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Indian Summer

BLOGS, MY STABLE LIFE September 30, 2010

Today I discovered that the phrase “Indian Summer” can mean either a period of dry, warm weather occurring in autumn. Or it can mean a period of happiness occurring late in life.

At age 31, I’m not really sure I’m at a late point in my life. But things are definitely happy around here. And warm, dry and beautiful. And despite that fact that the season of Fall has really just began, this may be one of the most stunning autumns I’ve ever lived through. With temperatures reaching 28 degrees C lately, this is what I would call an Indian Summer.

The shelter belt of trees behind our house.

Last night, J. Drummond Farms hosted our annual a Fall Feast: a gathering of our friends and family and a whole lot of delicious home-cooked food. Then, there was a big music jam session in the saloon. As life gets busy again for many of us over the course of the next couple of months, it was nice to sit back and enjoy everyone’s company. Clay and I leave today for Reno, Nevada to watch the National Reined Cow Horse Association Snaffle Bit Futurity and I may not be able to do many blog updates during this time. But I promise to take lots of pics and share them with you when I return.

I figure that by the time I return home on October 4, all the leaves will have fallen from the trees and I didn’t want to miss my chance to snap some pictures of them.

The fall harvest will likely be done as well. I will no longer hear the sound of large combines and sprayers driving past our house early in the morning, or coming in late at night.

It will probably be time to close the doors on the barns, to keep the horses from “hairing” up, prior to their showings at the year-end international events in November – where climates are much warmer at that time of year. (We are hearing that Reno is calling for record temperatures this weekend, as high as 38 degrees C…)

And who knows, the horses may even require winter turn-out blankets by the time we get back. I know I will certainly be packing a winter coat in my suitcase, for the trip home. Just in case it’s a pretty big shock to my system to come from 30+ temperatures, home. <smile>

Nonetheless, it’s always good to come home. If any of you want to share some beautiful images of autumn at your farms, by all means I’d love to share them with readers! Just email your images to me at: dkedit@telusplanet.net

And for those of you who are competing at the Canadian Supreme this week, good luck!

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WEG Post Comments

MY STABLE LIFE September 27, 2010

Duane Latimer & Dun Playing Tag. CREDIT: Kalina Rutledge, Equine Canada

As My Stable Life reported yesterday, the Canadian Reining Team, comprised of Duane Latimer, Shawna Sapergia and Vernon Sapergia, finished in fifth place at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG), which are being held in Lexington, KY September 25—October 10, 2010.

Latimer of Bienfait, SK, rode Dun Playin Tag, Lance Griffin’s Canadian-bred six-year-old Quarter Horse gelding, to a sixth place score of 223.00.

“We had a little tough luck when we lost one of our riders right off the bat in the jog, and that is hard to recover from,” said Latimer. “My horse went really well today. There are a few little improvements we can make, but I achieved my main goal, which was to make it to the individual final.”

Shawna Sapergia & This Chics On Top. CREDIT: Kalina Rutledge, Equine Canada

Shawna Sapergia of Cochrane, AB, and This Chics On Top, a seven-year-old bay Quarter Horse mare owned by Outrider Ranch Ltd, received a score of 218.00 to finish in 14th.

“My warm-up was excellent, and I was really happy with how my run went in the ring,” Sapergia. “I was hoping for a little higher score, but I guess that is how it goes.”

With no drop score, Canada had a team total of 652.50. Team gold went to the United States with 674.50. Belgium won silver with 659.00, and Italy was bronze with 655.50.

“The team worked really hard and Duane put everything into his round today. Unfortunately, it was not to be,” said chef d’équipe Wendy Dyer. “Now we are working toward the Individual Final. Duane and Shawna will be focusing on their best in order to make the podium. As a chef d’équipe, I could not have asked for a better team captain than Duane.”

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Day 2 Team Competition

BLOGS, MY STABLE LIFE September 26, 2010

Molly Sapergia and Alex get ready to watch Mom, Shawa Sapergia's ride. Shawna went on to score a 218.

The final tallies for the countries are in as Day 2 of the Team Competition at the World Equestrian Games in Lexington, KY, has concluded. USA won the Gold medal, Belgium won the Silver and Italy took home Bronze. Austria came in fourth place and Canada was fifth.

Two of our riders, Duane Latimer (score 223) and Shawna Sapergia (218) have secured themselves a top 15 placing and therefore, will get to run in the individual medal competition.

J.P Forget and Duane Latimer discuss strategy after the First Day.

