enough he knows where he's going," she said.

The Equine Economy in the 21st Century

Fragmentation, Aging Population Threaten Horse Industry's Health

By Stephanie Lawson

The horse industry is composed of thousands of fragments, operating independently, with no cohesive promotional body. Baby boomers, who will give up riding in the next several decades, represent a large number of riders. Soon, more people will quit riding than will start riding.

The industry has gotten a free ride for the last fifty years, from a demographic cohort that grew up near horses, encountered them daily through the media and had the economic wherewithal to pursue an equestrian lifestyle. All that has changed, say industry representatives who gathered in Kentucky in late April to focus on the economic future of the horse industry. The horse industry is poised to lose its base, yet has a long standing inability to effectively reach out to new members.

Fragmentation

Repeatedly speakers voiced concern over the industry's fragmentation, inability to communicate within itself or to share resources. The industry has been unable to effectively reach out to and educate novices. At the same time, no matter how diverse the groups, they all share the need to grow their segment of the industry, and face the same challenges of how to create new customers while cultivating the ones they already have.

In addition, the demographic cohort that owns horses is aging while younger, less populous generations have had far less childhood exposure to horses.

The Equine Economy in the 21st Century

Survey Details Horse Owner Demographics and Lifestyles

John Volk, senior consultant with Brakke Consulting in Chicago, said his company's marketing survey gave his clients in the animal health and nutrition industry more information than they'd ever had before.

"Our Equine Megamarket Study was designed for commercial planning for our clients," he said. The survey included 1,000 horse owners who were the primary decision maker on the care of the horses they own.

Respondents were grouped into three cohorts -

• Professionals
• Intense enthusiasts
• Recreational/casual

"We found that horse owners are more involved in their vocation than just about any other group," Volk said. "Horse ownership defines them They spend an average of 22 hours a week with their horses. They read equine publications, they use the web, and they are impulse buyers. It is a community."

Remembering Jean King: Never Say Never

by Stephanie Lawson

Jean King was an extraordinary woman.

The daughter of big band leader Fred Waring was a noted microbiologist who contracted tuberculosis of the bone in 1976 through her work as a researcher. Confined to a wheelchair, she founded Independence Dogs to help herself and others in her plight. Through that work, training and placing dogs to help the disabled, she touched hundreds of lives. Through her close friendships she touched many more.

I met Jean in May, 2003. It was a trying time. Pennsylvania Equestrian's cover story – a big one – had fallen through just days before the paper was to go to press. In scrambling to find a story good enough for page one, I contacted the Nokota horse rescue group in Chester County, which put me in touch with Jean.

At age 72, Jean had adopted a wild Nokota horse that had mistakenly been included in a load shipped east from North Dakota. Unwanted and impossible to reload back on the truck, he was deposited in the barn of Jean's friend, Betty Lester. Though Jean was a relatively inexperienced horsewoman, she had adopted the completely unhandled three-year-old, and over 18 months had forged a bond that allowed her not only to control his every movement from her wheelchair but also to ride him, solo.

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