Q-Talk is on hiatus until September 6. Until then, read the coverage of the 2005 Youth World Championship Show, the Regional Experiences, and the Bayer Select World Show.
The National Reined Cow Horse Association has been on a growth trend for the past five years. The number of members and shows has increased, and the cow horse industry is prospering. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the payouts at the NRCHA produced events, where the 2005 total payout will, for the first time, exceed $2 million.
In 2005, the NRCHA Bayer Legend Celebration of Champions, NRCHA Stakes, Hackamore Classic, Derby and Snaffle Bit Futurity will pay out more than $2 million and the total purse at every event has increased.
At the 2005 Bayer Legend Celebration of Champions, which includes the NRCHA World Championship Show and World’s Greatest Horseman, total prize money spiked to $358,000 plus, up more than $110,000 from the previous year.
At the NRCHA Stakes, held in Tucson, Arizona, the payout went to $283,413, up nearly 15 percent from the previous year. In 2001, the Stakes total payout was $162,473, so the 2005 show marked well over $100,000 in growth in just the past five years.
Even the highly specialized Hackamore Classic saw increases with a total payout of $137,410, up 15 percent. At the NRCHA Derby, the top finisher, Jake Gorrell, took home more than $50,000 of the $334,084 total payout.
This year’s NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Champion will earn $100,000, as usual, but the total payout will draw ever nearer to the $1 million mark. The Snaffle Bit Futurity has seen tremendous purse growth in the past five years, from $766,120 in 2001 to its current fast-track payout.
New Study on Coffin Bone Fractures
Most coffin bone fractures that extend into the joint heal well without surgery, reports a new study from Sweden.
Fractures of the coffin or pedal bone can occur due to repeated concussion from galloping or trotting in racehorses. In other horses, the injury is generally caused by trauma, such as kicking a stall wall. Surgery generally involves screwing the pieces of bone together, but the study shows that the injury can also be treated with stall rest and special shoeing.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study of 32 warmblood horses with intra-articular coffin bone fractures admitted to Skara Equine Hospital in Skara, Sweden, between 1995 and 2001. The horses were treated conservatively with a bar shoe and quarter clips. They found that 22 of the horses returned to their previous level of work after the fracture had healed in an average time of just under eight months.
— Tonya Ratliff-Garrison
The Rocky Mountain Quarter Horse Association hit a home run again with their Day At the Races at Arapahoe Park on July 24, 2005.
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| Kathy Hammes, wife of trainer John Hammes, talks to tour-goers about racing tack. Folks attending the RMQHA Day At The Races got a rare chance to visit the barns and meet racing Quarter Horses up close. |
The family-focused event highlighted Quarter Horse racing and Arapahoe Park for regional horse enthusiasts. The day had something for everyone with behind-the-scenes tours, free face painting and caricatures for the kids, an AQHA Test Ride and heart-stopping Quarter Horse racing.
Arapahoe Park issued special “2 for $5” coupons for the day. For only $5, coupon holders received admission, two hot dogs, two sodas, and one racing program to enjoy the entire afternoon.
AQHA mailed 2000 coupons along with invitations to American Quarter Horse owners across the region. RMQHA distributed thousands more in English and Spanish along the Front Range. Additional PR included AQHA and Nutrena emails and radio announcements.
The event coincided with the regional running of the AQHA Bayer Legend West/Southwest Derby Challenge. This year’s G1 Heritage Place Derby winner Bombay Martini won the race in track record time, running 400 yards in 19.59 seconds. RMQHA event-goers almost doubled the track’s attendance and handle from Saturday to Sunday. More than 3200 people wagered a total handle of $135,647.
The MBNA/AQHA regional affiliate grant program provided major funding for the event.
Other major sponsors included 100th Anniversary National Western Stock Show, Bayer/Legend, Nutrena, Farmer’s Insurance Group, KCKK radio station, Scott Murdock Trailer Sales, Maverick Press, Weyerhauser Paper, Altitude Sports Network and El Corral Vaquero Western Wear.
Highlights included:
- 17 youth attended the in-depth, 2-day RMQHA Youth Racing Experience. Four youth came from the Excelsior Youth Centers, Inc., of Aurora, Colorado, a charitable organization that helps troubled teens.
- Live, pre-post time chariot race.
- Arapahoe Park undefeated Quarter Horse phenomenon, The Pen Pal, returned to lead the post parade for a race sponsored in his honor.
- 75 people went on tours to the barns and starting gates.
