The STandardbred ConneCTion

Celebrating the Versatile Standardbred

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Inside This Edition:tDerby SeasontBarrel RacingtMounted Police tand so much more!

March 2015 EditionTable of Contents

Taking It To The Bank by Kathleen Haak

National Standardbred Year End Awards

From Rookie to Rockstar by Laura Harbour

RUS Spotlight: Michelle Crawford by Michelle Miller

Pacing Away in Bermuda

Taking A Bite Out of Crime by Suzanne DAmbrose

FEI Endurance Update

Parade Marshal by Elizabeth Morrow

National Standardbred Show High Point Awards

What Does the Judge Say? by Jane Lutz

Derby Season in Canada by KJ Haak

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The Standardbred Connecion is an online magazine dedicated to pleasure Standardbreds who are trotting, pacing or racking though the public eye.

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Cover Image: Shades of Cara and Stephanie Jacobs Photo by Vicki Wright

Taking it to the Bank

The first barrel in barrel racing is known as the money barrel because the out-come of the first turn determines the fate of your barrel run. Getting a clean, sharp turn is key. Think getting that type of turn with a Standardbred is impossible? Think again!

One of the first things that trainer Haylie Harsh-barger explains to anyone who is interested in running barrels is that a good barrel horses is a very broke horse. They have a solid foundation of training that allows for extreme acceleration, lateral bending and balance. With time and train-ing Standardbreds of all ages can gain that much needed foundation.

Harshbarger was first introduced to barrel racing Standardbreds by Snuffa. The 16.1 gelding was tearing up the Ohio International Barrel Racing As-sociation (IBRA) Open 3 and 4-D circuit.

Bought at an Amish sale as a yearling, Snuffa was originally a high school project for Christina Scott. Horse and rider grew up together, forming a part-nership that still exists 22 years later. Although

Snuffa retired in 2014, he introduced many to the versitilty of Standardbreds. Jackets, saddles, and, cash jackpots are the tangable results of the geld-ings abilities but Scott reports that people just love watching the honest gelding doing what he loves.

Snuffa and Christina Scott following their Open 4-D win at the 2007 IRBA Ohio State Finals.

Cheyenne Christman (age 12) and Tony the Pony aka Make a Success give 4-H barrels a try.

Following in Christina Scotts footsteps is Colette Warner and her Standardbred Crimson Viking (Vic). This up and coming gelding won a wildcard for the short round (which means they can skip all of the qualifiying rounds) for Open 3-D barrels at the 2015 IBRA Championships. This is a $60,000 added class.

In preparation for the big show this fall, Vic and Warner arent resting on their laurels. They con-tinue to work on the foundation skills. They lope circles, practice moving from a walk to a lope, and turning off the hind quarters. Harshbarger, who sometimes works with Warner, says that once a horse gets about 90 days on a pattern then they move on to doing more random circles and pat-terns to prevent the horse from becoming bored or overly excited about the actual pattern.

Trail riding is one tool that Harshbarger uses to prevent over-training on a pattern. While on the trail, a horse and rider can work on conditioning, standing still and bending, as well as working the hips. Some Standardbreds also benefit from trail riding in other ways. Many have had limited close contact with other horses, being separated by sulkies, fences or walls for much of their lives.

Colette Warner and Crimson Viking share a quiet moment following a successful run.

This lack of social contact may result in a horse that gets nervous when meeting new horses. It is better to acclimate your Standardbred in a relaxed situation than discover on show day that standing shoulder to shoulder with horses on the ring rail makes your horse nervous.

In the case of Shades of Cara (aka WV Mountain Momma or Cara), our cover girl, she didnt have issues with other horses but she did have trou-ble finding success in barrel riacing. The 14-year old mare was adopted through the Standardbred Retirement Foundation by Stephanie Jacobs as a three year old. The pair have been running barrels for years but it wasnt until Jacobs started riding on an intercollegiate team that she was formally introduced to balance and bending. She quick-ly switched Cara over to english to help get that elusive frame. As both rider and horse gained ex-perience they switched back to western riding but continued working on their foundation skills.

Cara just keeps getting better and better, says Jacobs, she can make a turn so much more tight-er since we built up her backend. It is like night and day.

The work paid off as WV Mountain Momma and Jacobs were named Hogan Equine High Point Green Horse at the National Standardbred Show after winning every speed class she was entered in.

Royal Revenue has placed at the National and World Standardbred shows as well as a wide variety of local club events. He has been know to race on Friday and run barrels on Saturday for rider Joelene Christman.

Royal Revenue and Shares of Cara photosby Vicki Wright.

If you decide to run barrels at the local level you may also have the opportunity to participate in other fun events like the Pantyhose Race. In this race two horses run a pattern with a pair of pantyhose between them. If the hose rips or is dropped then the riders are disqualified, fastest pattern wins. Here Melissa Gander and her 9-year-old, Canadian-bred mare, Persilie Blanco, start a run with a partner.

Interested in trying Barrel Racing? What youll need:

Western tack Snaffle or hackamore - start with a

simple bit until you know you need some-thing stronger

Barrels - if you dont have access to bar-rels try using a pop-up trash can

Boots - polo wraps, sports boots and/or bell boots may be needed

Helmet - not required but recommended Patience - your Standardbred has spent

most of his/her life going in a straight line. Developing balance, learning how to bend, etc will take time.

