Buck Davidson rode two horses to top-three finishes at The Fork Horse Trials. He earned a third-place ribbon with Ballynoe Castle RM in the CIC three-star division and claimed second place with Mar de Amor in the Advanced A division. Buck, who is sponsored by Kentucky Equine Research (KER), uses Re-Leve Sport and Ovation, feeds developed by KER, to give his horses the best nutrition during training and competition.

Re-Leve Sport is a textured feed that contains balanced omega fat sources, fiber-based carbohydrates, natural-source vitamin E, and a state-of-the-art fermentation blend for optimal performance.

Ovation is a pelleted feed with a palatable formulation designed for sport horses requiring balanced energy for maximum performance during competition and efficient muscle recovery afterwards.

New Zealand event rider Andrew Nicholson ended the 2012 competition year as the leader on the HSBC Rankings list. He received a $50,000 (U.S.) bonus for his accomplishment. Nicholson captured the top world ranking after claiming team bronze at the London 2012 Olympic Games and maintained the position for the rest of the year.

John McEwen, First Vice President of the FEI, presented the honor to Nicholson at the London International Horse Show. Besides his Olympic performance on Nereo, other successes for the year included a seventh-place finish at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, a win at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (third leg of the HSBC FEI Classics 2011/2012 series), and a fourth at the following leg, the Luhmühlen CCI4*.

Eager to share the credit for his wins, Nicholson said, "I've been extremely lucky with my horses Nereo, Mr Cruise Control, Calico Joe, Avebury, and Qwanza." He is sponsored by Bluegrass Horse Feed, a Kentucky Equine Research Team Member.

Champion driver Shelly Temple will present a webinar on January 10 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. CST.

Content is designed to help drivers improve communication with their horses through lines, whip, and voice so that the horse will understand more clearly what the driver is intending to convey. Competitive drivers and pleasure drivers should all benefit from the information shared in this webinar that is provided in cooperation with the American Driving Society (ADS).   

Shelly, an experienced driver who is sponsored by Kentucky Equine Research, has competed at the Advanced Level in CDEs for 15 years. She represented the United States at the World Pony Championships, placing second in the dressage competition and helping the U.S. team earn a bronze medal. She is an ADS and USEF 'R' Judge in combined driving, and is an active competitor, instructor, trainer, and clinician. She also has served on the ADS Licensed Officials and Dressage Committees and the USEF Driving Technical Committee. 

Cost for the webinar is $10.00 for ADS members and $15.00 for nonmembers. Check the ADS Online Store to register. In the case of technical difficulties, fees will be refunded. Call 608-237-7382 with any questions.

Just in time for the new year, the American Saddlebred Sport Horse Yahoo group has made up a list of 12 suggestions, somewhat aligned to the popular "Twelve Days of Christmas" song, related to improving horse health and well-being.

Each care hint came from an expert in the veterinary or horse care industry. Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., an equine nutritionist from Kentucky Equine Research (KER), was asked for her ideas on how owners could improve their understanding of feeding horses. Here's Crandell's contribution:

"While a French hen might appreciate a bed of soft hay, most horses appreciate forage as the main portion of their diet. Attention to diet is a major aspect of horse ownership, and equine nutritionist Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., from Kentucky Equine Research wished 'for owners to understand how important forage is in their horse's diet, and that the diet should be balanced relative to the forage.'"  
 

Top international driver Chester Weber has been named to the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Driver Training Long List for 2013.
Being placed on the list is a prerequisite for being eligible for special training programs and representing the United States in international competitions. Inclusion on the list requires that a driver shall have earned no more than 200 penalties in an upper-level event, either in the United States or abroad, in the previous two years.
Weber, who has been named USEF National Four-in-Hand Champion nine times, is sponsored by Kentucky Equine Research (KER). He trusts KER's nutritional supplements such as Nano-E, a nanodispersed source of natural vitamin E, and Restore SR, a slow-release electrolyte, to support his driving horses during training, travel, and competition. 

KER, which is the official equine nutritionist of the USEF, provides services such as performing nutritional consultations for high-performance horses in all disciplines.

Kelsey Kimbler, an endurance rider sponsored by Kentucky Equine Research (KER), will be able to claim a share of the glory when her sister McCamey is awarded the Brunjes Junior/Young Rider Trophy at the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Horse of the Year Awards gala and dinner in January.

Kelsey lent her horse HV Cimmarons Goliath to McCamey for the Spruce Woods CEIJY**, where the pair finished in first place, adding points to qualify for the prestigious award. The Brunjes Junior/Young Rider Trophy is presented to the Junior/Young Rider athlete who has earned the highest number of points on the Endurance Rider Ranking List throughout the competition year.

