The Centaurian

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2012-02-02T11:54:00.001-08:00

Bravery in the Face of a Bear

2011-09-29T15:54:00.000-07:00

On July 30, 2011, this horse and rider team saved the day for an 8-year-old boy whose horse was being chased by a bear. Erin Bolster and her mount, Tonk, fearlessly charged the bear three times before it was frightened away. The boy had been part of a guided trail ride in Montana's Flathead National Forest when the bear attacked. Read more about Tonk and Erin's wild ride in the Spokesman-Review.

Spruce Meadows

2011-06-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

Live Coverage from Spruce Meadows

The annual horse show at Spruce Meadows is a favorite among competitors and spectators alike. The Calgary venue is known for the huge International Ring and for the thrilling Derby course.

The top stables are staring to ship their best horses and riders to Calgary. 21 horses from the John Madden Sales barn are on their way, and rider Beezie Madden has started a blog about the stable's progress at the show in Canada.

More video is available from the Spruce Meadows channel on YouTube. Enjoy the show!

Lucinda Green

2011-01-06T15:31:00.000-08:00

Lucinda Green, winner of the Badmiton Horse Trials a record six times on six different horses, is a friendly and hilarious clinician, peppering her students with gems like, "even if you ride really, really well, it can still go tits up."

Enjoy these videos of her cross-country clinics!

Racing for Jockeys

2010-10-28T09:56:00.000-07:00

Thanks to The Equinest for posting this hilarious commercial for French bottled water!

Relive the 2010 WEG

2010-10-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

To relive the World Equestrian Games or to catch footage you missed, NBC's Universal Sports website continues to host extensive video, photo, and news archives.

Thanks to Regarding Horses for publishing the list of the medal winners!

Another chance to shine on the international stage is rapidly approaching, as London prepares to host to 2012 Olympic Games. Five equestrian events, jumping, dressage, eventing, paralympic equestrian, and the modern pentathlon, will be held at Greenwich Park.

Sapphire

2010-09-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

McLain Ward and Sapphire make winning the Pfizer $1Million Grand Prix look easy!

HITS-on-the-Hudson 2010, Sugerties, New York

Sidesaddle!

2010-09-10T10:45:00.000-07:00

Even though most modern women choose to ride astride, many ladies still choose to sit elegantly aside.

"Side Saddle Charm" by Linda Volrath
click the picture to visit the artist's website

There are lots of great resources for sidesaddle riders, such as this Equisearch article and this series of articles on NewRider.com

There are several organizations dedicated to sidesaddle horsemanship, including the American Sidesaddle Association, the United Sidesaddle Society, the International Sidesaddle Organization, and the Sidesaddle Association.

Geoff Billington

2010-09-03T16:38:00.000-07:00

Whitaker Family Part 2

2010-09-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

Whitaker Family Part 1

2010-09-01T16:48:00.000-07:00

Take a Ride on Zenyatta

2010-08-31T15:41:00.000-07:00

Currently boasting an astonishing 16-0 record, Zenyatta is certainly one of the fastest horses of our time. Her exercise rider has posted a helmet cam video of a six furlong workout aboard the fleet mare. What a rush!

Thanks to jonshfs05 for posting!

Nature: Horse and Rider

2010-06-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

These stills are from the "Horse and Rider" episode of the PBS program Nature. The entire episode is available online for free!

Red Hills Horse Trials

2010-03-07T10:13:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Peter Atkins for posting these wonderful helmet cam videos of the CIC***W and Preliminary courses on the Red Hills YouTube channel!

The photo below was taken during the Intermediate competition at the "Tummy Tickler" hedge. Can anyone please help to identify this horse and rider?

Thanks to the wonderful organizers and volunteers who helped make the 2010 RHHT a success!

Saddle Fitting

2010-02-27T20:23:00.000-08:00

Even if one knows how a saddle should fit, finding one that does fit is no simple task!

Thanks to saddle fit bloggers Jochen Schleese, Trumbull Mountain, and Advanced Saddle Fit for their enlightening posts, and to the Horse and a Half and Talk to the Hoof bloggers for sharing their saddle fitting journeys!

Gem Twist

2010-02-22T08:27:00.000-08:00

Thanks to YouTube member WarwickRex for posting a wonderful collection of showjumping videos!

"Speed Gene" Identified in Thoroughbreds

2010-02-11T08:14:00.000-08:00

Equinome, a biotech company based at University College Dublin, has identified a "speed gene" in Thoroughbred horses. The gene may help identify the distance over which a horse is ideally suited to race. It is the first time that a gene variant has been linked to an athletic phenotype in racehorses.

Emmeline W. Hill, Jingjing Gu, Suzanne S. Eivers, Rita G. Fonseca, Beatrice A. McGivney, Preethi Govindarajan, Nick Orr, Lisa M. Katz, David MacHugh. A Sequence Polymorphism in MSTN Predicts Sprinting Ability and Racing Stamina in Thoroughbred Horses. PLoS ONE, 2010; 5 (1): e8645 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0008645

Prince Harry's Horse Takes a Tumble

2010-02-02T12:10:00.001-08:00

Sidelines Magazine was on the scene at the charity polo match in Barbados. This blog post has some nice photos of the prince ON his horse, and a little more information about the match, the proceeds of which benefited Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso's charity, Sentebale.

