Horse flown to Britain for cancer treatment
BHS Hall of Fame laureates announced
Public horse cloning offered
Top cutting sire dies
Olympic horse events for HK
DNA study sheds light on equine origins
NY race groups join to end slaughter
Big prizemoney at Canterbury A&P
Racehorse owners demand fair tax
Horse flown to Britain for cancer treatment -- (July 31) A horse in the US who developed a cancerous tumour on his eye was flown to Britain for treatment after his owner could not find a vet to treat him.
Mindy Elgart's six-year-old Max had just won the regional heats of the USA Dressage Championship and was tipped to go on to international success. Ms Elgart consulted US experts who could only offer a 30% chance of survival. The New Jersey woman heard about the work of Professor Derek Knottenbelt, at Leahurst Equine hospital, in Wirral, Merseyside, who uses a radiation treatment similar to that used on humans and has had a 90% success rate. By re-mortgaging her house and with the help of friends she raised the $US25,000 needed to get Max to the centre and for his treatment.
Max underwent 13 days of a treatment called brachytherapy, which meant wires directing radiation were implanted round his eye and nose, followed by two days in isolation. He is due to fly back to the US this week.
Professor Knottenbelt said it would have been cheaper to fly him to the horse, but he would not have been able to take the radiation equipment needed.
BHS Hall of Fame laureates announced -- (Aug 1) The first laureates for The British Horse Society Equestrian Hall of Fame
were announced at the Royal International Horse Show, Hickstead, on July 31. The idea of BHS President Noel Edmonds, the BHS Hall of Fame recognises those who have achieved equestrian fame through their excellence.
The initial list, which comprises those whose greatest equestrian achievements were celebrated in past years, is as follows:
- Riders:
- HRH The Princess Royal (Achieved international success, including winning the European Three Day Event Champs on Doublet and as a member of the
British Eventing team at the Montreal Olympics).
- Colonel Sir Michael Ansell (The architect of Britain's postwar equestrian
revival, Chairman of The British Horse Society & BSJA for 20 years. First
president of the British Equestrian Federation)
- George Bowman (Nineteen times Carriage Driving British National Champion)
- David Broome (Won King George V Cup a record six times, double Olympic
Bronze, won the World Championship on Beethoven)
- Cynthia Haydon (Britain's leading Whip in the postwar years of 20th
century)
- Lorna Johnstone (Oldest female Olympic competitor ever, dressage Munich
1972)
- Virginia (Ginny) Leng (Double Olympic bronze, eventing)
- Colonel Harry Llewellyn (Olympic Gold medallist on Foxhunter at the
Stockholm Olympics)
- Richard Meade (Triple Gold medallist eventer)
- Anna Sewell (Author of Black Beauty who campaigned for equine welfare in
the 19th century and was responsible for getting the bearing rein banned)
- Harvey Smith (Won Hickstead a record seven times, over 50 Grand Prixs, and
represented Britain at two Olympics)
- Pat Smythe (First lady showjumper to achieve popularity among British
public, won a team Bronze medal at the Stockholm Olympics)
- Sheila Wilcox (First UK lady eventer to achieve major success at
international level, Badminton etc. Won Badminton Horse Trials for three
consecutive years)
- Dorian Williams (The first major equestrian commentator on BBC Televsion
to capture mass audiences, and greatly popularise the sports in postwar
Britain)
- Mrs. VDS Williams (Pioneer of British dressage)
- Horses:
- Be Fair (Won Badminton with Lucinda Green in 1973)
- Cornishman (Double Olympic Gold, eventing)
- Doublet (Won Burghley three day event in 1971 with HRH Princess Anne)
- Dutch Courage (Bronze medallist at World Championships)
- Foxhunter (Olympic Gold medallist show jumping)
- High & Mighty (Won Badminton in 1957 and 1958 with Shelia Wilcox)
- King's Warrior (Triple winner of HOYS Champion Show Hunter class)
- Merely a Monarch (Winner of Burghley and Badminton Horse Trials)
- Milton (Only horse outside of racing to win over £1 million, including
double Olympic gold)
- Penwood Forge Mill (Won European Championships, King George V Gold Cup and
the Horse and Hounds Cup within six days)
- Priceless (Olympic team Silver and individual Bronze, eventing)
- Sefton (Survived IRA bombing in London 1982)
- Stroller (Only pony to compete at international level among horses and win
consistently, including an Olympic silver medal with his owner-rider
Marion Mould)
A further list of equestrian heroes, both human and equine, who are currently at the pinnacle of their careers will be announced next year.
A panel considered the nominations - for 26 horses and 46 people - submitted via the Hall of Fame page on the BHS website, and the Panel's decision will doubtless satisfy a large proportion of those who provided nominations, although some will be disappointed that their heroes have not made it into the Hall of Fame.
Public horse cloning offered -- (Jul 27) Cloning has been offered to the public for the first time by a US company, and it will cost $US367,350. There's also a patent royalty fee of 15% based on the number of clones produced and their estimated value, says HorseCloning.com's Peter Kagel. For that price, owners could get from 0 to 16 clones.