- 45 folk attended the new owner’s seminar.
- 300-plus folk registered for the event’s buffet lunch.
- Door prizes included AQHA handicapping DVDs, jewelry, Arapahoe Park clubhouse tickets, and equine supplements.
- Announcer’s box tours to watch him announce a live race.
- Handicapping seminar and contest.
- More than 80 people rode an American Quarter Horse in the AQHA Test Ride.
- Free caricatures and face painting for kids.
- Jockey’s stick race raised $700 for the McBeth Jockey Fund for injured jockeys.
To find out if you’re near a track with American Quarter Horse racing, or if your state affiliate sponsors similar events, visit the racing section of www.aqha.com.
— Christine Hamilton
Florida Veterinarians Recommend Vaccinating Horses Against EEE
TheHorse.com reports that eastern equine encephalomyelitis virus is quite active this year, and more than 120 cases have been reported in Florida. The state veterinarian's office in Tallahassee, Fla. predicts levels equal to 2003 in which there were 200 cases of EEE in horses.
During the 2003 outbreak, most of the infected horses were not vaccinated and were younger than three years of age. Horses that were vaccinated but became ill were also vaccinated less frequently overall. Some had only primary immunizations while others had primary immunizations and only yearly boosters. Vaccination against EEE should be performed at a minimum of two times per year and three times is recommended during years of high activity.
All horses that have not been previously vaccinated for EEE should receive two initial injections one month apart. Foals should be vaccinated at four, five, and six months of age if the mares have been vaccinated previously. If there is questionable immunity in the foals, vaccination can commence as early as two to three months.
Some EEE vaccines can be obtained over the counter. If any vaccine becomes warm while transported, it can be rendered inactive after only a short period; therefore, owners run the risk of inappropriate vaccination when performing their own immunizations.
Death loss resulting for EEE infection in horses is as high as 90%, and of the remaining 10% that survive, less than 1 percent perform at original levels again. In the 2003 outbreak, 100 owners of EEE survivors responded to a follow-up survey performed by the University of Florida and funded by the USDA and Florida State Department of Agricultural Services (the study is not yet published, but has been presented at two public health meetings). The total value of only these 100 horses was close to $250,000 and, in total, veterinary costs came to $40,000 for EEE treatment. The cost spent on vaccination was less than $4,000 for those 100 horses in the subsequent year.
Clearly the cost of vaccination per horse is much lower than EEE monetary and emotional losses to owners
Rieky Young Qualifies Again for World Reining Masters
The Dutch qualifying CRI for the 2005 FEI World Reining Masters Series presented by the Arcese Group and by the Italian Equestrian Sports Federation (FISE) was in early July during the NRHA European Affiliate Championships held in Deurne, The Netherlands.
The CRI, with 27 entries (the highest number of entries in CRIs over Europe this year), and riders from The Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain and Germany, was won by Jurgen Pouls of Belgium astride Tabasco Tari.
Five riders ran for The Netherlands with Walter Bouwmeester and Ton de Rooij riding three horses. Rieky Young entered her two mounts and qualified for the FEI World Reining Masters Finals for the second year around by riding Burnt Starlight, a stallion owned by Scheffer and Young, to a score of 216.5, which earned her reserve honors in the class, and by riding Great Kid Whiz, for owner Marja van Duyn, to third place after scoring a 214. Once the competition was over, Rieky Young's total in the rankings for The Netherlands was up to 32 points, which awarded her a ticket to the Finals of the prestigious competition, which will be September 24 in Manerbio, Italy.
Last year’s restricted division bronze medal winner Rudi Kronsteiner will be representing Austria again this year. For Germany, it will be Steffen Breug and Jurgen Pieper. Breug, who had qualified for the finals last year in Oklahoma City, will also be competing the second time around. Israel’s Rafi Ungar will be representing his country and Italians Adriano Meacci and Andrea Fappani will be riding for their country.
The FEI Reining Masters is a competition defining the best individual reiner each year. It is based on qualifying the best reiner from each NF for a final event, which alternates between the United States and Europe. The finals will offer a $75,000 open and a $25,000 restricted division. Rieky won the restricted division in 2004.
With more than twenty countries expected to participate, reiners worldwide have qualified or are getting ready to qualify for the second edition of the $100,000 FEI World Reining Masters Series presented by the Arcese Group and FISE in collaboration with the Italian Reining Horse Association, the National Reining Horse Association, the Reining Horse Sports Foundation and AQHA.
— Tonya Ratliff-Garrison
