2007 Rolex FEI World CupTM
Equestrian Music, Ballet, Form, and Fitness
By Classic Communications, Foxboro MA
Returning to Las Vegas
The 2007 Rolex FEI World CupTM Jumping and Dressage Finals will dazzle spectators once again when the world’s best show jumping and dressage horses and riders will battle for the prestigious title of FEI World Cup champion at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on April 18-22, 2007.
Glamorous Las Vegas will host the event again after the phenomenal success of the Jumping Final in 2000 and 2003 and the exhilarating, fast-paced excitement of show jumping and the elegance, grace, and power of dressage presented in the dual finals in 2005. More than 90,000 spectators witnessed the competition, entertainment, and celebrity guest appearances.
“We’ve been told again and again that our presentations of the 2000, 2003, and 2005 World Cup Finals had a major impact on the way equestrian sport is presented today,” said Pat Christensen, president of Las Vegas Events, Inc., producer of the Las Vegas World Cup Finals. “Excitement over the finals’ return to the United States in 2007 is at an all-time high, and we’re so excited to have the opportunity to thrill the equestrian world once again with world-class competition accompanied by the style and flair for which Las Vegas is renowned.”
Decorated American dressage riders Steffen Peters and Guenter Seidel are among those hoping to compete against the world’s best riders, including German superstar Ulla Salzgeber and reigning FEI World Cup champion Anky van Grunsven of The Netherlands.
The world’s best dressage riders will be joined by the best of the best in international jumping. Among those who will be hoping to qualify to compete this year are riders such as three-time FEI World Cup champion Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil, three-time German Olympic gold medalist Ludger Beerbaum, and the 2005 Las Vegas FEI World Cup champion, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, also of Germany. Riders from the United States include superstars Margie Goldstein Engle, Beezie Madden, McLain Ward, and Richard Spooner.
Started in 1979, the FEI World Cup Jumping Final is an annual international showdown with approximately 45 riders qualifying from 14 leagues around the world. In the 28 finals held through 2006, U.S. riders have emerged with the most titles, with seven championship wins.
The Dressage FEI World Cup Final has been held in the United States only twice, in 1995 in Los Angeles and 2005 in Las Vegas. The Netherlands has dominated the competition, winning seven titles, followed by Germany with six. The United States won its first title in 2003 when Debbie McDonald rode Brentina to the championship. Brentina is owned by Parry and Peggy Thomas of Las Vegas, for whom the Thomas & Mack Center, the venue for the FEI World Cup Finals, is named.
Las Vegas Events, Inc., producer of the 2000, 2003, 2005, and 2007 FEI World Cup Finals, was founded in 1983, and has grown with the city as it has emerged as a world-renown event and resort destination. A private, not-for-profit organization, Las Vegas Events, Inc. is funded by hotel room tax and serves as the exclusive major special events agency for the city. Since 1991, Las Vegas Events, Inc. has produced, presented, or supported more than 200 events, which have driven more than 2.8 million visitors to the area, resulting in an economic impact of more than $1.4 billion.
For more information on the 2007 Rolex FEI World CupTM Finals, including how to order tickets and how to become a member of the World Cup Club free of charge, log onto the official Las Vegas World Cup Web site at
www.worldcuplasvegas.com
What is Show Jumping?
The challenge is simple and straightforward. Horse and rider must negotiate
and jump a course of obstacles at the correct angle, height, and speed
within an allowed time without incurring penalties or faults. Faults are
incurred if a horse knocks down, refuses to jump or falls, or the course’s
time is not met. The riders are challenged to balance speed with caution;
anxiousness can cost a knocked down fence, and over-cautiousness can lose
precious time.
Riders walk the course before competing
to study the arena layout, pacing distances between obstacles to anticipate
their horse’s strides, noting the fences and their relationship to one
another, the footing, where they can save vital time, and any other
potential problem areas.
Starting order is drawn before the event
giving each rider an equal chance of a favorable position. Riders near the
end of the starting order have the advantage of seeing how the first riders
complete the course.
