Tack Room Talk

IHSA National Championship cover

The 2015 Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) National Championships have selected 'Not a Cloud in the Sky,' by artist Frances Marino, as cover art for the official 2015 show program. The 42nd annual IHSA National Championships are April 30 to May 3 at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Mass. Marino was born in Buffalo, N.Y. and in 1974 moved to Boulder, Colo. Marino's 'Not a Cloud in the Sky,' of an abstract horse herd, was a unanimous choice by the horse show selection committee. It was painted in 2014 and came about almost as a surprise to the artist: "This painting started as an abstract. I was having a hard time trying to figure out what to do with it and said to myself, 'Dammit, you're an equine artist, puts some horses in this,' and that's how it happened."
The original 30" x 40" acrylic on canvas wrap painting, is available for $2,500, as well as on iPhone and Galaxy phone cases, throw pillows, greeting cards and prints. See http://frances-marino.artistwebsites.com.
Learn more about the IHSA and follow results of the IHSA National Championships at www.IHSAinc.com.

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Artist Jan Lukens will create paintings of the 2014 National Horse Show champions and class winners for an art exhibition to be held during the 2015 CP National Horse Show. See Lukens' 'Big Horse' series at www.janlukens.com. Lukens has painted equestrian portraits of Olympic gold medalists Rodrigo Pessoa, Chris Kappler, and Joe Fargis, as well as legendary riders Anne Kursinski, Margie Engle, Aaron Vale, Marilyn Little, Louise Serio, Geoff Teall, Sandy Farrell, Jenifer Alfano, Liza Towell, and Lillie Keenan. His equine portraits include Gem Twist, Madison, and All The Gold.

Jan Lukens with his painting, Gem Twist III

His art has been displayed in the Smithsonian Institution and the International Museum of the Horse, and is in the permanent collection of the National Sporting Library & Museum, the US Equestrian Federation, and the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association.

For additional information about the show, see www.nhs.org. The CP National Horse Show returns to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. Oct. 27 to Nov. 1.

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Search and Rescue horse, Blackie, a 29-year-old Percheron gelding has been laid to rest. Blackie was one of the first search partner horses to be well documented in his abilities to use his various senses as a search animal In the field. He was the subject of several scholarly articles and the basis for a training program for mounted search and rescue personnel and horses emphasizing the efficacy of discriminating air scent animals over non-discriminating search dogs. He was also used to teach mounted search techniques to others.
The gelding, housed at White Pine Farm, Richboro, Pa. since October, 1990 sustained injuries to his urinary tract during the brutally cold weather of February and March. The injury resulted in infection and loss of control. The barn veterinary recommended euthanasia rather than continued treatment as of March 12.
Blackie had been semi-retired for the last several years.
Tax deductible donations in Blackie's memory may be made to Southeast Pennsylvania Search and Rescue (SEPASAR), 8480 Limekiln Pike, #914, Wyncote, Pa. 19095 or via a PayPal button on www.sepasar.net.

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Robin Weaver, of Mahaffey, Pa. competed in barrel racing at the American Semi-Finals, held Feb. 20-22 in Fort Worth, Texas.
The American Semi-Finals has virtually doubled in contestant numbers and prize money in its second year, as athletes from around the country enter for a chance to advance to RFD-TV's $2 million rodeo in AT&T Stadium. The American, presented by Polaris Ranger is the only lucrative professional rodeo with no entry limitations, whereby anyone can qualify to potentially earn $1 million by out-riding the best athletes in the world.

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At the Annual Meeting of the United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation Board of Trustees, Sunday, Jan. 25 in Wellington, Fla., the Trustees elected Brownlee O. Currey, Jr., Chairman of the Board; S. Tucker S. Johnson, President & CEO; W. James McNerney, Jr., Vice President; Philip E. Richter, Treasurer and Elizabeth Juliano, Secretary. These individuals will serve as the Officers of the corporation for a four-year term.

Newly-elected trustees to serve a four-year term were show jumper, Beezie Madden of Cazenovia, N.Y. and Juliet Reid, of Washington D.C.

Reid, has been active in equestrian sport in various roles. She and her brother, Chester Weber, collaborated for the first time in 2012 to bring show jumping to the existing Live Oak International Driving Show at their family horse farm, Live Oak Plantation, in Ocala, Fla. She also served as President of the Washington International Horse Show from 2008 to 2014.

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At the 2014 PATH Intl. Conference and Annual meeting, held in San Diego last fall approximately 30 presentations were recorded to make the presentations available to those unable to attend the conference as well as to those wanting to know more about the equine-assisted activities and therapies field.
A portion of these videos are now available for purchase. Videos are $30 for non-members, $20 for PATH Intl. members.
For more information visit www.pathintl.org

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Horseplay.tv is a group of young polo experts who have been involved with the sport and club a long time, and now they're trying to change the scene. Horseplay.tv is a production company that uses state-of-the-art production techniques to provide a never-before-seen view of the sport of polo. Combining traditional views from the sidelines with aerial footage from a masterfully piloted drone camera that flies above the action, Horseplay.tv is revolutionizing how polo is covered.
"We see polo as an extreme sport," said Matt Baker, who, along with Ty MacCarty and Rob Jornayvaz, founded Horseplay.tv. "We are inspired by how snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing and other extreme sports produce video. Because we are polo players, we wanted to bring that same kind of excitement to polo."
Horseplay.tv uses real-time drone footage to provide livestream viewers with a bird's eye view of the play. The size of the field and the speed of the play are no longer obstacles to providing the best possible vantage point for viewers to enjoy the sport.
Horseplay.tv streams games live from around the world.

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The United States Pony Clubs, Inc. has partnered with StartBox Online Scoring, LLC to integrate team and Horse Management into the Pony Club StartBox Online Scoring System. The Pony Club friendly component will allow for Rallies and Championships to use the StartBox Online Scoring program. This technology will streamline operations for competition management, as well as enable live, online results for competitors, spectators, and parents. In addition to having a physical score board at events, Startbox online scoring is available on any smart device.

Eventing will be the first of the Pony Club disciplines to incorporate the new integration, with scoring for Dressage and Show Jumping shows following in 2016. The new integrated scoring system will be rolled out at Pony Club Championships East and West in July 2015, and will be available for use for local Pony Club competitions beginning in August 2015.

For more equestrian news see Horse News

Horse News covers everything equestrian in the mid-Atlantic area and can be reached at horsenews@hcdemocrat.com

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