NEWS

The Southern Saddlebred Spring Fling horse show will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this year with a Welcome Reception at Nearest Green Distillery, a new affiliation with the American Dutch Harness Horse Association, and the continuation of Concurrent Classes. Nothing goes with horses quite like history and whiskey, and the Nearest Green Distillery brings all three into focus. Every bit of this 323-acre, four-phase, $50 million build-out is a master class in storytelling and history-making. On Tuesday evening, April 19, attendees are invited to enjoy a free mini-tour, tastings and light fare, all sponsored by Helen Rich and Ali DeGray. Spring Fling has been selected as a qualifying show for th

In memory of Alex Mooney, The Grand National & World Championship Morgan Horse Show will award a minimum of $5,000 annually for undergraduate Academic Scholarships and/or Professional Development. Criteria and the Application Form can be found at www.morgangrandnational.com and www.morganhorse.com The application deadline is June 30, 2022. Recipients will be notified by September 1. The winner or winners will be recognized at The Grand National & World Championship

The American Saddlebred Horse & Breeders Association Horse Show Grant application period for the 2022 season is open and the application submission deadline is March 31, 2022. The application is HERE. ASHBA Horse Show Grants are available for financially challenged American Saddlebred competitions. Minimum grant requirements must be met in order to receive a grant. Maximum grant amount per show in a calendar year is up to $5,000.   “ASHBA is committed to helping support and grow shows at all levels,” said ASHBA Executive Director David Mount. "We strive to increase our

The American Saddlebred Association of the Carolinas held its annual convention and awards banquets February 4-5, 2022. The event was held at a new location and format with Academy and Performance awards having their own banquets. Legacy Stables & Events in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, hosted both banquets and the annual membership meeting. A former Saddlebred training barn and academy powerhouse, Legacy has undergone a significant transformation into a fantastic special events and wedding venue. ASAC's recap noted the huge hole created by the passing of two longtime ASAC leaders. Sandra Hall, for whom ASAC’s distinguished service award is named. Sandra personified service to a

The American Saddlebred Museum has announced its schedule of upcoming special events for the year. Save the dates and be looking for more information to come. April 8:  Victory Pass Raffle Drawing at 1 p.m. at the American Saddlebred Museum. Tickets are now available at https://raffle.asbmuseum.org/ for a prize package to the World’s Championship Horse Show. TBA: Grand Reopening of the American Saddlebred Museum. Be on the lookout for information about the highly anticipated reopening celebration of the newly renovated History Wing.  July TBA: NEW EVENT Vintage Book Sale: Drop by to shop a selection

The 2022 World’s Championship Horse Show will be held August 20-27, 2022, at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Top Saddlebred horses, Hackney/Harness ponies and Roadster horses and ponies will be competing in Freedom Hall in their respective divisions. Judging all divisions this year will be: Rob Byers, Simpsonville, Ky.; Nelson Green, Nicholasville, Ky.; Kelly Hulse, Columbia, Missouri; John T. Jones, Versailles, Ky., and John Warner, Upton, Ky. For more information and updates visit wchorseshow.com. -- via WCHS

Bid Virtually Through Auxiliary Auction – LIVE NOW Indianapolis, IN, February 9, 2022 – The All American Cup would like to thank all who attended the AAC Stallion Showcase & Auction. It was an amazing evening, celebrating some of the best horses in our industry, and generating $150,000 (and counting!) in prize money for the AAC 2023 Weanling and 2026 Three Year Old classes! Back by popular demand, we are pleased to offer a secondary virtual stallion auction, live NOW at: 

The American Morgan Horse Association Youth Teams program is an annual competition designed to facilitate teamwork throughout barns and horse friends, while helping to educate and familiarize youth with the Morgan horse. To compete in the 2022 competition year (which, for the Teams, runs January 1 through December 31), a team must be registered with AMHA by March 31, 2022. The Teams Application Form is included in the downloadable Program Guide HERE. The Guide also includes everything needed to form a Team. For assistance, contact Nikki Scovotti at 

The 2022 American Saddlebred Horse & Breeders Association Half American Saddlebred Futurity Stallion Service Sale continues to offer a secondary sale to raise money for the new ASHBA Half Saddlebred Futurity program. Thirty-three stallion services from American Saddlebred, Dutch Harness, & Hackney Horses are available at starting price of $500. All money raised will be contributed to the ASHBA Half Saddlebred Futurity prize money program. 2022 Stallion Service Secondary Sale Catalog All purchases can be made through the ASHBA office by calling P