Here is a quick note I received from Lance Griffin last night:

“The park here is huge and the walk from the main arena to the reining arena is a mile-and-a-half, so we are getting good at hitch hiking again on golf carts. But it helps a lot if we have Canadian flags with us as everyone seems to love the Canadians here!”

The opening ceremonies.

And here is a note I received from Lance at 2:27 pm today:

Team competition is over in Kentucky with the Americans winning again. They deserved the Gold medal, their performances were almost flawless and they deserve to be the winning team.

A huge congratulations to the Silver Medalists from Belgium, this is a huge accomplishment for such a small country. And a special mention goes to the father of Cira Baeck, one of the competitors.  Mr. Baeck has been a huge supporter of the sport of reining in Belgium and has been battling cancer, but seems to be doing well.

Italy placed third, Austria 4th and Canada 5th.

Both competitors today for Canada looked sharp, congratulations to them. The Team is invited to Winstar Farms tonight for the special Cowboy Gala. We are taking our grooms and companions. Will update you tomorrow.

- Lance Griffin

A welcome to the Canadians at the opening ceremonies.

RANK    /   NUMBER   /   NATION    /    RIDER      /    HORSE      / SCORE

1    345     USA       S. Flarida    RC Fancy Step    227.00
2    319     ITA        S. Massignan    Yellow Jersey    224.00
2    338     USA      T. McCutcheon    Gunners Special Nite    224.00
4    328     USA      C. Schmersal    Mister Montana Nic    223.50
4    323     BEL      B. Fonck    BA Reckless Chick    223.50
6    372     CAN      D. Latimer    Dun Playin Tag    223.00
7    381     AUT       R. Kronsteiner    Einsteins Revolution    221.00
7    310     GER       S. Rzepka    Doctor Zip Nic    221.00
9    341     USA       T. McQuay    Hollywoodstinseltown    220.50
9    309     GER      G. Ludwig    Hot Smokin Chex    220.50
11    355     AUT      M. Mühlstätter    Wimpys Little Buddy    219.50
11    324     BEL       A. Poels    Whizdom Shines    219.50
13    313     NED     R. Young-van Osch    Burnt Starlight    219.00
14    373     CAN     S. Sapergia    This Chics On Top    218.00
15    300     BRA     W. Teixeira    SJ Rodopio    217.00
15    375     AUS      M. Larcombe    Top Prize Prince    217.00
17    317     ITA        D. Carmignani    Red Chic Peppy    216.50
17    334     BRA      J. Lacerda    Remenic N Poco    216.50
17    348     MEX     J. Vazquez Hernandez    Wound By Juice    216.50
20    377     GBR      L. Rutter    Setting Off Sparks    216.00
20    321     BEL       C. Baeck    Peek A Boom    216.00
20    356     ISR        K. Ahisshar    Whiz N Lena Jac    216.00
23    331     NED      H. Heule    Crome Shiner    215.50
23    380     GBR      F. Sternberg    Slidin Like A Yankee    215.50
25    329     AUS       W. Backhouse    Whizs Bronze Star    215.00
25    320     ITA        N. Brunelli    Spat a Blue    215.00
27    349     MEX      A. Gonzalez Barragan    Custom Harley    214.00
28    378     GBR      D. Allen    Don Julio Whiz    213.50
29    343     DEN      J. McCabe    Starbucks Sidekick    213.00
29    357     AUT      M. Morawitz    Spin Me A Deal    213.00
29    327     FRA      G. Legrand    New Doc Peppy Cat    213.00
32    301     BRA      P. Koury Neto    Spin Zone Whiz    212.50
32    335     BRA     J. Salgado Filho    Leopardo do Infinito    212.50
32    342     MEX     R. Pacheco Cuevas    Topsail Command    212.50
32    315     AUT       D. Schulz    Laredo Whiz    212.50
36    337     ISR        Y. Suger    Strike Em Out    212.00
36    360     SWE      F. Thomsson    Gallos Stylish Star    212.00
38    374     CAN      V. Sapergia    Its Wimpys Turn    211.50
39    312     NED      A. van Grunsven    Whizashiningwalla BB    211.00
39    311     NED      F. Elzinga    Smoking Kills    211.00
41    303     IRL       O. Galligan    Whizardre N Starlite    210.50
41    332     DEN      A. Lau    Hollywood And Fine    210.50
41    314     DEN      S. Skovrider    Magnum Licorice Chic    210.50
44    366     AUS      S. Larcombe    Silver Benz    210.00
44    368     AUS      W. Schiller    Peptos I Brow    210.00
46    306     GER      E. Ernst    Legends Diamond Doc    209.00
47    326     FRA       A. Girinon    RS McJac Smoker    208.50
47    330     COL       H. Jimenez Reyes    Conquistador Lilstar    208.50
47    382     DOM       M. Orizondo    Tattoos Dun It    208.50
50    344     RSA        S. Borland    Ses Smart Star    207.00
51    350     MEX       A. Hawa Sarquis    Better Not Rest    206.50
51    361     SWE       I. Silverstolpe    Chexx A Roanie    206.50
53    322     BEL       J. Boogaerts    Gumpy Grumpy BB    205.00
54    325     FRA       P. Barret    Whizard Star    202.50
55    363     POL       B. Czarnik    Colonel Pepenator    200.50
56    362     DOM      F. Garrido    A Smart Enterprise    200.00
57    351     ESP         G. Recio Pezzi    Bonnies Smart Chic    194.50
58    305     GBR       T. Greaves    Jac Wonders Who    188.50
59    365     SWE       M. Goransson    Hey Houston    166.00
60    340     ITA       M. Ricotta    Smart And Shiney    .00
60    304     ESP      F. Cueto    A Real Hillbilly    .00
60    308     GER     N. Hörmann    Mister Dual Spring    .00
60    370     SWE     H. Hokkanen    Sailor In Command    .00