Massage/chiropractic work - your horses muscles are working in a new way, consider using massage or chiro-practic work as a way to remove tighness in the shoulders and loosen their frame.

National Standardbred Pleasure Horse Organization Year End Awards

In Hand Division Champion Art By Keene Stephanie GrayReserve Champion CC Bagaluck Katie Flaherty

Showmanship Division Champion Panzo Two Wendy FlowersReserve Champion HeavyMetalThunder Laura Harbour

Pleasure Horse Division Champion Panzo Two Wendy FlowersReserve Champion HeavyMetalThunder Laura Harbour

Dressage Division Champion Princess Ghanima Meryl Evangelisti

Equitation Division Champion Panzo Two Wendy FlowersReserve Champion HeavyMetalThunder Laura Harbour

Hunter Division Champion Slip N Slide Denelle StrattonReserve Champion HeavyMetalThunder Laura Harbour

In Harness Division Champion CC Bagaluck Katie FlahertyReserve Champion Panzo Two Wendy Flowers

Pace, Chase, & Hunt Division Champion Independent Act Suzanne DAmbrose

Demo, Expo, & Parade Division Champion Independent Act Suzanne DAmbroseReserve Champion Panzo Two Wendy Flowers

General Divison Champion HeavyMetalThunder Laura HarbourReserve Champion Desquite Danielle Loonan

East Windsor, New JerseyFebruary 15, 2015

Clarksville Award Champion Independent Act Suzanne DAmbroseReserve Champion Valiant Legacy Rob Pennington

Versatility Award Champion Panzo Two Wendy FlowersReserve Champion HeavyMetalThunder Laura Harbour

High Point Junior Exhibitor Champion World Class Guy Jessie SantanaReserve Champion Glissade & JB Destiny SheardThird Glissade & JB Shyanne SheardFourth Independent Act Sawyer BakerFifth Styled N Misty Nicole Bursac

Leadline Division Champion Independent Act Sawyer Baker

High Point Rookie Horse Champion Desquite Danielle Loonan

High Point Green Horse Champion Independent Act S. DAmbrose / S. Baker

High Point Senior Horse Champion HeavyMetalThunder Laura Harbour

National SPHO High Point Standardbred HorseChampion HeavyMetalThunder Laura HarbourReserve Champion Panzo Two Wendy FlowersThird CC Bagaluck Katie FlahertyFourth Slip N Slide Denelle StrattonFifth JB H. Gregory / D. & S SheardSixth World Class Guy Jessie Santana

Not all Standardbreds are destined to achieve fame and success on the race-track. With a name like Heavymetal-thunder, an image comes to mind of a successful, prodigal racehorse with a larger than life rockstar personality and throngs of eager, screaming fans. The young chestnut gelding of that name would never make it to the racetrack, but he was still destined to become a superstar in his own right.

Late in his two-year old year, it became apparent to owner and trainer Stacy Chiodo that Heavy-metalthunder (Real Artist-Five Star Comfort-Fake Left) did not bear the competitive spark for racing.

Heavymetalthunder (Saxon) simply was not inter-ested in pacing his way to fame and fortune like his parents. Nearly a thousand miles away in Ken-tucky, Laura Harbour was looking for an ex-race-horse of the harness racing variety to partner with in the show ring. Social media brought the two to-gether. At the urging of mutual friend and lifelong Standardbred supporter Helene Gregory, Harbour connected with Chiodo and then made the 12 hour drive to New Jersey that December to pickup the young gelding.

Thanks to an unusually mild winter in 2012, I was able to spend a lot of time working with Saxon during those first few months. He showed a lot of trust in me and he really picked things up quickly she stated. He showed so much aptitude that in February, just six weeks after Saxons first under saddle experience, Laura and Saxon attended their first horse show together.

It was his first horse show and his first time being ridden with other horses. The show was in an in-door arena, which hed never encountered before, so I really didnt know how hed handle it. I wasnt even sure that Id end up taking him in any class-es. I thought we might just walk around and see the sights if he seemed nervous, she confessed.

As it turns out, he handled the experience like his rockstar namesake, finishing first out of eight hors-es in the English Green Horse Walk-Trot class. He backed that up with wins in Open Halter and Open Walk-Trot Equitation, second in Sport Horse in Hand, and thirds in Showmanship and Open Walk-Trot Pleasure out of fully subscribed classes. I jogged him on the track and knew instantly that

he had a lot of potential. Harbour stated. The next day we introduced him to saddle.

The versatility, work ethic, and willingness of the Standardbred breed partner perfectly with Lauras philosophy of trying a variety of disciplines and ac-tivities with her horses. By the end of their first show season together, the duo had amassed a very impressive resume for a green three year-old. They had competed successfully in open horse shows against all horses of all breeds in hal-ter, sport horse, showmanship, English pleasure, hunter under saddle, hunter over ground poles, equitation, western horsemanship, western plea-sure, trail, costume, and pattern classes.