The American Morgan Horse Association's Recognized Clubs are reminded to send in their Club Renewals by February 15, 2022. The application may be found HERE. For questions or assistance, contact Nikki Scovotti at (859) 448-5109 or nicole@morganhorse.com. -- via AMHA

The American Morgan Horse Association's Open Competition Program recognizes Morgans competing in 34 different facets of equine competition based on eight core activities: open shows, competitive trail riding and driving, endurance trail riding, dressage, carriage driving and combined driving events, working western, western dressage, and eventing. Whether a competitor performs sliding stops with ease or road trots to glory, the Open Competition Program has a division for everyone.  Competitions already are in progress for 2022. Members who want to participate in the AMHA Open Competition Program need to submit an application. Returning participants are reminded that a new application

US Equestrian has launched an expansion of the USEF Safe Sport and Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policy (MAAPP) campaign with important video messages from US Equestrian President Tom O’Mara and USEF General Counsel, Sonja Keating. The new videos reinforce US Equestrian’s ongoing commitment to creating and maintaining a welcoming, safe, enjoyable, and supportive environment for all, especially children and their families. One of the videos is specifically dedicated to creating awareness of the newly amended MAAPP which took effect January 1, 2022. The video conveys the polices developed to limit one-on-one interactions between adults and minors, now apply both on and off competition grounds. These policies are

Below are the highlights from the American Morgan Horse Association Board of Directors First Quarter Meeting, which took place in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday, January 5, 2022. Meeting Minutes: Meeting minutes from the meeting held on December 6, 2021, were approved, and will be posted shortly for review on the Members Only side of the website HERE.  (Minutes are posted to this web page once they are formally approved by the BOD or the corresponding committee.) President’s Report: President Lee expressed a big “thank you” to all for a phenomenal 2021! He truly appreciates everyone’s hard work in making it a great year.

The American Hackney Horse Society has announced the results for its 2022 Board of Directors election. Amanda Ellis, Chris Gantley, Amber Kildow, Maureen Quackenbush and Matthew Schukert will begin their term with the association on March 11. -- via AHHS

The 2022 All American Cup Stallion Auction has changed venue to Lead Way Farm in Simpsonville, Kentucky. It will be held this Saturday, January 22. Due to unforeseen circumstances, including space limitations at Undulata with the recent COVID surge, The All American Cup has made the difficult decision to relocate Saturday’s event from Undulata Farm, to a significantly larger venue at Lead Way Farm. Organizers' primary concern is the safety of both people and horses, and with the recent COVID surge, combined with space limitations for guests and presenting stallions, they have relocated to last year’s venue, Lead Way Farm (1630 Todds Point Road, Simpsonville). The new venue will provide a

The American Morgan Horse Association's applications for 2022 Star Show Rating are now available on the AMHA website. The cost is $50 to enroll a show. Star-rated competitions will qualify the first through fourth place horses in all-Morgan classes for the Grand National & World Championship Morgan Horse Show, and exhibitors will earn points towards the year-end Star Awards. For more information, contact Nikki Scovotti at (859) 448-5109 or nicole@morganhorse.com. For the 2022 Star Rating Application, Star Rating Guidelines, and more, click HERE. -- via AMHA

The American Hackney Horse Society's 2022 Limited Breeder's Sweepstakes Grand Event Weekend will be held in Shelbyville, Kentucky, March 11-12. Organizers are planning an exciting, informative and entertaining weekend highlighted by the annual general membership meeting, and the main event, the Limited Breeder's Sweepstakes Stallion Auction. More details will be released soon. -- via AHHS

The American Saddlebred Horse & Breeders Association members are reminded to nominate their 3-year-old (foaled in 2018) for the Bill Wise Four-Year-Old Sweepstakes classes at the 2022 Kentucky State Fair World’s Championship. Any registered 4-year-old (foaled in 2018), not originally nominated to the ASHBA Bill Wise Four-Year-Old Sweepstakes, may be nominated for a one-time payment of $5,000. The payment and nomination form must be received or postmarked and mailed on or before January 31, 2022 (there will be no grace period).  An ASHBA Bill Wise Four-Year-Old Sweepstakes “buy-in” nomination form is available to download 