Scoring
International rules and regulations are set forth and governed by the
Federation Equestre Internationale. All jumper classes are scored the same.
The course is a designated sequence; all obstacles are numbered, with the
goal to cover the course with no faults within the allotted time. Style
isn’t considered, nor affects the score. A horse’s first refusal at a jump
is a three-fault penalty, a second is six faults – a third is elimination.
Four-fault penalties are given when a fence is knocked down, or if a horse
touches the water at a water jump. Time penalties are also incurred. The
horse and rider team with the fewest penalties is the winner. If several
teams complete the course without penalty, a jump-off over a shortened
course is held; and in the case of equal faults, the horse with the fastest
time is declared the winner.
What is Dressage?
Dressage combines the strength and agility of gymnastics with the elegance
and beauty of ballet. The word sounds like “massage” and comes from the
French word dresser, to train. It’s an Olympic equestrian sport; yet a basic
training discipline for the backyard horse.
Dressage teaches a horse to be obedient,
willing, supple, and responsive – freely submitting to the rider’s lightest
touch or body signal – the object being the harmonious development of the
horse in both mind and body. Every horse can benefit from this training.
The training progresses from simple to
increasingly complex movements as the horse becomes mentally and physically
ready. The graceful movements, which may look effortless, are the result of
years of training. Aids should be virtually imperceptible; a squeeze of the
calf, closing of the fingers, or a shift of weight should be all that tells
the horse what is required.
Judging the Tests
The tests are written so that performance is measured consistently. Judges
look for accuracy of transitions (changes of gait), obedience, suppleness of
the horse, quality of the gaits, and the rider’s use of aids. Movements and
certain transitions are numbered from zero to 10. Judges are always excited
when they give a 10 – flawless performances are seldom achieved!
The rider’s individual movement scores
are tallied and a final score calculated as a percentage of the possible
score a rider could achieve for that particular test. The highest percentage
wins the class.
Musical Rides
A dressage competition’s highlight is the Musical
Kür or Freestyle, in which the rider
choreographs an original ride for the horse of compulsory movements to
music, which must be artistically pleasing and technically correct. Pas de
Deux is a program created by two riders to present their horses to best
advantage in an artistic, musical context, where mirror image,
point-counter-point, and in-line movements can be used. The Quadrille tests
are designed for four riders in a choreographed ride, with or without music.
The Movements
Horse and rider are judged on performance of certain movements, such as:
-
Extensions: The horse lengthens his
stride on demand, a movement most exciting at the trot where the horse seems
to float across the arena..
-
Lateral movements: The horse will show
its suppleness by going forward first and either moving sideways or moving
parts of its body sideways for its rider.
-
Pirouettes: In this dramatic movement,
the horse will turn in place at a canter.
-
Flying Changes: The most highly
trained horses seemingly “skip” across the arena at a canter switching the
front and hind hooves.
-
Passage: The horse appears to float,
springing from leg to leg with its body in a perfectly straight line – a
trot in slow motion.
-
Piaffe: A highly cadenced
trot-in-place, where the horse will spring lightly from one pair of legs to
the other with an even rhythm and definable moment of suspension – the
highest degree of competitive collection demanded of the horse.
The key to enjoying dressage is to watch
the rides. Focus on how the teams perform and their scores differ. Look for
calm, obedient, smooth rides where the horse looks happy, with ears forward
or turned towards the rider clearly “listening” to instructions, although no
actual words are spoken.
Dressage performances require great concentration by both horse and rider.
While very thrilling, avoiding running, loud voices, shouting, or sudden
movements while a horse is in the ring, and hold applause until the rider
has completed the final salute to ensure the very best performances.