This netted them a number of national high point awards through the Standardbred Pleasure Horse Organization of New Jerseys national award pro-gram including discipline awards in the In Hand, Showmanship, Pleasure Horse, Equitation, Hunt-er, Versatility, and General division categories as well as the overall high point Rookie Horse of the Year, Green Horse of the Year, and Overall High Point Standardbred of the Year titles for 2012.

Beginners luck seemed to be on Saxons side during his rookie year of showing. Naturally a con-servative and cautious horsewoman, Lauras con-fidence in the young horse often prompted her to challenge both of them in the show ring by trying out new classes and skills on the spur of the mo-ment. Their first public canter debut was also their first pattern class, which they won. They had a solid showing in their first western pleasure class, following that up with numerous other successful outings in western disciplines. Saxon also rose to

the challenge in their first ever trail class, calmly and carefully negotiating unfamiliar obstacles and besting 6 veteran show horses in the process.

We worked together on a lot of different trail ob-stacles first in hand, and later under saddle she explains. I figure if a horse can trust its rider enough to maneuver over and around objects on the ground, stand patiently while its handler picks up and drops objects from its back, and wear a flapping plastic shower curtain part of the equine nurses outfit we donned for costume classes - all without flinching, that horse will be better prepared to handle whatever new scenarios it may be faced with in the future. In the meanwhile, Laura and Saxon progressed under saddle from the basics of stopping, starting, and steering, to working on collection, bending, and cadence at the walk, trot, and eventually canter.

Still, their journey was not without its challeng-es. That September he knocked me down while unloading from the trailer. We had some shows where he had melt-downs that first year, too. He started rearing once because he was frightened by a cantering Friesian. Another time, he spun around in the middle of a rail class and refused to go forwards because he was upset that it was rain-ing. We had shows where he performed beautiful-ly, but his placings didnt reflect his performance. We had others where he placed well, but I felt like we made some mistakes.

Riding and showing time was more limited the following year, as Laura was occupied by a de-manding full time course load in school. For a while that year, my riding time was limited to just a few hours on the weekends. On the weekdays, Id occasionally do a little showmanship practice when I was leading him from the pasture to the barn at feeding time just to eke out a little horse time. Sometimes I would catch him in the field on a Saturday morning, hose him off, and haul him to a local show for a few classes, and the only prac-tice time we got was whatever riding wed man-aged to squeeze in the previous weekend or the five minutes of warm-up before the actual class. Harbour recalled. It was a challenging year to be sure, but Saxon kept me grounded and helped me keep my sanity.

Even with limited training time, Heavymetalthun-der retained his rockstar ways, and still earned several year-end awards including 2013 National Reserve Champion Senior Horse of the Year and third in the nation for Overall Standardbred Horse of the Year points through the SPHO-NJ national awards program.

By the summer of 2014, Laura had finished her degree which allowed for more time to ride during the week in the summer and fall. Weekends, however, were split between her two big passions, horse shows and autocross, a form of amateur car racing that she and her husband compete in, and horse showing temporarily took a back seat to prepping and adjusting to a new autocross car. But with regular riding time during the week, 5 year-old Saxon continued to blossom, filling out both physically and mentally.

Meltdowns became less frequent and less intense. His overall focus and responsiveness improved. He developed better balance and collection at the canter, and started schooling over small jumps. Showing was sporadic, albeit quite successful, and the pair dabbled in some driving, mounted games and contesting in addition to their usual as-sortment of show pen pursuits.

The regular work paid off, as Harbour and Heavy-metalthunder again garnered multiple honors through the SPHO-NJ national award program, including discipline awards in the Showmanship, Pleasure Horse, Equitation, Hunter, Versatility, and General Division categories as well as the

overall high point Senior Horse title and the 2014 National Overall High Point Standardbred title.

The possibilities are seemingly limitless for this young Standardbred superstar and his owner. For 2015, the pair plans to continue to demonstrate the versatility and ability of the Standardbred in open competitions by adding even more disciplines and skills to their list of accomplishments. Among oth-er things, they would like to try some dressage, ranch horse, and hunter-jumper shows.

The ability of Standardbreds beyond the race-track is limited only by the imaginations and ambi-tions of their owners, states Harbour. As a breed they have such an exemplary work ethic and heart if you just give them a chance to show it to you.

Laura Harbour owns a small acreage in rural Ken-tucky where she lives with her two champion Stan-dardbreds, Veruca Salt and Heavymetalthunder, her loving husband Justin, and a cadre of cats. At her modest facility she is the head trainer, barn manager, chief exercise rider, fence fixer-upper, stall mucker extraordinaire, and cat wrangler.

But showing isnt all about ribbons and trophies and how you place; to me its a test of how you perform together your progress with your horse and the partnership youre building over time.

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Michelle Crawford won her biggest victory at the Hambo Monte Series final at the Meadowlands aboard A Penny Earned. The horse, trained by George Ducharme, went in 1:57.2 (last quarter :28.2), just short of the north Amer-ican speed race record set by Master Pine two years before in 1:57.1. Crawford also earned vic-tories at Saratoga and Vernon Downs during the season while also dominating the RUS New York Fair Series.

