R12 Sept 2013 Newsletter

exz|ÉÇ DE fxÑàxÅuxÜ axãáÄxààxÜ Ed i to r : Janet Sea r l s

Content Management : V i c to r i a Thom as

Points of Interest:

The Story of Missy and

Zhar

R12 Youth Sydney

Landers bringing home

the Roses in Style!

Newsletter Deadline—

15th of the Month—

NEW

Inside this issue:

Sport Horse Nationals

Feature!

2-5

Spotlight Director Announcement

8-9

2014 Spotlight Program Update

10

Future Events 16

Volume 13, Issue 9 September 2013

Proud to be a Part of Region 12

I am one of those people that have been lucky enough

in life to be given a chance to work on projects that I

am head over heels in love with and for me, that has

been working on projects that help share my love for

the Arabian Horse with the outside world. Getting this

newsletter ready to be released has been a delightful

task this past few weeks, to be able to gather

information that can be shared with our readers, real

life stories about people who are our members that

have made that incredible journey alongside their Ara-

bian horses, whether it be to the Youth Nationals in Tul-

sa, Oklahoma or perhaps the Sport Horse Nationals

held in Lexington, Virginia. Each of the members that

have been submitted information, is to be commended

for all of their hard work and sacrifices that they have made along the way.

The other subject that I do want to spend time on, is how this region appreciates

all of the people that are willing to volunteer their time. Without the folks that

step forward to run our regional horse show and the rest of the programs that our

region offers to our membership, we just could not do what we do each year. It is

simply amazing what each of these talented people bring to the table each year!

For those of you out there, that love the Arabian horse and want to find a way to

get more involved on a regional basis, please send me an email or give me a call.

You just might be pleasantly surprised!

Our next newsletter will feature the US National Show, please send in your stories!

Don’t be a stranger,

Janet Searls

757-435-7480

[email protected]

Editorial by: Janet Searls, Region 12 Vice Director

mailto:[email protected]

Region 12 September 2013 Newsletter Page 1

This year Region 12 made an incredibly strong showing at the Sport Horse Nationals in Lexington Va. One of the big wins of this was Mai Nevaeh: 2013 National Champion HA/AA Sport Horse 2 year old fillies & Sport Horse Supreme Champion 2 year old. Mai Nevaeh is owned and bred by Sally Shaw of Citra Florida, and has an incredible history behind her.

Early evening of May 17th, 2011 a foal was born who was the 3rd generation of fillies owned by Sally Shaw. Sally had campaigned this filly’s Grand Dam, Mai Patty Melt+, taking her to US Nationals many times and sev-eral of which she would tie for Reserve Champion HA Halter Mare but would lose the tie breakers. February 25th 1997, Mai Patty Melt foaled a beautiful filly out of GS Khochise, naming her Mai Na-khoma (aka)“Khozy”. Khozy started her show career and did very well in both Sport Horse and Dressage. Khozy was Region 12 Champion HA Mare Sport Horse in Hand several times. “Khozy’s” show record took her to several Sport Horse Nationals Top Tens under Saddle & HA Sport Horse in hand.

In 2010 Sally started looking for a Stallion to bred to “Khozy” and that was VMA Khahpur Khopi ++++// who had already done well at several Sport Horse Nation-als earning such titles as National Champion Arabian Sport Horse Stallion Open and ATH, Reserve National Champion Arabian Sport Horse Under Saddle JR Horse, mul-tiple Top Tens in Sport Horse in Hand, Under Saddle, and Dres-sage. He was also Supreme Cham-pion twice, once in 2007, and again in 2009. And was the Sport Horse National Payback Super Stallion in 2007 and the Reserve Champion Super Stallion in 2009.

This cross worked very well and with the expert training of Eric Wolfe and the show handling of Larry Jones Mai Neveah is now the 2013 National Champion HA 2 year old filly & Supreme Sport Horse 2 year old. Like father like daughter.

Region 12 Making its Presence be Felt at the Sport Horse Nationals!