Equine Herpes Virus Update:
A common sense approach to controlling infectious disease
By Chrysann Collatos, VMD, PhD, High Desert Veterinary Service, Reno, NV
This story is loosely based on actual events that took place over the past year, spanning from Europe to New York, then south to Florida, and west to California. The goal is not to alarm you, or make you an expert on equine herpes virus type-1 (EHV-1), but to provide guidelines on how to protect your horse from infectious diseases. Developing an increased awareness of how diseases can change and spread rapidly will help you to improve the care and well-being of your equine companions. Our story:
An eight-year-old horse that received excellent care in Germany was purchased by a person in the United States. He was vaccinated and de-wormed regularly, and received appropriate booster vaccinations three weeks before his transport by air to New York. Upon arrival he was quarantined according to federal regulations. Once released from quarantine, he was transported by truck to Kentucky with one group of horses, and then shipped on to Florida with a different group. When he arrived in Florida 10 days after leaving New York, a handler noticed he seemed depressed and unsteady on his feet. The owner was alerted and a veterinarian was contacted to evaluate the horse.
How are diseases spread?
How and why did the horse become ill? We know the horse received excellent management with booster vaccinations for appropriate infectious diseases three weeks before shipping overseas. The immune system takes at least 10 days to fully respond to a booster vaccine, so ideally they should be given two to four weeks before shipping or change of environment.
It would have been advisable to rest the horse in New York following the flight and quarantine before transporting to Florida, and to avoid the mixing of different groups of horses during travel. Research has shown that horses subjected to long-distance transport are at significantly greater risk of infection with respiratory tract pathogens compared to similar non-transported horses.
The veterinarian exam revealed the horse had a 102.5 ºF fever and neurologic signs manifested as weakness and incoordination of the hind limbs, and a rectal palpation determined the horse’s bladder was distended with urine. The owner was told that a neurologic form of EHV-1 was suspected and immediate isolation was recommended until a diagnosis could be confirmed because a new, highly contagious form of this disease had been reported in other U.S. locations.
What is EHV-1?
Equine herpes virus type-1 (EHV-1) is an old and common disease in horses, most commonly causing an upper respiratory infection in young horses, but also responsible for late term abortion and a sporadic neurologic disease. Luckily, this veterinarian was aware of outbreaks in recent years of neurologic disease affecting multiple horses caused by EHV-1; most notably one in a university hospital in which 46 of 135 in-house patients developed neurologic signs, leading to death in 12 of those horses.
It was discovered that the EHV-1 virus had undergone a mutation in which a single element in the viral DNA code was altered. The resulting strain was more virulent, contagious, and specifically attacked the horse’s neurologic system. Therefore it was named
neuropathogenic EHV-1. With the emergence of this mutated virus, the clinical form of EHV-1 associated with neurologic signs was becoming more common and more deadly. This exemplifies how a tiny change in the genetic code of a virus can have far-reaching and dangerous effects.
In Florida, a nasal swab confirmed the diagnosis of neuropathogenic EHV-1. This first horse was treated and recovered. Meanwhile, another horse off-loaded from the original truck in Kentucky was arriving in Southern California, and a third horse that had accompanied our horse to Florida was taken to a farm, and later to a horse show facility nearby. The horse in California walked off the truck with clinical signs similar to the first index horse in Florida, and was quickly assessed and isolated. The third horse never showed signs of illness, but 10 days after arriving at the show grounds, other horses began to develop signs of neurologic disease. Subsequently, the presence of the neuropathogenic form of EHV-1 was confirmed, leading to an extended quarantine of the show grounds. No other cases were detected in Southern California after isolation of the index case, but within the month, a horse was confirmed infected at Golden Gate Race Track. There have been isolated confirmations of neuropathogenic EHV-1 in California horses since, but no multiple case outbreaks have occurred.
Disease control and prevention among horses
How could the spread to the show grounds have been prevented? First, when a contagious disease is suspected, the affected horse should be isolated and other in-contact horses should be quarantined and monitored for signs of disease for an appropriate duration. This would have meant immediately contacting the shipping company and identifying all the horses transported with the original horse in Florida with clinical signs. In the case of EHV-1, the incubation period is typically two to eight days, but can be as short as 24 hours – showing how quickly this becomes a logistical nightmare, and how critical every hour becomes. The horse in Southern California was traced back to the horse in Florida, which was connected to the air transport from Europe – tedious tracking, but important to successfully contain infectious diseases.