Crawford rode Vassar Hall to victory in every leg of the fair series the duo participated in, which in-cluded Afton, Morris and Norwich fairs. Although Crawford and her mare did not make it to the win-ners circle to capture the championship, she did earn the High Point Rider Award (taking the honor by 28 points).

Im incredibly competitive, and even though its a ton of fun to race and participate, I go on the track to win, Crawford said.

Crawford said she hopes that RUS will one day become more popular in the United States and eventually become a wagering event like harness and thoroughbred racing. However, she said she believes riders need to show the bettors that they are out there to do the best they can.

Originally from Sweden, Crawford has raced hors-

es or ponies her entire life. She grew up on a small farm in Julmyra a place she says she will always call home. According to Crawford, pony racing is very popular in the area where she was raised.

I drove my first race the summer of 1996. I fin-ished fourth with my pony Jodopax, a little chest-nut with a star shaped like a J on his forehead and a small heart on his nose. We were both 4 years old the first time we saw each other. My parents drove just about across the country to buy this little guy for me and my sister, Crawford recalled.

He truly was the most amazing little horse any horse-crazy kid could ever get lucky enough to be around, she added. He is my best friend and he taught me everything.

According to Crawford, Jodopax was the first horse she ever raced in a bike and the first horse she raced under saddle. Together, Crawford said, they performed in about 80 starts in both disci-plines and earned 24 wins.

Crawford drove her last pony in August of 2008. In 2006 she got her license to drive and ride Stan-dardbreds. However, she said she drove in about 30 races but only rode in one before coming to the United States.

Crawford met her next winner in 2009, through her future husband, Brett.

RUS Spotlight:

Michelle Crawford

According to Crawford, Vassar Hall was never anything special as a racehorse, but will always mean a lot to her and her husband. Brett won his first harness race with the mare and Crawford earned her first RUS victory aboard Vassar.

This year she did good under saddle at the fairs Crawford said. She liked being the best even though she only had to trot around 2.10. She ab-solutely loves to get her picture taken.

After the fair and Vernon RUS series were over the Crawfords tried to race Vassar in a bike again at Vernon Downs. She had little success and was soon retired.

Vassar was always better on a half mile track and even the lower classes go fast at Vernon. Both Brett and I said a long time ago that Vassar will re-tire before she becomes a cheap claimer or hurts herself, Crawford said.

Vassar, a horse that earned more than $120,000, ended her racing career with 184 starts that in-cluded RUS. Her lifetime mark is 1.57,4 on a half mile and she has a record of 20-24-26.

We owe her a happy retirement, and hopefully she can give us some pretty babies, Crawford said. Well be lucky if they get half as durable as her. So now she is happy, fat and fluffy.

While Vassars racing career is over, Crawford is still very active in the racing scene. She current-ly helps her husband with a stable of 19 horses. Crawford said although Vassar made the perfect fair series mount, she hopes to have another horse ready for the 2015 season.

Ive raced my whole life and thats why I absolute-ly love RUS, Crawford said. I really had a great year in 2014 and Im so thankful to the owners and trainers who let me ride their horses.

I can never thank George Ducharme enough for letting me ride A Penny Earned, she said.

The race that took Crawford by the most surprise was Vasars win at the Chenango County Fair in Norwich. She said: There were horses in there

who I thought would beat her for fun. I still dont know what got into her that day. She just drew off on the front and no one else even got close to her. I think its because, for once, Brett watched us race and she just wanted a win pic with the three of us in it.

Crawford said she also really enjoyed her win with Jesse Say More at Saratoga. Vassar won the year before with Therese Lindgren aboard because Crawford was in Sweden for a wedding.

It felt like we kept the win in the family, she said. I was so overwhelmed by how many people were there cheering. It really meant so much to me.

So what is the secret to Crawfords success? Well like any rider, she must stay fit.

Crawford said she does not have any specific rou-tines for staying in shape to ride, but she did re-veal that she does all the shoeing at the stable.

Ive definitely noticed that it has helped me a lot, she said.

Crawford also rides a couple of times a week if she has time. She said: The horses like it, and I dont ever want to go out on the track and not feel like I have everything under control. Both upper and lower body strength is so important. I know that its hard in the beginning to take the stirrups up and fight through the pain the legs go through, but its so worth it. I definitely think it helped a lot at the fairs where the surface isnt always the great-est and the turns are pretty sharp. Just imagine how hard it is for the horse if the rider gets tired too. They get no help.

Crawford said she believes having raced ponies and horses almost her entire life has helped her along the way. She also said the fact that she still trains horses in her everyday life has to serve as an added benefit.

Photo and article provided by the RUS NY Series, written by Michelle Miller.

Pacing Away In Bermuda

Carriage Association of America (CAA) members traveled to Bermuda in Feb-ruary. Their trip included tours of sev-eral private and public carriage col-lections. In addition, they visited the National Equestrian Center where Trottingbred races were arranged for them by Arnold andRobin Manders of the Bermuda Driving Horse & Pony Club.