Her sire, VMA Khahpur is a two time Supreme National Champion, as

well as a Multi National Champion in Sport Horse in Hand, Under Sad-

dle, and Dressage. This year at the 2013 Sport Horse Nationals he had

many winning offspring. Mai Nevaeh was one, earning her National

Championship and Supreme Championship. Also in the winners circle

was CL Khahpur’s Fanci (Khahpur Khopi x Halo De Carolina) who

earned a Top Ten in the HA/AA Sport Horse Under Saddle JR Horse,

CL Khahpur Penny (Khahpur Khopi x Rohara Alexandria) who earned a

Top Ten in the Arabian Sport Horse Yearling Fillies, and AL Khasslus

Khlay who earned a Top Ten in the HA Sport Horse Yearling Colts/

Geldings. This makes Khahpur Khopi a sire of two National Champions now, One Supreme Champion and

four National Top Ten winners as well as many winners at Region 12.

He also earned a Reserve National Championship in Arabian Second Level Dressage with a score of 69% at

Nationals this year, as well as a Top Ten (3rd) in the Arabian Sport Horse Show Hack ATR, and a Top Ten in

the A/HA/AA Third Level Dressage ATR.

All of his offspring at this years Sport Horse Nationals were born and raised in Region 12. Khahpur Khopi

himself was born and raised in Region 12 and has won numerous Region 12 titles in sport horse and dressage.

Region 12 made a strong showing at this years SHN both with horses that were bred and raised in Region 12

as well as horses that were trained in Region 12, proving yet again that Region 12 is a highly competitive Re-

gion full of national winners.


Centerline Sport Horse SHN Curtains


Page 3

Three Oaks Arabians & Training Center Sport Horse Nationals Results

-Rohara Marserati (Owned by Kelli Bennett) - Top 10 Arabian Sport Horse Under Saddle, Top 10 Arabian Sport Horse Under Saddle AOTR

-HS HeartNSoul (owned by Lynn Daniel-Glover) - Top 10 HA/AA Sport Horse Mares In-Hand

-MSU Starta Legacy (Owned by Kelli Bennett) - Top 10 Arabian Sport Horse Geldings In-Hand, Top 10 Arabian Sport Horse Geldings In-Hand ATH, Top 10 Arabian First Level Dressage AAOTR

-MSU Start Again (Owned by Kelli Bennett) - Top 10 Ara-bian Sport Horse Gelding In-Hand, Top 10 Arabian Sport Horse Geldings In-Hand ATH

-Hall That Glytters (Owned by Kelli Bennett or Jackie Ed-monds) - Reserve National Champion HA/AA 2yr Old Sport Horse Geldings In-Hand

-Josiahs Showstopper (Owned by Pam Burrows) - National Champion Arabian 2yr Old Sport Horse Colts In-Hand (Congratulations to Tracy Lord of Augusta, GA on purchasing this colt at the Sport Horse Nationals!)

-Josiahs Elegant Comet (Owned by Pam Burrows) - Top 10 Arabian 2yr Old Sport Horse Fillies In-Hand

-Kelli Bennett—Top 10 Hunt Seat Equitation Not-To-Jump ATR


GF Boom (Owned by Robin Ginn) and shown by Bob Bennett Jr.

HA/AA Yearling Sport Horse Colt/Gelding In-Hand Champion

Three Oaks Arabians (Bob and Kelli Bennett)

SHN Curtains

Hall That Glytters (Owned by Kelli Bennett and Jackie Edmonds)

and shown by Bob Bennett Jr.

Reserve Champion HA/AA 2yr Old Sport Horse Geldings In-Hand

Region 12 September 2013 Newsletter


(above) GM Major Soho (owned by Pam Hardin)

and Melanie Mitchell (trainer) - Top 10 in

Arabian Dressage First Level and Arabian

Dressage Second Level

(left)

Lynn Daniel-Glover, from

Warnen

Robberies, GA

and Psyches

Magic BA+// -

Top 10 in Arabian

Dressage

Training Level

Champ—ATR

(4th)

(Left) TG Paraguay+

with Owner Han-

nah Pace and her

mom, Janice Pace

(best ‘Bun maker’ in

Region 12) from Birmingham Ala-

bama enjoying the

beautiful Virginia

Horse Center

(Right)

Julie Lotz and

her mare, HH Vallerina after

making the first

cut in Arabian

Sport Horse

under Saddle,

ATR

Monti Hight and Psyches Magic BA+// (owned by Lynn Daniel-Glover) - Arabian Dressage Training Level Champ—Top 10