Second, rapid diagnosis is critical. Our astute veterinarian in Florida submitted the nasal swab for a state-of-the-art diagnostic technique called PCR (polymerase chain reaction). This test amplifies specific DNA segments in the sample and allows the detection and identification of minute amounts of viral DNA, confirming that this particular viral strain was present in the affected horse.
Finally, how can you as a horse owner reduce the spread of infectious disease? Your first goal is to protect your horse against infection by consulting with your veterinarian to ensure that your horse is appropriately vaccinated. Learn all you can about the safe and comfortable transporting of horses. With these good management techniques, you’re supporting your horse’s immune system and reducing the odds that he will succumb to an infectious disease, even in the face of exposure. Use common sense during competitive events: do not share water, tack, or grooming equipment. EHV-1 is spread primarily by horse to horse contact and by virus transported on equipment and the clothing, hands, and shoes of people moving between horses. If your horse is exposed to fewer viral particles and has a healthy immune system, illness is less likely.
When your horse is at high risk of contracting an infectious disease such as EHV-1, even the best management may not protect him completely. If he does become infected with a contagious disease, your goal is to protect him and other horses with early detection. Fever is the earliest sign of most viral diseases. The single most important thing you can do is to monitor your horse’s rectal temperature twice daily at shows, before and after shipping, and when new horses come on the property. Whenever your horse’s rectal temperature is 102.2 ºF or higher, contact your veterinarian and follow their recommendations.
Don’t abandon your equestrian activities for fear of infectious disease. Just stay informed and use common sense to guide you. Your veterinarian is your best resource for advice on the prevention and control of infectious diseases. Don’t hesitate to ask questions and continue your life-long education as a responsible and caring horse owner.
For more information about EHV-1:
www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/ceh/topics-EHV-1-info
www.cdfa.ca.gov/ahfss/ah/equine_herpes_virus
www.doacs.state.fl.us/ai/ehv1/index.shtml
Chrysann Collatos, VMD, PhD, Diplomate American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, High Desert Veterinary Service of Reno, NV, provided PetFolio with this informative article on horse health. She can be reached by calling 775-969-3495.
Ready, Set, SHOW!
Do your homework to decide if you should show your horse
By Rebekka Rhodes, Reno NV
Ever heard, “What do you show your horse in?” or “When are you going to show that new horse?” Some people absolutely love to show their horses, while others are consumed with terror at the very thought!
You don’t have to show your horse to enjoy him thoroughly, but here are some things to consider that may help you if you are undecided, or uninitiated. Showing a horse can be expensive and time-consuming, so educate yourself ahead of time. It might surprise you to discover all the different types of competitions that are available, both inside and outside of an arena. Even if it seems over your head right now, you may be surprised to find some classes are very simple and doable for almost anyone.
The biggest question to ask is “Why do I want to show?” If you want to show your horse only to achieve honors for yourself, you may run into trouble because your focus is not on your horse. Riders who focus only on winning may miss the all-important aspect of care and quality horsemanship. A rider can be so focused on winning that she loses the connection and feel of her horse that would have allowed her to win. Inhumane treatment and training practices do occur because of the drive to win.
Showing your horse can be a super way of exposing and challenging your horse. You can certainly become a better team, and grow to know each other better. Recognize what your horse’s strengths and weaknesses are, and train and show accordingly. It’s a great way to get a “report card” of your progress with your horse.
Classes that involve subjective judging will give you only a glance at your progress relative to others in the class. Timed events give you absolute feedback without subjectivity. Events that involve specific standards and individual scoring with explanations of scores will be better judged and can teach you more.
Attend a show without your horse first. Know what disciplines you and your horse are qualified for and interested in. Study the rule book of the show organization, and research the class requirements, expectations, and judging criteria. Practice at home first, then visit a show with your horse, but don’t do more than expose him to the environment to help him relax and focus on you.
