Since the day he was born, Forever Twisted, Nancy Ditty’s entry for this year’s 3-Year-Old & Over Western Pleasure Slot Class at the March To The Arch this month in Fort Worth, Texas, has been reminding her of life’s most important lesson. Never give up. The 2021 bay gelding, sired by Gone Viral out of […]
It’s breeding season and in print, social media and conversations across the United States and abroad, it’s stallions, stallions, stallions. Who sires the best dispositions? Can I duplicate that stallion’s balance and topline? What get to trainers prefer? But what about the mares? As most savvy breeders agree, the dam contributes more to a foal […]
Sixteen-year-old Ava Hathaway, of Coldwater, Michigan knows all too well what a roller-coaster ride showing horses at the top level can be. She’s had her share of bumps along the way but staying focused, patient and determined she has also learned that there are just as many high points as there are lows. Like many, […]
While seasoned broodmare owners and their veterinarians understand how important it is to perform a uterine culture prior to breeding, there are still a lot of misconceptions around its importance, or when and if one is even necessary. However, a uterine culture provides invaluable information about a mare’s reproductive health. Uterine cultures can help determine […]
Most successful sires don’t arrive by happenstance. They are created carefully by honest assessments of mares and strategic selection of their crossings. Then it takes patience and a solid training program as they are given the opportunity to reach their potential. And that’s just the start of it. Hillary Timchak of Capital Quarter Horses in […]
Operating within the world of Western Pleasure, precision, control, and the art of subtle communication between horse and rider reign supreme – especially when it comes to horses showing in the junior and futurity events. Many decisions must be made when determining what it will take to show a young horse to the best […]
Six years ago Lee and Brenda Looney were on a mission to purchase a stallion – specifically one that would cross on the show mares they had purchased to serve as the backbone of a breeding program they were building at their 101-acre horse farm in Tennessee. There was only one problem. The […]
No one can deny Florida based trainer Katy Jo Zuidema has an eye for talent and talent is exactly what she saw the first time she laid eyes on Waffle House. The pretty 3-year-old mare by The Born Legacy and out of BestSeatInTheHouse first crossed paths with Zuidema while in training with Rusty Green. “We […]
They say the journey is the reward and what a journey it has been. In fact, Dr. Candice Hall and Dr. Cory Seebach, of Black Creek, British Columbia, Canada, say a bay stallion by the name of Machine Made, absolutely changed their lives. The first time Hall and Seebach ever laid eyes on “Hershel” was […]
Under beautiful blue Michigan skies the second annual Back To Berrien Futurity took place June 21-24, 2023. The show featured a full slate of NSBA Futurity classes and a few special new ones like the inaugural 50 & Over 3-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure. Exhibitors came from as far as Florida, Texas and Connecticut to the […]
Just months after the 2023 March To The Arch concluded in Fort Worth, Texas, show organizers have announced big changes for next year’s event. Back by popular demand will be the two slot classes, with guaranteed money – The $100,000 3-Year-Old & Over Western Pleasure and the $50,000 3-Year-Old & Over Hunter Under Saddle. New […]
Illinois professional trainer Colton Smith is a firm believer that each horse he trains must be able to do its job in its sleep, in order to be a solid citizen for its rider. And so his program is built on a lot of muscle memory and repetition. “I spend a lot of time confidence […]