Rachel Alexandra Wins Horse of the Year

2010-01-28T16:07:00.000-08:00

Now the fleet filly has been named "Horse of the Year," beating out the mare Zenyatta for the title. To see photos of Rachel Alexandra in action and to read about her victories, check out this New York Times article from January 18, 2010.

The Centaurian loved Rachel Alexandra's photo shoot in Vogue Magazine, pictured above.

Horse Show - Flying Colors Farm

2010-01-07T16:30:00.000-08:00

The January 3rd horse show at Flying Colors Farm in Tallahassee, FL was a lovely event. The area's inaugural Hunter Derby was won in style by Figaro and Anna Billings. Congratulations to them!

Dressage Lesson Pictures

2009-12-31T18:00:00.000-08:00

Pyramid of Training

2009-12-21T13:48:00.000-08:00

Horse Species Discovered

2009-12-17T11:34:00.000-08:00

DNA extracted from fossils of ancient horses has confirmed the discovery of two new equine species.

Ancient bones from South America proved to be those of a previously unknown animal, a small hippidion horse with distinct DNA. Scientists also discovered a new species of ass that lived on the plains of Eurasia as recently as 50,000 years ago. The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Orlando et al. Revising the recent evolutionary history of equids using ancient DNA. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2009

Spruce Meadows

2009-11-23T11:21:00.000-08:00

Did you miss watching the competition at Spruce Meadows this year?

The events are televised on the Fox Sports Network on the following dates:

CN Reliability Grand Prix 11/3/09
NEXEN Cup 11/10/09
CN Performance Grand Prix 11/18/09
ATCO POWER Queen Elizabeth II Cup 11/25/09

CN International Grand Prix 11/27/09

Mercedes-Benz Classic 12/1/09

Chief Osceola and Renegade

2009-11-15T13:40:00.000-08:00

Fall is college football season, which means the Centaurian will be cheering for her alma mater, the Seminoles of Florida State, and especially the team symbols, Chief Osceola and Renegade.

Learn about the symbols of FSU, Chief Osceola and Renegade, from the official and unofficial websites. Go Noles!

USEA Dressage Tests for 2010

2009-11-09T19:35:00.000-08:00

The 2010 dressage tests for eventing have been posted on the USEA website. What do you think of the new tests?

I will miss performing the opening salute.

Horse Genome

2009-11-06T14:09:00.000-08:00

After three years, an international team of geneticists, led by Professor Clare Wade of the University of Sydney, have mapped the equine genome. Their findings were published today in the journal Science.

Twilight was the main subject of the Horse Genome Project.

Is your Horse Stressed?

2009-11-05T16:06:00.000-08:00

New research from the University of Rennes in France links the presence and severity of stable vices to horse's performance disciplines. 76 horses were studied; all were stabled 23 hours per day, and exercised one hour per day. Under these conditions, 65 horses exhibited "abnormal repetitive behaviors". Dressage horses were not only the most likely to exhibit vices in this study, but also developed more serious vices than the other horses. The researchers add,

Although some work stressors involved here may be specific to equine work, others are clearly shared with other species, including humans: emotions suppression, interpersonal conflict, physical demands, lack of reward and negative future expectancy that are associated with depression in humans.

Research should always have the goal of improving lives. The Centaurian hopes the animals in this study will next be studied "at grass." In human parlance, they need a vacation!

Hausberger M, Gautier E, Biquand V, Lunel C, Jégo P (2009) Could Work Be a Source of Behavioural Disorders? A Study in Horses. PLoS ONE 4(10): e7625.

Course Diagrams

2009-10-31T14:34:00.000-07:00

Course designers are known for posing challenging questions to horse and rider combinations at top horse shows. If you're tired of riding side-diagonal, side-diagonal in your own arena, then check out the course diagrams from the big equitation finals. These difficult courses are sure to get you out of any rut!

2009 Syracuse Invitational Horse Show

2009-10-30T20:28:00.000-07:00

The Centaurian will be watching the Maclay Finals at the Syracuse Invitational Horse Show on Equestrian Sport TV Saturday, October 31st. Will you be watching? The order of go has been posted, and competition begins at 6:30 AM!

Please Wear Your Helmet!

2009-10-21T14:54:00.000-07:00

Accidents can happen anytime, anyplace, and often when least expected-- that's what makes them accidents!

Delores Toole, above, a professional barrel racer, has pioneered helmet use in western disciplines. For those who want to wear protective headgear without sacrificing the traditional look of a western hat, there's a hat for that!

Real people have contributed these stories to the Troxel safety blog. If a helmet has saved your skull, consider contributing your own story.