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The Scores So Far…

BLOGS, MY STABLE LIFE September 25, 2010

Vern Sapergia is the first rider to represent Canada on Reining Team Canada at the 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games. He has garnered a respectable score that moves him into 13th place at this point. Reports one of the Canadian horse owners, Terry Griffin, “The crowd welcomed Vern with huge cheers. His mare turned big and circled nice, but drug a lead. Her first stop was huge, the second stop was very nice and just a little weak on the last stop. Vern did a great job and I know he would have liked to do better.”

Rank /    Number /    Nation  /    Rider  /   Horse /   Score
1    319     ITA        S. Massignan    Yellow Jersey    224.00
2    328     USA     C. Schmersal    Mister Montana Nic    223.50
3    341     USA      T. McQuay    Hollywoodstinseltown    220.50
3    309     GER     G. Ludwig    Hot Smokin Chex    220.50
5    355     AUT      M. Mühlstätter    Wimpys Little Buddy    219.50
5    324     BEL      A. Poels    Whizdom Shines    219.50
7    377     GBR      L. Rutter    Setting Off Sparks    216.00
8    349     MEX     A. Gonzalez Barragan    Custom Harley    214.00
9    343     DEN     J. McCabe    Starbucks Sidekick    213.00
9    357     AUT     M. Morawitz    Spin Me A Deal    213.00
11    301     BRA    P. Koury Neto    Spin Zone Whiz    212.50
11    335     BRA    J. Salgado Filho    Leopardo do Infinito    212.50
13    374     CAN   V. Sapergia    Its Wimpys Turn    211.50
14    312     NED   A. van Grunsven    Whizashiningwalla BB    211.00
14    311     NED      F. Elzinga    Smoking Kills    211.00
16    303     IRL     O. Galligan    Whizardre N Starlite    210.50
17    366     AUS    S. Larcombe    Silver Benz    210.00
17    368     AUS    W. Schiller    Peptos I Brow    210.00
19    326     FRA    A. Girinon    RS McJac Smoker    208.50
20    350     MEX   A. Hawa Sarquis    Better Not Rest    206.50
21    322     BEL    J. Boogaerts    Gumpy Grumpy BB    205.00
22    363     POL    B. Czarnik    Colonel Pepenator    200.50
23    305     GBR    T. Greaves    Jac Wonders Who    188.50
24    365     SWE    M. Goransson    Hey Houston    166.00
25    340     ITA      M. Ricotta    Smart And Shiney    .00
25    304     ESP     F. Cueto    A Real Hillbilly    .00
25    308     GER    N. Hörmann    Mister Dual Spring    .00
25    370     SWE    H. Hokkanen    Sailor In Command    .00

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The Alternate Rider Question

MY STABLE LIFE September 24, 2010

With the setback experienced this morning at the 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games Jog Test for our Canadian Reining Team, we have learned that Canada will compete as planned, however with only 3 members as opposed to 4. This new development begged the question, “Well, don’t we have an alternate rider?” Via social networking –  you – our readers asked us exactly that.

Lance Griffin, owner of Dun Playin Tag, the horse that will be shown by Duane Latimer at WEG has kindly stepped up to offer us an answer:

Hi Everyone,
The reason for the lack of a fifth horse and rider is quite involved, but here it is.

Few people realize that all of the expenses for the horses and riders are paid for by the owners of the horses and while the rules allow for an alternate horse and rider,  just imagine being the owner of the fifth horse and paying about $17,000.00 to ship your horse and rider to Kentucky with only a remote chance for your horse to show. Almost impossible to imagine anyone doing this.