Cloning will be performed by the same University of Idaho team, headed by the renowned Gordon Woods, PhD, which successfully cloned 3 mules in 2003.
"It's a bit of a gamble with a huge potential payoff," says Kagel. "Because while there are no guarantees, and on the bottom end you could end up with no clones, on the top end it is estimated, due to advances in science and cloning protocols since 2003, that you could end up with 16 clones from the 100 mares that will be impregnated with your horse's DNA.
"Horse cloning is the wave of the future," Kagel went on. "People are only going to clone quality horses, the top-of-the-bloodline champions. Eventually cloning will allow today's economically unattainable horse to be purchased by the middle-class horse aficionado.
"There will come a time when the ban on racing cloned horses will be lifted because breeders will realise that they will make a lot more money cloning and racing the clones rather than just breeding non-clones, which, after all, is nothing more than an expensive grand experiment that usually falls flat. One of Dr. Woods' cloned mules will be on the mule racing circuit next year. The genie is working his way out of the bottle," he says.
"The public will not ignore that the inevitable horse races with clones will have faster times than regular horse races. Races between identical clones will be particularly interesting because the outcome will boil down to either the difference between the trainers and/or the jockeys. The breeders and racetrack owners will come to know that the public wants to see the fastest horses regardless of their origin."
He pointed at top racehorse Cigar, who retired to stud but proved sterile. "An Italian insurance company, which failed to require a simple sterility test, had to pay $25,000,000 to Cigar's owners. Crazy as it seems, the insurance company, after taking possession of Cigar, will not allow Cigar's cloning because it is afraid of bad publicity. The hysteria around cloning horses is unfathomable. It is now illegal to clone horses in Great Britain even though the first animal ever cloned, Dolly the sheep, was cloned in Scotland," he says.
"The evidence is solid that clones appear to be normal, have the ability to bear offspring and live just as long if not longer than regularly bred animals."
Citing a quote in a newspaper interview with Dr. Woods, Kagel stated, "The evidence is clear that a by-product of the sciences involved in cloning will help us understand how to defeat diseases like cancer."
"We only have the capacity this year to clone one horse, and the deadline for putting money down is August 15, so it's 'first come, first served,'" Kagel said. "This is because the sun governs the cloning season, and we're starting late.
"Most importantly, we are not just talking about racehorses for this one-time opportunity - far from it. We are talking about cloning incredible Peruvian Pasos, champion cutting horses, Lipizzans, Palominos, Arabians, Hanovarians, Norwegian Fjords, Clydesdales, champion jumpers and what-have-you."
Top cutting sire dies -- (Jul 20) One of the cutting horse industry's greatest sires, Peppy San Badger, was euthanatized on July 8 in his paddock at King Ranch in Kingsville, Texas. Sired by Mr San Peppy and out of the great mare Sugar Badger, the stallion, affectionately known as "Little Peppy," was one of the all-time leading sires in National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) history.
Because of his age and deteriorating health, King Ranch management and family members made the decision to euthanatize the 31-year-old horse.
Ranch management reported that Little Peppy had done quite well during the past several years. He was retired in a paddock behind the Creek Barn where he was content to live a quiet life.
Little Peppy is known by most for his exceptional cutting abilities in the arena and out with the herd. It was those moves that rendered him a standing ovation after winning the 1977 NCHA Futurity. The Futurity championship was only the beginning, however. He then won the 1978 NCHA Derby, was the 1979 Reserve World Champion, and also won the 1981 NCHA Finals. Throughout his show career, the stallion accumulated earnings of $172,710. He then followed in the footsteps of his sire, Mr San Peppy, into the NCHA Hall of Fame in December 1980.
Besides his accomplishments in the cutting arena, Little Peppy was the all-time leading sire of NCHA competition cutting horses until he was surpassed two years ago. However, his offspring continue to keep his name and the famed King Ranch in the limelight.
According to AQHA records, out of 19 foal crops, Little Peppy sired 2323 foals with a combined 7195.5 lifetime points in all divisions. According to King Ranch, offspring sired by Little Peppy have won some $25 million.
Little Peppy's bloodline remains predominant in the remuda at King Ranch, and the legendary horse will continue to have an important role in King Ranch's future breeding programme.
"He was a gift, you know," said King Ranch Quarter Horse Manager Cody Crider. "You can plan and breed all you want, but you won't get a horse like this 'on purpose,' even though we will all keep on trying."
Little Peppy's grave marker will now stand among other greats such as Old Sorrel, Wimpy, Assault, Middleground, Anita Chica, and Mr San Peppy at the King Ranch Headquarters.
Olympic horse events for HK -- (Jul 8) The IOC confirmed today the decision of Beijing Organising Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG) that the equestrian competitions of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad would be held in Hong Kong.
The FEI was unable to have the venue changed back to the heart of the 2008 Olympic Games. The main reason given by BOCOG to move the equestrian competitions to Hong Kong surrounded the quarantine and inability to set up and enforce an adequate disease-free zone for horses in China. Although these were mentioned in Beijing's bid when securing the Games, at the time it did not appear to be the insurmountable obstacle that it has now become.
