Wednesday News and Notes from SmartPak

An example of the information Rick helps provide to EN. Thanks Rick! An example of the information Rick helps provide to EN. Thanks Rick!

I’d like to take a minute to give a shout-out to Rick Dunkerton, the ever-present master of EventEntries, who seems to never take a day off during the season. For my database, I check for entry status updates for every big show on a daily (or even hourly) basis in order to stay ahead of my analysis and rarely does a day go by without some sort of update from Rick. Meanwhile, he’s juggling live scores for multiple shows over a weekend, and yet still we see updated entries. As if that wasn’t enough, he has now stepped up to help EN obtain judge dressage percentages for FEI at shows where they aren’t posted anywhere. Thanks for being a Superman, Rick, EN salutes you!

U.S. Weekend Preview:

Pine Top Spring H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Schedule]

Feather Creek Farm H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times]

Copper Meadows H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/Ride Times]

Holly Hill Farm is stepping up to provide temporary homes to horses displaced by flooding. Bossier City, Lousiana has seen unprecedented flooding in the past few days, and farms have been scrambling to get their horses to higher ground. Holly Hill, which hosts a horse trials in both the spring and fall for Area V, has opened its doors to provide temporary boarding while the floodwaters recede.  [Holly Hill Farm Provides Refuge]

If you are in Lexington, KY at the end of March, check out the documentary on Snowman. The Kentucky Theatre in downtown Lexington is screening an advanced showing of new documentary Harry & Snowman, the story of Harry deLeyer and his indomitable grey Amish jumper. Profits from the March 31st showing will go to the Maker’s Mark Secretariat Center.  [Harry & Snowman]

The Humane Society of the United States Offers Course on Horse Emergencies and Rescues. The Humane Society of the United States will be hosting a daylong certificate course titled Horses 101: Health, Emergencies and Sheltering at the second Honoring the Horse event held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 11th, 2016. Attendees will learn from leading experts in their field on a variety of issues related to horse care including equine disaster preparedness, trailering safety, cruelty assessment, horse health and nutrition, large animal rescue and everything in between. The event is geared toward equestrians, horse rescue personnel, law enforcement, as well as people who work in the sheltering community. [Animal Care Expo]

Roebke’s Run will host Area IV Championships! In addition to the championships, Roebke’s Run has also added two schooling shows to their schedule, which already include an FEI CCI/CIC and horse trials in June. Organizers felt riders needed the opportunity to practice with young horses, or consider moving up level without having to incur the cost of a recognized show, so added the schooling shows for the benefit of all. [Press Release]

Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation Commits $1.16 Million to Equine Research. The board of directors of Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation has approved a budget of $1,160,556 to fund equine research in 2016.  The 11 new projects funded address an important range of issues, including dorsal displacement of the soft palate, the importance of latency in outbreaks of Equine Herpes Virus-1, foal pneumonia, prevention of strangles, training and surface factors in preventing injury, and underlying mechanisms of disease. The eight projects entering a second year of research include other aspects of pneumonia and EHV-1, plus laminitis, colic, and placentitis. [New Projects]

SmartPak Product of the Day: I’ve been thinking about upgrading my safety vest to an ASTM or BETA certified vest and have been busy trying on all the brands. This Airowear vest is by far the best fit for my body, with room for my chest and tapering for my waste.  [SmartPak]

Ride On Video has been busy uploading video from Twin Rivers a couple weeks ago, so here’s some west coast love!