In the 1960s, Trottingbreds were developed by crossing Welsh, Hackney and Shetland Ponies with Standardbred horses. Trottingbreds are now half to seven-eighths Standardbreds and are offi-cially recognized as a breed of horse by the Amer-ican Horse Council. To qualify for racing, they may not measure more than 51 1/2 inches (shod) at the top of the withers. They typically can be found in the United States, Italy, Canada and Bermuda.

In Bermuda the race season runs from August through January. The club was nice enough to ar-range a special series of races specifically for Car-riage Association of America members. The CAA members greatly enjoyed watching the ponies on the small track. Some members were evenallowed the opportunity to ride in the start car. Many expressed surprise that nearly all the ponies were stallions, they were very well behaved.

The track record of 1:01/4 is held by a pacer, Big Red Machine, for 5/16 of a mile. Although many Trottingbreds do trot, all of the races for the CAAs visit were pacing races. The fastest pony of the day was awarded a special prize on behalf of the CAA.

Thank you to CAA for this glimpse into racing in Bermuda and Michael Rider for the photos.

The first to greet me when I walk into the field is Dodgeball, a friendly fellow who I have grown attached to, since both Dodgeball and I are former law enforcement officers. Dodgeball is with the Standardbred Retirement Foundation, and pa-trolled the Cook College campus at Rutgers Uni-versity for many years. Dodgeball is still young at 12 years old and looking for a third career as a pleasure horse. His first career was a harness racer. The only reason he is back at SRF, is that the Equine Studies program at Rutgers likes to swap out Standardbreds so the students can give extra training to the new horses.

Standardbreds are one the most sought after breeds for mounted patrol. They are very smart and they are used to noises from being at the race-tracks. They are not flighty, aim to please, and are also known to have good feet. Even though police horses will wear shoes while they patrol the streets, having strong hooves are important. Police horses must be physically fit and the Stan-dardbred is known to be a strong, hearty breed.

A large part of mounted patrol training is getting the horses used to different sights and sounds. Standardbreds are very brave, and will try to get over or through an obstacle even if they are afraid. They do not give up. Training is essential for the new police horses and the Standardbred does quite well in making the passing grade. Smoke, flares, police sirens, are just a few of the many obstacles that they must get used to. Even lines painted on a roadway can make a potential police horse snort and shy away, but the horse must be brave and learn that it is only a painted line and it

will not hurt him. All training is done at the police agency, with the police trainer that is educated in this. Austin (TX) and NYC are two of the many po-lice departments that have many Standardbreds on their police force. The horses and their po-lice officer riders can be seen patrolling the city streets and parks. With all the hustle bustle of the streets there, the horses take it as just a day in the park. The horses at Newark (NJ) Police De-partment Mounted Unit are from the Standardbred Retirement Foundation in NJ. Officer Luis Cama-cho contacts SRF when a new horse is needed. His mount is either Chief or Judge, both Stan-dardbreds, when he is patrolling on horseback. When Whitney Houston passed away, the funeral was held in Newark. Photos around the country showed Newark Mounted Unit behind the hearse, and standing along the curb line during that sad day. The Standardbreds looked majestic doing their job at their best. Philadelphia mounted patrol horses are Standard-breds and are also from the Standardbred Re-tirement Foundation. In 2011, five of the horses were all named in tribute to five officers who died in the line of duty in 2008 and 2009 - Sgt. Ste-phen Liczbinski, Officer Isabel [Santiago] Nazario, Sgt. Patrick McDonald, Sgt. Timothy Simpson, and Officer John Pawlowski. The horses names are: Stephen, Santiago, Pat, Tiny Tim, and John-ny. The horse patrols are useful for crowd control on the streets and in Fairmount Park, since most of the park is inaccessible by car. In the parks, the horses see bicycles, dogs, balls, children, adults, and a whole lot more.

The following is from my book, Five Essential At-tributes of a Mounted Patrol Horse, and every at-tribute can be found in the Standardbred.

1) CourageousA mounted patrol horse can sometimes see strange things on the streets or in the park. He must have a brave heart to continue to go for-ward. A simple flag or street sign may scare him at any moment. He must be strong enough to obey the patrol officer and not panic in dangerous situations.

2) IntelligenceMounted patrol horses go through challenging training. They must learn how to walk through the crowds, keep people away, and be comfort-able around many different obstacles. He must be smart enough to understand and do every one of the skills perfectly.

3) FriendlyPeople love horses and a mounted patrol horse must enjoy meeting people who approach him. Adults and children will want to pet him. He needs to stand patiently when the police officer answers

Chief (Allentown) and Commander (Cunning Liar) with Officers Camacho and Schroeder prior to working the Super Bowl crowd in 2014. Both horses came to the Newark Police Dept. via the Standardbred Retirement Foundation.

questions that the people may ask. He must nev-er be a biter or a kicker.

4) Dependable A mounted patrol horse must be reliable every day and must give 100%. He must never turn around and want to go back to the barn. He must load on the trailer nicely. He must trust and listen to his rider and do whatever is asked.

5) Love of JobAll the training in the world will never make the perfect mounted patrol horse, if the horse does not like what he is doing. The horse must truly love patrolling the streets and park. An eager dis-position is the final attribute in selecting a perfect mounted patrol horse.