Page 5


(Above) From left: Maryann Laferriere, Megan Poston, Madison

Dwyer, Winston Dwyer, Krystal Villanova

(Above) Winston Dwyer with SWA Barberry

Bey after winning the PB SH Show Hack—Open

Class


Region 12 Sport Horse Contacts:

Lynn Glover—[email protected]—478-955-3030

Marie Taylor—[email protected]—804-314-5216

If you are looking for additional information about this

incredible division or if you are just looking to get more

involved, please be sure to reach out to them!

mailto:[email protected]?subject=Region%2012%20Sport%20Horse%20Info

mailto:[email protected]?subject=Region%2012%20Sport%20Horse%20Info

Missy Snyder and the story of Zhar

By: Missy Snyder

“You can ride that Arabian standing out there in that field with the cows,” said the older country guy wearing overalls. “Nobody never messes with him.” I stared out into a massive field and saw a small dark gelding under a lone tree gently swishing flies. He was near a herd of cows and in the distance there were some paints and quarter horses. I had recently moved to the Midwest town and missed my horse on my parents’ farm back home in Georgia. After asking around, someone mentioned visiting this ranch to see if anyone needed a horse exercised. I didn’t have much mon-ey but thought someone might need help, while giving me my horse fix.

I agreed to take a peek at this gelding in the cow field and went out to

meet him. His name was Zalezhar Halima, or “Zhar”. He had big pretty

eyes, was calm and SMALL. However, there was something about him

that was also just plain sad. His coat was dull and filthy and his mane was

knotted. After inquiring about his story, it turned out his owner had pur-

chased him as a youngster for fun, because he had a lot of money and

thought it would be of great notoriety to “own an Arabian”. He said short-

ly after his owner bought him, he had a cowboy break him. He had given

up on training him when the cowboy informed him that “this horse is just too stupid and too lazy to cut cows.” So he was then a pasture ornament.

His owner also had Clydesdales and was increasingly more interested in parades with them, so there sat Zhar. I didn’t have a thing to lose so I start-

ed spending time with him. He was sweet and simply loved the attention. He whinnied at me every time I drove up. Because his pasture was 2,500

acres I had to drive my Honda Accord out to find him each time, and then pony him beside the car back to the barn. He never thought a thing about

it. He certainly didn’t fit the stereotype of a high strung Arab.

I eventually backed him and realized he didn’t know a thing about my leg and hated being in the arena. So, we went out for a trail ride. He immedi-ately blossomed and seemed to love every second of our time out there. I rode nearly every day and he quickly became a different horse. He wasn’t depressed anymore, and appeared to be thriving. His coat was shiny and he was toned and fit. He was lightning fast across the fields and I eventual-ly taught him how to jump logs in the woods, which he LOVED. His confidence was growing and we were really happy together.

After a few months his owner came to me and stated he wanted to get rid of him. I was honest with him and told him I couldn’t afford to buy him.

He then called me that Friday and told me he had booked him on a trailer to be taken to auction the following morning. I panicked because I soon

found out it was a slaughter auction and I simply could not believe it. I was even told by someone who knew a kill buyer that he would “get a good

price since his muscle to bone ratio was good” (What??? you can imagine my horror). I was frantic as I scrambled, literally collecting coins in my

car and couch cushions. I had just started waiting tables at a restaurant and put everything I could in an envelope and drove it to this man’s house at

9pm that night. I gave him the money and begged him to accept it, as I was terrified of Zhar’s fate if this didn’t work. He finally agreed and I had

never felt so relieved in my life. He wrote me a bill of sale and handed me his registration papers. Wait, what? He was registered?? I hadn’t even

thought of that. It really didn’t matter to me at the time though. He was now safe and that was all that was important.

Then I began to worry. I now owned this little Arab and I had no plans to do anything like this. And my dream horse was 16 hands and trained, not 14 hands and all over the place. I decided to make the most of it and do my best. When I received a job offer back in Georgia six months later, I accepted it. It meant leaving Zhar behind while I searched for place for him. My friend looked after him for 3 months until I could finally have him shipped to me. When he got off that trailer I burst into tears and grabbed his neck tightly and just smelled him. I had forgotten how yummy he smelled and didn’t realize how much I missed him.