Attend a small schooling show with your horse first. Show as much as needed there to get things worked out before attempting bigger, more expensive shows.
Showing often will help you become better at it. Work out your show nerves, and keep in touch with your horse and his needs. Developing good skills will give you a distinct advantage, so work with a qualified instructor who can help with performance difficulties and assist you in reaching your show ring goals.
Keep your horse your priority, and never sacrifice him for the sake of winning. Then showing can become fun and productive for both of you!
Rebekka Rhodes is a clinician, trainer, and instructor from her home in Reno, NV. Certified to teach to advanced levels, her focus is on softness, balance, and communication between horse and human in every situation. Visit her online at
www.centaurgenics.com or call 775-972-9025.
Nigerian Dwarf Goats
. . . as PETS?
By Kay Hollaway, Silver Springs NV
You bet! These little goats are people friendly, put milk on the table, clean-up some weeds, fertilize the yard, and keep the kids entertained for hours. And the best part is – they are really cute!
What is a Nigerian Dwarf Goat? They are a small dairy type goat from South Africa originally brought over on ships to feed the big cats during their journey to the United States. Survivors were put on display in zoos as exotic animals and called Pygmies, meaning small.
After a couple of years, a few breeders noticed distinct differences in the body structures of some of the goats. Not all were short and stocky, some were leaner, more refined, and resembled the larger Swiss type dairy goats, only much smaller; thus the Nigerian Dwarf (ND) goat came to be.
The ND or Nigie as it is also known, stands approximately 23 to 23 ½ inches at the shoulders for bucks (the boys) and 21 inches for does (the girls), and weigh between 60 to 75 pounds. Baby goats are called kids and weigh between one to four pounds at birth. Does may have as many as six, with twins and triplets being the most common. They come in all colors and patterns and some even have blue eyes.
The most common time for babies to be born, called kidding, is in the spring like most farm animals but the ND can be bred year round. All the kids are disbudded and most of the boys are castrated at about one to three weeks of age depending on their size. The castrated boys are called wethers and are wonderful pets commonly used for showmanship in 4H and goat shows.
The does give a surprising amount of milk for their small size, between two to six pounds per day. The milk is rich and sweet, higher in butterfat and protein than their larger counterparts as the ND has the highest butterfat and protein of all goats.
Cheese, ice cream, goat’s milk soap, hand lotion, kefir, yogurt, and buttermilk are just a few products made with the milk, and of course, it is delicious to just drink. Many who cannot tolerate cow’s milk can drink goat’s milk with no problems.
Goat shows have become very popular over the last few years, especially with the younger 4H two-legged kids. The camaraderie, education, and family atmosphere make for great outings everyone can enjoy and also a great learning experience by helping to build confidence. Goats are also being used with children who are challenged, with great results.
The Nigerian Dwarf is a very hardy little animal, enjoying the hot desert and doing just as well in the winter with a dry place to sleep and protection from the weather. Large dog houses work well for the wethers and bucks. The does and babies need a bit more room, making small sheds or barns ideal for kidding areas. Stumps, spools, picnic tables, and wooden platforms are great toys that will offer shade and some shelter, as well as exercise and laughter for those who like to watch their crazy antics. Goats can be leash trained and taken for walks, and yes they can even be housebroken.
Because goats are herd animals they do not do well by themselves, so you can’t have just one, much like potato chips or chocolate, not as fattening and a whole lot of fun and easy to care for. They need yearly shots, worming, free-choice loose minerals with salt, copper, and selenium, and regular hoof trimmings. A few bales of a grass or grass/alfalfa hay will last a year for a couple of these little goats.
They also like Cheerios©,
raisins, carrots, apples, most veggies, shoe laces, pants, shirt tails,
whatever you have in your hand, and little girls’ ponytails.
Being very inquisitive, they will follow your every move and will help you fix whatever you are working on in their pen, even if you have told them you can handle it by yourself. Goats make wonderful pets for small acreage in rural areas.
Want to Learn More?