It is frankly just a lot of money to ask for with very little chance of you watching your horse show here and that is, in fact, after you have paid to send your horse to the national qualifier which this time was in Vancouver, BC.

As to the reasons for this being the process, you will have to ask Equine Canada and their Reining Committee.

Tonight the three remaining horses practiced for the final time prior to the games starting tomorrow and they all looked good. Only Vern Sapergia shows tomorrow and hopefully things go great for him.

More tomorrow after the show.

- Lance Griffin

If you want to catch some coverage on television from the World Equestrian Games, you can catch it on NBC at the following times:

Sunday, September 26 from 12:00pm-1:00pm ET
Sunday, Ooctober 3 from 1:00pm-4:00pm ET
Sunday, October 10 from 4:00pm-6:00pm ET

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Report from WEG

BLOGS, MY STABLE LIFE September 24, 2010

General view of the first reining Veterinary Inspection at WEG this morning. Credit: Kit Houghton/FEI

My Stable Life is back with a report on our Canadian Reining Team from the 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky. If you’ve been following along, you’ll have already read about the preliminary arrangements that were made to get our Canadian horses down to Kentucky and you will have caught a glimpse of Vern Sapergia at 5 am in the morning (if you didn’t see that one, check out the WEG Team Exclusive)

Team member Shawna Sapergia sent me this note on September 21:

“Well Mike, Alex and myself are officially on our way!! I talked to Dad and the horses are all doing well. Just adjusting to the heat. Seems it’s, oh about a mere 38 degrees warmer there in Kentucky then here – not including humidity.

The horses are leaving OK at 3:00pm today to travel through the night to arrive about 8:00 am, baring no complications.”

Then I received this message from one of our Canadian grooms, Christa Turel, on the eve of September 23:

“The weather is very hot and humid here. The horses are riding great, though! We just finished practice. Lisa and Vern are the first to ride on Saturday (25). Duanne and Shawna will go on Sunday (26). The grooms quarters are a long ways from the barns so Vanessa and I are getting a lot of exercise!”

(The grooms for Team Canada are Christa Turel, Samantha Griffin and Vanessa Strotman.)

“Things are very structured here. You need ID to get around everywhere because it’s very tight security. We are stabled with only reiners so unfortunately, we don’t get to socialize with the other disciplines. The horses are under fans and they have been getting electrolytes (to compensate for the heat). The grooms also need a steward to accompany us as we hand walk the horses out to the grass.”

Anky Van Grunsven (NED) with Whizashingwalla BB at the first Veterinary Inspection. Credit: Kit Houghton/FEI

This morning, all reining competitors and their horses underwent the FEI Jog test at 8 am, Kentucky time. I received this note from Terry Griffin at 9:55 am, September 24:

“Sad news for the Canadian Reining Team this morning. The Team is really going to miss Lisa Coulter and Western Whiz. Fortunately the Team can compete as 3. We are awaiting how this affects our Team for the order of go, which we will know this afternoon. We will update you with the draw when we have it.”

Since the Canadian Reining Team will compete as only 3 members, this simply means all of our scores will count now. There will be no low score to drop. Stay tuned to My Stable Life for more updates from the World Equestrian Games. Tomorrow will feature the Opening Ceremonies where Canadian Paralympian, Lauren Barwick of Aldergrove, BC, has been chosen as the flag bearer for the Canadian Equestrian Team.

Barwick, riding her horse Maile, a 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare, won the individual gold and individual silver medal at the 2008 Paralympic Games in para-dressage. A two-time Paralympian, Barwick was also named as the 2004 Equine Canada Equestrian of the Year based on her outstanding accomplishments at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, GRE.

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Equine Comic Relief

BLOGS, MY STABLE LIFE September 23, 2010

Hey folks if you have a few minutes to kill, check out these hilarious television commercials developed specifically to promote the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky this September 25 to October 10. There’s only 1 more day to go and we are looking forward to updates from our Canadian Reining Team. Stay tuned to My Stable Life!

This one’s for the reiners:

This one’s for those who like surprises:

And this one’s for all the guys out there:

Cheers!

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Mare Care

BLOGS, MY STABLE LIFE September 22, 2010

This year has absolutely flown by and nothing drew my attention to that fact more than when I realized we had 3 mares already due for their 5th month EHV-1 vaccinations. Could it really be? Are they seriously in their second trimesters already??

Guess so.