For the next 12 years or so we didn’t do much of anything other than trail rides, camping, and just having fun together. He became best friends with my older horse which made me very happy. We kept up with the jumping since he loved it so and one day a fellow boarder said, “DANG girl, that horse can JUMP!” She asked me if I would like to go to a local show with her. I told her I had never thought about showing Zhar, but decided it might be fun. I hadn’t participated in a horse show since I was a kid and tried to remember everything I was supposed to do. We ended up coming home with an armful of 2nd place ribbons, and to say I was surprised was an understatement. I then thought how exciting it would be if Zhar and I could win a blue ribbon someday.


Page 7

Missy Snyder and the story of Zhar

At that time I figured we would stop there, but I decided to take him to some Arabian shows. He did well so I decided that the following year we would try to go to Regionals which was just before Zhar’s 20th birthday. I thought how amazing it would feel to receive a pretty top 5 ribbon but never dreamed it would happen. We not only received several top 5 ribbons, but a garland of championship roses as well. Through happy tears as the woman placed his roses on his neck, I now knew what that feeling was that I pondered as a child and it was unforgettable.

He did a beautiful job at Regionals following year and others encouraged us to consider Sport Horse Nationals. Keep in mind, if this little gelding

were from a professional training barn and had many showing miles under his belt and was younger, and if I had been working with a professional

trainer most of my life, I would have felt more confident. I had many reservations about SHN, a lot had to do with our lack of experience, but most-

ly due to traveling to Virginia with my horse that is now 21 years old and the stress on him. And then there were a few that asked if I were planning

to pull his mane, or put shoes on him (which I have never done), to both I politely said no way. I love his long mane, and all the farriers I have used

have advised against shoeing him. So, after talking with my vet and friends I decided to give the show a try. I had no expectations, other than expe-

riencing the show, being there among the greats, and taking it all in with my best friend. And trying not to make a complete fool of myself in the

process.

Arriving in Virginia was incredibly intimidating for me. As an elementary school teacher, money is very tight, and after looking around part of me

thought “what in the world are you doing here”. We don’t have anything fancy, Zhar wasn’t purchased from a well-known trainer/breeder, and pret-

ty much everything we have is pre-owned. It was tricky but in the end I forced myself to ignore my feelings and focus on my horse. I met some

wonderful, supportive people, who along with my family helped me to feel more at home which was great.

I had the most amazing time watching new friends show their pretty horses and win with them. I cheered and hugged them… I was just so happy for

them and overjoyed to be there to see it.

We began to show and Zhar was eager and seemed ready to go but I was nervous to say the least. Before I knew it the results came in and I heard

our number called for our first National Top Ten. I sat there stunned until someone finally said, “That is you!”. Two seconds after our photo was

taken I literally burst into tears and buried my face in his mane and told him how proud I was of him. Around me I heard, “Aww she is crying”.

They just didn’t understand what this meant to me. I could not believe it. I will never be able to fully describe how that felt.

By the end of the week we had earned 4 National Top Tens. ZHAR, my little 14 hand barefoot gelding and ME, a girl who can pretty much count

the number of riding lessons I have had the last few years on two hands. I am still in disbelief. It was certainly a dream come true on many levels.

As we made our way home from Virginia, my boy had his pretty mane blowing in the sunshine and I looked out at the mountains and felt like the

luckiest girl to have him… to experience this with him. I am so glad this SHN experience was with him and not another horse.

I guess the moral of my story is to believe in the impos-

sible, never, ever judge and never put limits on your-

self. Great things really do come from true love.

I can only imagine the things we would have done if I

had the courage to show Zhar years ago. But would I

have done anything different if I could have? Probably

not. This is the way our story was supposed to go. He

has been with me through many ups and downs in my

life and remained rock solid and steady. He is my com-

panion and my child. He consoled me when I lost my

older horse. He patiently waits for me when I need

space to breathe or takes me away when I need to es-

cape. He is an old soul, the love of my life and trusts

me to try anything new. And leave it to one little res-

cued Arabian gelding to teach me the true meaning of

having the cojones to go for a childhood dream. Truth

be told… in the end, Zhar is the one who rescued me.

Story by: Missy Snyder


Region 12 is Proud to Announce the Appointment of Two New Spotlight Directors!