The Iowa Limited Breeders' Auction is hosting its online stallion service auction January 30, 2022. Stallions are coming in quickly and want to be on board for the 2022 Iowa Limited Breeders' Auction. Follow the progress and stay up to date at www.iowafuturity.com and on the organization's Facebook page Iowa Futurity. Last year, the auction topped $40,000. In 2022, tthere is a new buyers credit for anyone who has not bought a stallion service through the Iowa Limited Breeders' Auction in the last five years. Those interested in adding a stallion or have questio

Any registered 3-year-old (foaled in 2019) not originally nominated to the American Saddlebred Horse & Breeders Association's National Three-Year-Old Futurity in the foaling year, may be nominated for a one-time payment of $5,000. This payment must be received or postmarked and mailed on or before January 31 of the horse’s 3-year-old year, (there will be no grace period). If the sire and/or dam were not nominated, an additional fee of $100 for the sire nomination and $25 for the dam nomination must also be paid by the above-mentioned deadline.  A “buy-in” nomination form is available to download here. In

The American Saddlebred Horse & Breeders Association's 2022 ASHBA Half American Saddlebred Futurity Stallion Service Auction presentation will be held Saturday, January 22, 2022, at Sunrise Stables in Versailles, Kentucky. ASHBA kicks off the new year by hosting more than 60 top stallions from American Saddlebreds, Dutch Harness Horse, Hackney Horse and more. Everyone is invited to join this  auction, scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday morning. To inquire about stallions and the auction, contact Melissa Moore (859-873-9129 or 859-533-6225), Sandy Currier (832-244-5051), or Rick Wedel (812 204-7700). -- via ASHBA

The application period for the American Morgan Horse Association 2022 Breed Promotion Grants is coming to a close soon. The deadline to submit applications is Friday, January 21, 2022, by 5 p.m. Eastern time. The application can be found HERE. AMHA offers these grants to any AMHA club, organized Morgan group, Morgan barn, or AMHA-affiliated organization (individuals are not eligible) to assist in their promotion of the Morgan horse. At least one member of the applying party must be a current AMHA member and all horses involved must be registered Morgans for the application to be considered. Please

The application period for the 2022 American Morgan Horse Association Competition (Show) Grants is coming to a close soon. To be considered for a show grant, all grant requirements must be met and a complete application submitted. Please see the application for requirement details HERE. The deadline to submit an application is Friday, January 21, 2022, by 5 p.m. Eastern Time.  Each year, 5 percent of the net proceeds from the AMHECT/World Morgan Futurity Stallion Service Auction is available for this grant program to assist financially challenged Morgan competitions. The maximum grant per sh

The American Morgan Horse Association reminds breeders that 2021 Stallion Service Reports must be postmarked by January 15, 2022, to avoid late filing fees, and to please be sure in include payment with your submission. Click HERE for the Stallion Service Report and rules. Click HERE for the revised fee structure. Questions should be directed to the Registry Department at (802) 985-4944: Erica at ext. 301 or erica@morganhorse.com; Susan at ext. 303 or susan@morganhorse.com; Lisa at ext. 305 or lisa@morganhorse.com. -- via AMHA

The American Morgan Horse Association held its 2022 Annual Meeting of Members and Election on January 6, 2022, in Orlando, Florida. AMHA welcomes two new directors to the Board: Ashleigh Wood (Eastern Region) and Sharon Boyce Bender (Western Region). Incumbent Harlan Grunden was re-elected to the Central Region. Officers elected for 2022 are: CA Lee III, president; Kelly Kraegel, vice president; and Steven Handy, vice president of Finance. AMHA offers its deepest thanks to the outgoing Directors Kate Kirsch (Eastern Region and Vice-President of Finance) and Mari Sanderson (Western Region) for their years of service to the Board. And, congratulates Mari for being named an AMHA Board Emeritus. V

On January 6, 2022, the American Saddlebred Museum held its Annual Meeting at the United Professional Horsemen's Association Conference in Orlando, Florida. More than 30 people attended the meeting, both in-person and via Zoom. Board of Trustees President Mark Strong led the meeting.  The Treasurer’s report from Mary Jane Kirkpatrick reported that the ASM’s operating expenses were flat last year, due to the receipt of PPE Loans and their being forgiven. The gift shop reported the best November to date. Mark Strong reported that Covid was difficult for the Museum, but staff worked behind the scenes to ensure 2022 will be a strong year. As an example, the Hist