For fun, when I exercise Dodgeball at the SRF farm, I use my Rutgers University saddle pad un-der my saddle. As I ride Dodgeball around the farm, I think of the sights and sounds that he saw and heard while patrolling Rutgers Universi-ty-Cook Campus. One time, I overheard someone

say, There goes two cops thinking they still take a bite out of crime.The author, Suzanne DAmbrose, is a former special po-lice officer with Belmar (NJ) PD, a retired law enforcement instructor with Monmouth County (NJ). She is one of the horse trainers at Standardbred Retirement Foundation and is the author of a book on mounted patrol. She currently owns a Standardred trotter, Independent Act Indy who she

Pictured to the right:

Flapjack Attack, or Jack, arrived at SUNY Cobleskill with an impressive set of credentials - Saratoga 2004 Horse of the Year, Aged Trotter of the Year and Trotter of the Year. After adding mounted police training to their resumes, Jack and Officer Bagdovitz hit the streets. Jack is there to do crowd control, but a vast majority of the time it is to get people to feel good about the police presence.

At 17-years old, the Standardbred gelding shows no signs of slowing down, continuing to work stu-dent parades and sporting events in addition to his normal duties.

During the Advanced Mounted Patrol Officer Course at SUNY Cobleskill, equines and their officers learn about gun fire, traffic noise and interaction with large crowds of people. All of these circumstances can alarm a horse, which is why the course is crucial for teaching the officer horsemanship skills and building trust between the pair. Prior exposure to crowds and traffic at the racetrack often allow Standardbreds to be star pupils. Retired NY State Park Police Officer Richard Pelzer designed the Cobleskill program.

Photos provided by SUNY Cobleskill.

Following the shocking death of the Aus-tralian-bred, 1/2 Standardbred endur-ance gelding, Splitters Creek Bundy (Bundy), the FEI has removed the two re-maining international Endurance events scheduled to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in March 2015 from the FEI calendar.

Bundy was competing in the 120k Al Reef Cup in Abu Dhabi when he collapsed with two shattered cannon bones. The horse and his rider, Hamaid Al Falasi, completed the first loop at 28.5kph and were in contention when the injury occurred. Bun-dy was one of three fatalities at the race.

The Al Reef Cup is a nationally run (CEN) com-petion, allowing competitors to compete under less stringent rules than the FEI enforces. This difference in governing bodies originally made the FEI leary of taking action. Michael Campbell, AERC chairman, said: AERC is appalled at the Al Reef tragedy. AERC does not condone or support this type of riding or horse treatment.

In a press release following the first meeting of the new FEI Executive Board, the FEI described the cancellation as an emergency measure to protect horse welfare and to preserve the integrity of the FEI rules and regulations at FEI events.

Meanwhile horses in a variety of disciplines are sporting a pale blue ribbon on their bridles to sup-port clean sport. The initiative, tagged #endur-ancedurable, originates in France and is now tak-ing off in Australia and New Zealand.

The campaigns slogan is: I run on clean water.

To me as a rider, few horse activities can compare to galloping around a cross country jump course or racing a trotter under saddle. However, mar-shaling at a harness race track is a pretty close second!

Unlike an outrider, a post parade marshal is a cer-emonial leader. I often joke that my main job on the track is to be safe, stay out of the way, and look pretty. While an outrider is responsible for the safety of the race horses and drivers, such as helping turn horses or catch a loose one, a mar-shal leads down the post parade of horses from the chute, stands off to the side of the track during the actual race, and then brings the winner back to the winners circle. Personally as a marshal, between races I will stand my horse along the fence of the race apron and chat with the crowd. People always love the opportunity to pat a horse, and it gives an opportunity to explain that I am riding a retired racer. I believe marshaling is one of the best ways to promote the breed as a riding horse besides competitions.

Since 2006, I have been a volunteer marshal at several Maine racetracks with my Standardbred, Dreamy Starlet. We were even invited to be guest marshals last summer at the Goshen Historic Track in New York as a part of the book campaign forStandardbred Old Friends.

The majority of my marshaling experience has been with my friend, Shelly Topham and her horse, McKeever Hanover. We make a serious effort to dress alike and outfit our nearly matching horses with identical saddle pads and polo wraps. As a professional looking quartet, we are often request-ed for events, such as the Maine Sire Stakes finals held every fall. Our horses are both well behaved on the track and seem to enjoy being back to the races without having to actually race! Marshaling is also a great way to get to know drivers and train-ers and show our support for the sport. They look forward to seeing Dreamy and McKeever, the old retirees, back at the track as much as we like bring-ing them there!