Organizing – and keeping up with – a vaccination schedule for a large group of horses is a big chore. There’s much more than just the annual doses of EEE / WEE / tetanus / influenza / Strangles / and West Nile Virus to look after. In southern Saskatchewan, Rabies is a big concern. And with each new crop of foals coming up every year, there are boosters to keep in mind. Not to mention the frequent rotational dewormings required for a herd of 40 horses (this year we got even more aggressive with parasites by collecting fecal samples from many of our herd – this allowed us to have fecal egg counts done by one of our veterinarians and really combat our farm’s parasites accordingly.)

All that aside, there are then the specific needs of our broodmares to keep in mind. Proper nutrition, dental care and farrier work are essential to the health of the broodmare. And in my opinion, it is absolutely vital to protect broodmares (and unborn foals) from Equine Herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1). According to www.foalcare.ca, the “EHV-1 strain of Equine Herpesvirus is the leading cause of infectious viral abortions in mares. EHV-1 is typically associated with late-term abortions and the delivery of a well-preserved fetus and outwardly normal placenta. Most horses become infected with EHV-1 during the first year of life. In the majority of cases, the virus becomes latent, just waiting for stress-induced reactivation. Sources of infection for pregnant broodmares include: clinically ill horses shedding the virus in nasal secretions; asymptomatic horses experiencing reactivation of latent infection; or virus laden uterine secretions and placenta/fetus from mares aborting due to EHV-1.”

My 3 most important tools to protect the health of our broodmare herd.

There are 3 very important things that I keep in the barn to help us organize and safeguard the health of our broodmares. These include:

1) Breeding Management & Foal Development textbook from Equine Research. This book features 700 pages of vital information for anyone who is serious about equine breeding and production.

Pneumabort-k vaccines.

2) Equine Pneumabort-k Vaccines – This is a killed (or inactive) vaccine from Fort Dodge designed to prevent abortion in horses. It is given IM at the 5th, 7th and 9th months of pregnancy and does not present any risk to the fetus.

My Mare Care wheel.

3) Mare Care Wheel – This handy little wheel is possibly one of the greatest things I’ve ever picked up! First off, it was free from Foal Care (an Intervet program) and it has been an aboslute lifesaver. With anywhere from 7-11 mares to care for every year, keeping all those vaccination dates on track has proven to be one of the trickiest aspects of herd management. This wheel literally, spells it out for me. I simply spin the wheel to the mare’s breeding date (we take careful notes every time an ultrasound is performed in our breeding lab, therefore there are no mistakes for discerning a last known breeding date) and this starts the vaccination process for each individual mare.

Next, the wheel will point out the dates for the mare’s 1st, 2nd and 3rd vaccinations for EHV-1. It also tells me a 15-day window to organize the mare for her pre-foaling booster vaccinations (which stimulate the mare to produce high levels of protective antibodies at a time during late pregnancy when she is also producing antibody-rich colostrum.)

Then I record the wheel’s dates and print up a document for each mare accordingly. These documents (as below) are then kept in the mare’s individual medical file at the barn, so I can record every time something is administered to her.

The great thing about my Mare Care wheel is that is also provides me with a 340-day guesstimate from the mare’s last known breeding date. Hence, I have a pretty good idea as to when the mare will foal out. Of course, there is no exact science to predicting a mare’s due date but we usually come pretty close. And because we watch each mare’s signs and behavior closely as the wheel’s predicted date approaches, we are usually present during her parturition.

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High Roller Wins for Beckley

BLOGS, MY STABLE LIFE September 21, 2010

Jesse Beckley aboard Mizzen Whizzen.

Congratulations are in order for our fellow reining friend, Jesse Beckley of Cranbrook, BC, for his fantastic performance at the 2010 High Roller Reining Classic in Las Vegas this past September 12-18!

Beckley and Mizzen Whizzen, a mare owned by Marilyn Copland of Victoria, BC, took home the Intermediate Open and Limited Open Derby Reserve Championship. Mizzen Whizzen (Smart Chic Olena x Mizzen Topsail) scored a 222 with over 50 entries to contend against.

To watch the video, check out:

Plus, riding Juanna Big Chex in her second outing as a 3-year-old, Beckley captured 8th place in the Open Futurity at the High Roller Classic, 5th place in the Intermediate Open Futurity and 4th place in the Ltd Open Futurity. Their score was 218.5. Juanna Big Chex, or “Chexy” as she is known in the Beckley barn is sired by Bueno Chexinic and out the mare, Juanna Shine.

Chexy was the only Canadian entry in this prestigious event and she is truly a Canadian bred, raised and trained mare.

To see Chexy’s video, check out:

Way to go guys!

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