The American Hackney Horse Society has announced that the association's annual general membership meeting will be held on Saturday, March 12, in Shelbyville, Kentucky. The meeting will be held in conjuntion with the AHHS Limited Breeders Sweepstakes Stallion Auction and Grand Event. More details will be released in the coming weeks. -- via AHHS

United Professional Horsemen's Association's Chapter 5 is hosting a Casino Night & Clinic Fundraiser, February 25-26 in Lenexa, Kansas, at Fire Stables. The Fundraiser will include a Young Professionals horse presentation, awards banquet, clinic with world-renowned trainers and instructors Todd, Lesley and Macey Miles, and a Casino Night to celebrate. For those who can not attend, a donation means so much to the organizers, as it goes to the local chapter’s professional development and growth. The UPHA Chapter V Horse Show also is taking on a new life this year; it will be held at the National Equestrian Center in Lake St Louis. The hope is that the fundraiser also

UPHA Chapter 14 Spring Premiere will celebrate its 40th anniversary in April 2022, and to honor this milestone, the chapter is bringing back its iconic symphony event. Raye Lynn Mercer will produce the show, which will feature the 35-piece Best Of Boston Orchestra and guest star, Disney’s and Broadway’s Josh Strickland. The Symphony of Horses will take place Friday evening, April 22, 2022, in the Eastern States Coliseum, in West Springfield, Massachusetts. The UPHA Spring Premiere Horse Show will begin on Tuesday night of that week, and no classes will be held on Friday so the ring can be prepared for the evening’s star-studded show. “We at Chapter 14 are excited to have a p

The American Saddlebred Museum has announced that Hannah Broughton of Lexington, Kentucky, is the recipient of the Keith Bartz Impact Scholarship Award. The scholarship committee chose Broughton from an outstanding group of nominees. The scholarship celebrates the life of Keith Bartz who focused his time, talent and resources on building the American Saddlebred Museum and the celebration of the American Saddlebred Horse. The recipient is an individual who exemplifies the same character and enthusiasm for the breed.  Hannah plans to attend Georgetown College in Georgetown, Ky., in the fall. In addition to her academic studies, Hannah is closely involved with her own barn, Brannon Stables, being a catch

The American Saddlebred Museum has announced that tickets are now available for its 28th Annual Victory Pass Raffle. The Victory Pass Raffle is an exciting chance to win a premium package to the World’s Championship Horse Show in Louisville, Kentucky. The drawing will be held April 8, 2022, at 1 p.m. at the American Saddlebred Museum.     Each $10 ticket is the chance to win a prize package including:  8 Nights Convenient Hotel accommodations ($2,100 value) 4 Lower Level Box Seats for every performance ($1,200 value) Golf Cart Rental for the week ($500 value) A VIP Parking Pass for the week Two tickets to the Museum’s annual WCHS

The American Saddlebred Horse & Breeders Association has announced the addition of Morgan King as its development manager. In this role, she will be leading the fundraising, sponsorship and grant application efforts.  Morgan comes to the association after spending her life serving the American Saddlebred. The breed has been her passion since childhood and it has provided a fantastic community for her to foster her professional career. Through her years as a respected competitor and sales representative at National Horseman, she forged a tremendous reputation in the industry in and out of the ring.  "I am looking forward to giving back to a community that has given me so much," said M

The 2022 USEF Annual Meeting is set to take place January 13-15, in Naples, Florida. In addition to the in-person meetings being held in Naples, USEF is offering members the opportunity to join several informational sessions which will be held virtually via Zoom during the week of the Annual Meeting. These webinars will introduce attendees to some of the diverse breeds and disciplines that are part of the USEF community. Attendance to these webinars is free, but registration is required. Friesian Health and Wellness
The Friesian webinar will delve into the care and importance of the health and wellness of the Friesian breed. There also will be a brief description of the Friesian breed and affiliate, the Interna

The new Florida Horse Show Circuit's mission offers a series of equestrian competitions throughout Florida that attract remarkable exhibitor talent.  The first shows are scheduled: Feb. 5-6, 2022 - Florida State Fairgrounds, Tampa, Fla. April 24, 2022 - Grand Oaks Resort, Ocala, Fla. Other dates will be announced for September, October and possibly November. The circuit's key goals include: Give trainers additional options to market shows with their clientele Show calendar dates not requiring clients to miss work or school Casual and easy set ups for barn staff Schooling and preparation time for larger shows