To perform well in endurance races, horses need to be carefully trained beforehand and also supplemented during and after the competition. To help her horse give his best effort, Kelsey trusts RiteTrac to support digestive tract health in both the foregut and hindgut as HV Cimmarons Goliath travels and competes.

She also uses Preserve PS to aid in muscle recovery after work and to assist in the prevention of tying-up and muscle soreness. Nano-E supplies natural-source vitamin E to support the horse's immune, cardiovascular, circulatory, and neuromuscular systems, and Restore SR is a slow-release electrolyte that replaces key electrolytes such as sodium and magnesium that are lost in sweat during extended performance.

KER, which is the official equine nutritionist of the USEF, provides services such as performing nutritional consultations for high-performance horses in all disciplines.

The O'Connor Event Team has announced that Mr. Medicott was named the 2012 Smartpak United States Eventing Association (USEA) Horse of the Year for 2012. The gelding was also chosen for the Advanced Horse title for the year. These honors were made public at the USEA's convention in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Mr. Medicott has been ridden by Karen O'Connor and is owned by the Mr. Medicott Syndicate. Karen, who was seriously injured in a fall several months ago, is recovering and hopes to be riding again by the spring of 2013. She is sponsored by Kentucky Equine Research.

Animal Kingdom, winner of the 2011 Kentucky Derby, will begin his breeding career at Arrowfield Stud in Australia in September of 2013. It is likely that he will shuttle to the Northern Hemisphere beginning in 2014.

Trained by Graham Motion, Animal Kingdom was the first horse to win the Derby as a first race on a natural dirt surface. He will be the first Derby winner to begin his stud career in Australia, and also the first Derby winner in more than a decade to race as a five-year-old. Plans include entry in the Grade I Turf Handicap at Gulfstream Park in February as a prep for the $10 million Dubai World Cup in March. A start at Royal Ascot in England in June is also a possibility.

Animal Kingdom was raised at Denali Stud in Versailles, Kentucky, on products manufactured by Hallway Feeds, a Team Member of Kentucky Equine Research. The horse was trained and raced on Hallway's Prep 14, a product specially formulated to support the efforts of hard-working competition horses.

In his racing career, Animal Kingdom has been a graded stakes winner on natural and synthetic surfaces and has finished either first or second in eight of his nine starts to date. He has earned well over $2 million at the track.

The John Thomas Vaughan Equine Conference for the Practitioner was held in early December
at Auburn University. Lecturers at the conference shared information on equine nutrition, MRI
evaluation of the pelvic limb, stifle disease, dental surgery, conformation and radiology of the hoof,and a review of pharmacy law.

Kentucky Equine Research's resident veterinarian, Bryan Waldridge, was one of the invited
speakers at the conference, lecturing on nutritional management of muscular disease and guidelines for nutrition of insulin-resistant horses. KER was also a sponsor of the conference.

Shelly Temple has been driving a new pony, Hemmingway, in competitions this year. Temple and Hemi have consistently earned solid dressage scores throughout the season, and Hemi had the best overall performance in the Intermediate-level marathon at the Katydid CDE in Windsor, South Carolina in November.

As pleased as Shelly is to be showing a new pony, she hasn't forgotten her tried-and-true former driving partner, the Morgan gelding LR Ami B-Line (known as Cooper). Instead of driving, she's riding Cooper in dressage competitions. The pair recently finished well at the Viewpoint Dressage Holiday on Horse event, where they showed at second level and earned a score that will help to qualify Shelly for a United States Dressage Federation bronze medal award. She reports that Cooper, who earned driven honors such as USEF national single pony champion for 2006, 2010, and 2011 and USEF Horse of the Year combined driving single pony for 2007, is learning the dressage movements and is ready to begin schooling flying changes.

To finish out the year, Shelly said that both Cooper and Hemi will participate in a clinic with world champion Thorsten Zaremba. "We will be using the mild winter of Aiken, South Carolina, to continue the conditioning and finesse work of both Hemmingway and Cooper," she reported. "My goal is to qualify both ponies for the World Pony Championships in France in November of 2013."

Shelly is sponsored by Kentucky Equine Research. She uses products developed by KER to keep her competition ponies in top condition. She explained, "When at home, I try to keep my ponies turned out as much as possible, on a regular feeding schedule and with regular work routines. When competition season begins, with constant travel, irregular or no turnout, and changing feed and work schedules, RiteTrac keeps their digestive systems working as they should. It's a regular part of our program to keep the horses performing and feeling their best!"