Parade Marshal

Top Photo - Author Elizabeth Merrill and Shelly TophamAbove - Elizabeth Merrill with Dreamy Starlet & friendsLeft - Katie Flaherty and CC Bagaluck present the colors

naTional STandardbred Show high PoinT awardS

Niatross Memorial In-Hand Champion Champion The Life Boat Veronica TothReserve Champion Glissade Rob Pennington

Merrylegs Memorial High Point Hunter Champion Slip N Slide Denelle StrattonReserve Champion Nanette Hall Judy Cipo

SPHO-NJ High Point Junior Exhibitor Champion Destiny SheardReserve Champion Jessie Santana

Back On Track High Point Rookie HorseChampion Master Builder Katherine IraceReserve Champion Desquite Danielle Loonan

Hogan Equine High Point Green Horse Champion WV Mountain Momma Stephanie JacobsReserve Champion Seize The Day S. Wiggins & A. Burger

Arden Homestead High Point Novice HorseChampion Investor Julie AllisonReserve Champion Our Lucky Killean Jennifer Connor

SBOA of NJ High Point Senior HorseChampion JB Helene Gregory, S. Sheard, D. Sheard, C. DeBernardisReserve Champion Slip N Slide Denelle Stratton

USTA High Point Standardbred Champion JB Helene Gregory, S. Sheard, D. Sheard, C. DeBernardisReserve Champion Slip N Slide Denelle Stratton

Valley Victoria Versatility Award Champion JB Helene Gregory, S. Sheard, D. Sheard, C. DeBernardisReserve Champion Big Bikkies Maria Andersson

Valley High Stable Outstanding Sportsmanship AwardsJacquie Ingrassia and Molly Goldberg

Photo by Vicki Wright - Investor, Arden Homestead High Point Novice Horse

What Does The Judge Say?An interview with Jennifer Moshier and Kerrie Matesich

by Jane Lutz

Jennifer Moshier (JM) and Kerrie Matesich (KM)were judges at the 2014 World Standardbred Show in Ohio. Jennifer Moshier was in the center ring judging English and Jumping while Kerrie Matesich judged Dressage. Jane Lutz learns more about them and what they are looking for in the ring.

Q: For those who do not know you, tell us a bit about your career as a judge.

JM: Ive been judging since the summer of 91 and surpassed 700 shows as a career. I average 55 shows a year, Ive been doing this full time since 2004. I am able to judge all year round with wintering in Florida. My meat and potatoes is 4H and Youth shows.

KM: I have proudly served the United States Pony Club as a Regional Instruction Coordinator, Upper Level Camp Instructor, Dressage Ral-ly Judge, Rally Coach and local instructor. My current focus is the 4-H, where I proudly grew my roots. I serve Ohio 4-H as a Regular, PAS and Dressage Judge and am an elected member of the State 4-H Judges Advisory Committee. Every year I judge shows ranging from National Cham-pionships to county fairs, and love every minute of it. I have been teaching and training horses and riders for 25 years.

Q: What are the pros and cons of being a judge?

JM: The pro is the effect we have on the industry. Judges have an impact. You have to be a people person, it shows you can teach and educate to help people set goals and learn.

You have to have thick skin and you will always

have haters because only one person is happy about your placing. With social media, people can say I wont show with that judge again and it gets around. Some of my colleagues get raked across the coals sometimes. It can get tough.

KM: I judge horse shows because I can improve the lives of more horses and riders through the showpen than I ever could sitting in my own arena all day. What I have mastered is the way to reach the struggling riders; the art of compli-menting the rider enough so their defenses come down enough to allow them to listen, praising their horse and advocating for all 110% that that horse continually gives that rider, and then inspir-ing that rider to use the few pointers I throw their way to start down a path toward better equitation, and ultimately better horsemanship.

Some shows just dont want you talking to com-petitors. I dont judge for the money, I judge to help people. Giving someone a yellow ribbon as their feedback, just doesnt convey the whole message to my satisfaction. Chances are, I wont be back to that show.

Q: At Open Shows, how do you compare Standardbreds versus other breeds?

JM: It depends on if they are being shown trotting or gaited. Im judging them against their breed standard, how is their gait, how well are they put together. There needs to be better national rules or guidelines on breed standards. There needs to be a better guidelines or rules so judges know the standard of the breed without having to be familiar with the breed.

KM: I have owned a TWH, Arabian/QH, Trakeh-ner and an Icelandic. If you opened a book about

American horse breeds, I have trained most of those too. I just dont see breeds when I judge. Maybe this a bi-product of my dressage educa-tion, or perhaps showing Arabs in Quarter Horse country throughout my youth. For me, a good horse is a good horse is a good horse.

Q: At Standardbred Breed shows, with the Standardbred having such a variety of body types, is there a type you prefer? Do you have a preference between pacers or trotters?

JM: For me I like balance and athleticism, when Im looking at them on the ground, I want good bone and good correct movement. I like a good eye and head with intelligence.

KM: I watch a horses back. From there I fol-low their topline forward and back. I look for the swing through the haunches and how that energy connects into the bridle. Then I check ground cover, freedom of movement and stride. It seems that the horses I placed the highest at the 2014 World, were big boned horses, that had powerful ground covering strides at the trot AND coinci-dentally, could do a little gaiting as well if asked.

Q: Now to concentrate on the rider, does tack or dress of the rider ever come into play when placing?

JM: In a non costume class, yes, the over-all pic-ture is important. It has nothing to do with money, it is not the most expensive, but you need to look neat and orderly in the ring. You do get only one chance to make an impression so put the effort into the dress.