John Rannenberg of Orange Lake, Florida has recently been nominated by Region 12 leadership as their repre-

sentative and Appointed Director to the Region 12 Spotlight Stallion Incentive Program.

Affectionately known as John R to many, is a long time resident and member of Region 12 and has been with

Rohara Arabians since the early 1980’s.

His expertise has netted him six Arabian Professional and Amateur Horseman Association Awards, a APAHA

Horseman of the Year title and countless national championships in Halter, English Pleasure, Country English

Pleasure, Western Pleasure, Hunter Pleasure and the list goes on……

John also holds the highest level USEF Judges License at the regional/national level.

Since 1987, John R has also had his own breeding program of Purebreds and Half Arabians, which has pro-

duced more than 20 national titles.

The Region welcomes John R and sends their appreciation for his willingness to donate his time as a volunteer

to this very special program.

John R, is replacing Janet Searls, who has served on this program since its inception 7 years ago. Janet is also

serving as the Region’s Vice Director. John R can be reached by calling him at: 352-266-6446.


Page 9

Region 12 is Proud to Announce the Appointment of Two New Spotlight Directors!

Region 12 leadership is proud to announce that LISA

BLACKSTONE has agreed to accept and serve as the

region’s nominated Director on the Region 12 Spotlight

Stallion Incentive Program. LISA, a resident of Al-

pharetta, Georgia is a graduated from the University of

Georgia with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy.

She transitioned into the financial world as a stockbrok-

er and a decade later returned to law school and earned a

legal degree from her alma mater.

LISA is a founding member of the Equine Section of the

Georgia Bar, Lisa merges her legal expertise with her

knowledge of the horse industry and represents many of

Atlanta’s top equestrian facilities, trainers and horse

owners.

Mentored by her mother Jean, LISA began riding horses

as a child, learning the fundamentals of horsemanship,

judging and showing. Later, they operated a family-

owned Arabian horse training and breeding business,

Onyx Arabians, producing many top ten and national champion show horses.

LISA is an active participant in the political process governing equine sport. Besides serving in the Arabian

community on various boards and committees, she is currently chair of the Ethics Committee and the Legal

Review Committees for the United States Equestrian Federation, as well as sitting on their Hearing Commit-

tee. She also serves as Trustee on the USA Equestrian Trust.

LISA will be replacing Don Olvey, who has represented the region for the last couple of years. The region

send their best wishes and encourages anyone that is interested in getting more involved with this program to

give LISA a call! Lisa Blackstone—770-314-9089


SPOTLIGHT PROGRAM UPDATE FOR 2014

Hi to all from the Spotlight Futurity! As the year is flying by, the Spotlight Futurity Program has seen some changes and is pleased to be looking forward to some exciting new things on the horizon. In 2014, the Spotlight Futurity is welcoming a Stallion Row at the Region XII horse show and Spotlight Stallion Auction. For the first time, the Spotlight Futurity is going to have a “home base” which will be located in the Beef and Dairy Arena. For the duration of the show, you will be able to visit the Spotlight headquarters to talk about the program and learn about the stal-lions that are available to you. We are planning stallion presentations and a cocktail party prior to the live auction. In addition to Stallion Row, we will also have a silent auction leading up to the live auction. All stallions will need to reach a minimum bid before going live. Any stallions whose breeding’s do not sell during the Auction, will still be available to buy for the duration of the show. We are very pleased to welcome John Rannenburg and Lisa Blackstone to the Spotlight Futuri-ty Program. We would like to thank Eric Wolfe for the newly appointed seats on the board of directors. We are sad to say goodbye to Janet Searls and Don Olvey as they were both an im-portant part of our team. The Spotlight Program has adopted a resolution to show our gratitude and appreciation for all of the hard work and effort that both Janet and Don afforded the Spot-light Program. As we move forward with all the new and exciting changes, we want to thank everyone who helps make this program a huge success! Frank Hennessey


R12 Youth, Sydney Landers, Bringing Home the Roses in Style!

Sometimes in our life there are people that make us remember what “its” really about. Like why we work so hard in this business or

long hours at the barn or traveling to horse shows, late night lessons and the emotions involved with winning and losing. Sydney

Landers is one of those people, winning 5 National Championships and reserves and 3 National Top Tens at this years’ Youth Nation-

als. Sydney, a 16 year old, has been a Region 12 member since she was a walk trot rider and hails from Davie, Florida.