Nigerian Dwarf Goat Association
www.ndga.org
American Goat Society
www.americangoatsociety.com
American Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Association
www.andda.org
American Dairy Goat Association
www.adga.org
Kay Hollaway
raises these really cute little goats and operates
K♥Pet Express Grooming since 1989, located at 1115 South Virginia
Street, Reno, NV. Call her at her salon at 775-852-0888, or log onto her Web
site at
www.RocNEweRanch.com
The Challenge of Feline Anorexia
A cat will just quit eating for no apparent reason
By Joan Atkinson, Sparks NV
Cupola quit eating and we didn’t know why. Tests showed slightly elevated liver enzymes, which meant that if he didn’t eat soon – things would go downhill fast. The vet gave us some special mushy food and a feeding syringe to shoot it from.
Feline anorexia can strike at any time and a cat will just quit eating for no apparent reason. If cats don’t eat for even a few days, there can be serious health consequences. Organs, especially the liver, are compromised and unless something is done quickly, it’s a speedy slide to system shutdown and death.
Usually there’s a physical reason a cat won’t eat, but in Cupola’s case, it began when his littermate Hinkey started vomiting and we limited his food intake. Taking away Cupola’s easy access to the communal crunchy bowl, combined with the trauma of watching his beloved brother in hourly duress is probably what started him on the road to anorexia. No doubt he was also traumatized when we left him alone to take Hinkey to the vet – the brothers had never been apart before.
Cupola acted depressed and wasn’t interested in anything. He spent all of his time in a fleece nest in the bedroom. Every few hours, we’d get him up and try to get the special food into him. He didn’t like it, fought the syringe, and very often just spit the stuff out.
As he worsened, he got skinnier and his personal hygiene suffered – his coat became dull and scruffy, and remnants of previous meals remained stuck in his fur. I kept bothering him with food and he got fed up, abandoning the nest to under our king-sized bed to escape me. It got harder to reach him while his struggles got weaker each time we dragged him out.
I tried to stimulate his appetite with other foods. He liked plain yogurt and boiled chicken, both in ridiculously small portions. Raw and cooked fish offered little success. He seemed to want to eat, but would hover over the bowl and just couldn’t quite do it. He acted nauseous.
The vet suggested half a Pepcid once a day, 20 minutes before feeding. He again urged force feeding and threatened a surgical procedure to insert a feeding tube. Not wanting to put Cupola through surgery, we worked even harder to get food into him. Skinny and weak, he still battled the food syringe stuck in his mouth. We ended up with food on the floor, on me, and on the cat – only occasionally getting it in the cat. In desperation, I tried just prying his mouth open and swiping my glop-loaded finger across the back of his tongue. He still fought me and it was still messy, but more food seemed to be getting into the cat.
I began feeding Cupola every two hours and though he wasn’t taking much, by doing it so often, I hoped that the aggregate amount reached a reasonable level. That, combined with my other tempting food choices, seemed to work.
As the days passed, there were small improvements. He came out from under the bed on his own and returned to his nest. He started to bathe himself and, as he gained strength, it got even harder to force food into him. However, he still wasn’t eating much on his own.
In the search for something to stimulate his appetite and wean him back onto real cat food, I found that he loved anything with even a hint of tuna in it – the fishier, the better. I first had success with plain tuna juice, and then later, the tuna itself. As time passed and his appetite improved, he started eating stinky, tuna-flavored canned food, later progressing to crunchies mixed with fave kitty treats. It was a happy day when I put the syringe away and got rid of the glop he had never liked but was valued for its high-calorie content.
Today, both our SPCA babies are doing well. Hinkey recovered nicely from intestinal blockage surgery and Cupola has regained his weight and is again the chatty, personality plus, milk-jug-ring-chasing goofball we knew.
Joan Atkinson is a local freelance writer and proud mother to two spoiled tabbies. During one of her many traumatic visits to the vet’s office, she learned of a litter of rescue puppies, two of which were later adopted by friends. If it hadn’t been for the sick cats…
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