KM: No. I will say that it does not matter to me. But, I will also say someone who has taken great care to have well-fitted and cared for tack, will most likely also be on a fit, well cared for horse. Riders with neat hair and tidy appearance, will usually have attentive, detail oriented rides. Riders who come in with a genuine smile on their face and have fun, are most always on a horse telling me he is equally happy to be there. That shows. In fact it radiates. So, Id say it is pretty

easy to piece together the answer.

Q: What are your pet peeves in the show ring?

JM: Riders that school the entire time and they are constnatly training and not showing the horse off. Inexperienced riders on the rail cutting the corners and making smaller and smaller circles so they are closer to me. Riders who get buried on the rail or riders who are circling me. Riders need to train at home, the show is to show off the horse.Get experience riding at clinics. Show off the horses strengths and hide their weaknesses.

Q: Any tips for riders?

JM: The biggest is come in and have fun, if something bad happens, and it does, keep show-ing. Sometimes the horse spooks, or the horse breaks, or something happens, and the rider throws the towel in when they could have won the class. Try to keep the pressure off and if some-thing goes wrong, keep going, but look at what you can improve. Look at what went well, look at what works, and if it is patterns or a course and there is a mistake, keep trying to have fun and think about what you can do differently next time.It will allow for a better ride and better showing off of the horse.

KM: Do this for the right reason. Build the part-nership and the love will shine through.

Best of luck to everyone heading into the 2015 show season.

The 2015 National Standardbred Horse Show will be August 9th & 10th at the Horse Park of NJ. ++ Note that this a date change due to the Hambletonian race date being changed. ++

The 2015 World Standardbred Horse Show has been set for Oct. 16-18 in Sunbury, Ohio.

Derby SeasonDerby Season

Derby SeasonDerby Season

In Canada

My heart was in my throat just watching the horses from the rail. This is how Andy Marcoux describes his experience with the Derby Quebec. When an experienced parachute jumper says those words, you know the event is something special.

Marcoux has traveled to Quebec twice to compete in the exciting Derby, once with his own horse and once to drive a pair of Pierre Guillemettes Stan-dardbreds. When he speaks about the experience words like awesome and amazing pepper the conversation. Marcoux says the thing that abso-lutely impressed him the most was the speed.

The course is a combination of cones and hazards, all of which you and your horse(s) need to maneu-ver through without knocking any down. Before the competition drivers and grooms carefully walk the course (similar to how you would walk a jump-ing course) looking for areas where they may be able to shave 1/10 of a second off their time. They also inspect the specially groomed footing. All of the horses have studs in their shoes but the tightly packed snow still needs to be evaluated for slick spots.

Marcoux stresses that having a good course walk and a solid strategy in place are keys to having a competitive run. Most of the competitors and their horses will be at full speed the entire course, includ-ing the turns. The ultra-modern sleighs are spe-cially designed to hold a line well, eliminating much of the sliding a driver may experience with a more traditional sleigh. Because the sleighs stay with the horses so well, it is essential to plan your exit and entrance strategies. The driver must be think-ing several strides ahead at all times and the horse must be willing and able to bend through a hazard.

Pierre Guillemettes Standardbreds are driven year round to keep them in conditioon. They compete in combined driving events (driven dressage, cones and marathon) as well as Derby events. As the for-mer Standardbred Canada Chairman of the Board, Guillemette knows his Standardbreds and as a result he has consistently done well in national and international diving events.

Guillemette is not shy about sharing his horses ei-ther. In the development phase of Derby compe-tition international drivers were invited to compete using his horses - a kind of visiting driver program. In addition to Marcoux visitiing from the United

States, highly regarded European drivers like Harry de Ruyter and Edwin van der Graaf have had the opportunity to compete with Guille-mettes well trained Standardbreds.

Marcoux was initially surprised by the high level of skill demonstrated by horses and drivers. He is used to winning cones courses in the United States but found a winning time in the U.S. didnt translate into enough speed for Canada. Hed love to give it another shot though. Next time hed start training in the fall for the January-March Derby season.

Previous page photo: Edwin van der Graaf , former trainer in the Roy-al Stables of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, driving Guillemettes four-in-hand of STBs.

Photos: Pierre Guillemette driving Sophie (by Promessing Catch) and Maxima ( by Muscle Yankee) during competition in the St Agathe and St Hubert Derbies in pairs competition. In the red jacket is Harry de Ruyter, Netherland National coach for pair and 4-in-hand drivers including internationally know drivers Ijbrand Chardon, Koos de Ronde and Theo Timmerman. All photos graciously provided by Pierre Guillemette.

Three Rivers Carriage

Clubwelcomes

Charlie PoppeMay 9th

Charlie Poppe has been driving single, tandem, pair, uni-corn and four-in-hand for over forty years. Charlie has been an honorary director of the Carriage Association of America for 30 years. In addition to being a clinician he is a judge and carriage appraiser.

Lessons will be offered in half-hour increments Indoor arena and heated viewing area All breeds and driving levels are welcome Helmets are required Auditors are welcome

Location: SydMor Stables, 330 Gilkeson Rd, Eighty-four, PA 15330 (approximently 30 miles from Pittsburgh, PA; 10 miles from Washington, PA)

To register for lessons or sign up to be an auditor please visit www.ThreeRiversCarriageClub.com