She is a true horse lover and a competitor. Sydney has had many hurdles to jump as a young person but she always has a great atti-

tude and the will to win! Bob Battaglia worked as her equitation coach as she prepared to enter the prestigious UPHA Arabian Breeds

Challenge Cup Class.

Lou and I are very proud to have her as part of our team here at Sichini Training.

Editorial and Pictures Submitted by: Elizabeth Pizzonia

NATIONAL WINS:

Sydney Landers riding Divvinci: -National Champion UPHA Arabian Breeds Challenge Cup 14-17 -Reserve National Champion HA Country Pleasure JOTR 14-17

Sydney Landers Leading Armoni GA: -National Champion Arabian Halter Geldings JOTH 18 & Under -Reserve National Champion Arabian Halter Geldings JTH 18 & Under

Sydney Landers and Second Sight -National Champion HA Mounted Native Costume JTR 18 & Under

Sydney Landers and WR Isabella: -National Top 10 HA Ladies Western Side Saddle JTR 18 & Under -National Top 10 HA Western Pleasure JTR 18 &Under

Sydney Landers and HS Liberty: -National Top 10 HA Park JTR 18 & Under

Sydney Landers and UPHA National Champi-on Group Photo (LEFT)

Sydney Landers leading Armoni GA (Magnum Psy-che x Miradiance)(RIGHT)

Sydney Landers and Second Sight (Afires Vision X Silver Fantasy PV) Owned by Elizabeth Pizzonia

Sydney Landers and Divvinci (Afire Bey V x Rimone GW (DHH))


Page 12 Region 12 September 2013 Newsletter


http://www.horsemensdistressfund.com/about-ahdt/

http://www.ahaflorida.org/pdf/2013/2013-44th-Annual.pdf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyOZ7QN52e0&feature=youtu.be


http://www.ahaflorida.org/pdf/2013/2013-44th-Annual.pdf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyOZ7QN52e0&feature=youtu.be




Show Announcements

The North Carolina State Fair presents the NC State Fair Horse Show October 13 2013. For more information please visit the State Fair Website.

Middle Tennessee Arabian Horse Association announces the Music City Arabian Show November 15-17

2013. For prize book please check out our website. MTAHA website.

Western Carolinas AHA announces the Western Carolinas Fall Show, November 1-3, 2013. Please visit

our website for more information.

The Autumn Classic, November 16-17, 2013 in Perry, GA. Show manager Norma (229-809-0025). For more information, please visit www.theautumnclassic.com

AHA of Florida announces the AHAF 44th Annual Thanksgiving, November 27—30, 2013. Please visit our website; ahaflorida.org

Dixie Gulf AHA announces the Dixie Gulf Panhandle Ruffout, December 6-8 2013 in Baker, FL. For more info contact Linda Smith @

850-682-3133

REGION 12 ANNOUNCEMENT: Region 12 is proud to announce the recent appointment of Ted Carson (NC) and Jack Thomas (AL) to

the Region Show Committee for the 2013-2014 year. Both individuals have been long time members of this region as well as

respected competitors in the Arabian Industry. Volunteers play an incredible role in helping the regional championship show to simply

be the best in the country!

Distance Ride Announcements

Sand Hills Stampede 55/75 Mile End Ride ~ October 19, 2013 ~ Cheraw, SC ~ For more info contact Patricia Gowen @ 803-329-0077

Big South Fork 50/100 Mile End Ride ~ September 7, 2013 ~ Oneida, TN ~ For more information, visit our website.

Blackwater Boogie 50 Mile End Ride ~ November 15 & 16, 2013 ~ Milton, FL

Region 12 100 Mile End Ride Championship ~ November 16, 2013 ~ Milton, FL

NEWSLETTER ANNOUNCEMENT

Our next issue will be our US National Feature!

Please submit your information to Janet Searls @ [email protected] before the 28TH of

October.

Please send photo’s in the Highest Resolution possible.


http://www.arabhorse.com/

http://www.theautumnclassic.com

http://www.bigsouthfork.seraonline.org/

mailto:[email protected]?subject=APRIL%202013%20NEWSLETTER

Documents

R12 Sept 2013 Newsletter