Even if the decision is difficult to accept by many in the equestrian community, the FEI will now turn its full attention to ensure that there is an outstanding Olympic equestrian competition staged in Hong Kong in 2008.
The FEI has confidence in the ability of Hong Kong to stage horse sport and looks forward to joining forces with BOCOG. Hong Kong's experience in hosting international equestrian events is well known, even if a number of issues still remain to be solved. A study on the climate will be conducted this summer, to determine the competition formats and schedules, as the normal weather patterns suggest an extremely hot and humid environment for horses as well as excessive rains and typhoons which could interfere with the timetabling of events. A number of safeguards will be established as the welfare of the competing horses is paramount. The Hong Kong Jockey Club will be integral to this co-operation and it is acknowledged that they already have the best veterinary services in Asia.
DNA study sheds light on equine origins -- (Jul 4) New DNA studies are shedding more light on the origin of the horse.
After the Ice Age 11,000 years ago, there were thought to be about 50 species and subspecies of horse in North American. But now ancient DNA has revealed just two species, the now-extinct stilt-legged horses, and the caballines, thought to be the ancestors of the domestic horse.
The analysis of mitochondrial DNA from fossilised bones has been possible only in recent years.
In the open access journal PLoS Biology, Drs Jaco Weinstock and Alan Cooper and colleagues use ancient DNA to argue that the Hippidion genus is younger than previously thought and that American stilt-legged horses were American endemics, not Asian emigres. Their analysis has also whittled down the taxonomy of North American species to just two. "I think the biggest issue is that we showed the apparent lack of species diversity in North American horses in the Late Pleistocene - as horses are a poster child of evolution," says Cooper.
To explore the origins of the horses, the authors examined mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) extracted from fossilized horse bones. Mitochondria, which have their own genome, contain a stretch of sequence that's useful for inferring evolutionary relationships: though the region undergoes high mutation rates, the patterns of mutations remain stable over thousands of generations. The mtDNA analysis of the South and North American horses provided evidence that stilt-legged horses, the Hippidion genus, and caballine, or true horses, all arose from a common lineage.
The authors showed that the Hippidion genus is only 3 million years old, a much more recent date than previously believed. "South American horses were thought to stem from a very old lineage of fossil forms in North America," Cooper says. "And instead, our data show that they probably diverged and moved into South America around three million years ago, during the great biotic interchange that occurred when the Panama Isthmus was established."
And while morphological similarities between American stilt-legged horses and certain Eurasian caballines (a group that includes both the domestic horse and the nearly extinct Przewalskii horse of Mongolia) suggest that the stilt-legged horses once trekked across the Bering Strait, the new PLoS Biology study shows that the American and Eurasian horses' genomes are too distinct for this theory. "We found that the stilt-legged horse in North America was in fact a home-grown endemic, and had just converged morphologically, probably due to shared environments," Cooper explains.
The study also suggests that all the North American caballines - traditionally classified as multiple species based on their diverse size - belong to the same species. Thus, only two horse lineages lived in North America during the Late Pleistocene, the stilt-legged horses and the caballines. Though the different horses in each species "varied in size and shape quite a bit" regionally and temporally, Cooper explains, "we see no genetic evidence that these are different species."
If true, the study's new model could provide a tool for exploring how environmental adaptations give rise to morphological variation.
NY race groups join to end slaughter -- (Jul 4) A voluntary starting fee for gallopers in New York has been instigated to help fight horse slaughter.
The Ferdinand Fee is to honour 1986 Kentucky Derby winner and 1987 US Horse of the Year Ferdinand, who ended up in Japan and was eventually killed for human consumption in 2002.
The fee has been brought about by the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and the New York Racing Association.
All money raised will be distributed to horse rescue and retraining programmes through Blue Horse Charities and Thoroughbred Charities of America. In 1989, there were 348,400 horses slaughtered in the US for human consumption overseas. But in 2004 that figure reduced to 65,976, because only three slaughter houses are left in operation.
The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act is before the US House of Representatives.
Big prizemoney at Canterbury A&P -- (Jul 22) The 2005 Canterbury A&P Show has $82,100 worth of prize money up for grabs at its show later this year. Of that amount, $62,700 is dedicated to Livestock entrants.
Stuart McLean, President of the Canterbury A&P Association, said "attractive
prizemoney gives Livestock entrants a greater incentive to be part of the Show
and with increased entrants we can expect healthy competition in all sections."
Livestock entrants at this year's show are expected to exceed 4000. "The
Canterbury A&P Show is the largest A&P Show in New Zealand. Livestock has
featured from the outset and has contributed greatly to our success on a national
level", Mr McLean says.
Top judges from New Zealand and Australia are expected.
The Horse, Cattle and Sheep sections will each feature two Australian judges, with the Alpaca section having one Australian judge. "With international and national judging, it's certainly a great opportunity for Livestock entrants to participate at this year's Show," he said.
The Canterbury A&P Show runs for three days from Wednesday 9 until Friday 11
November 2005. The Schedule of Classes is now available, by phoning 03 343 3033, or emailing amanda@theshow.co.nz.
Racehorse owners demand fair tax -- (Jul 4) The New Zealand Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners' Federation has urged all of its members throughout the country not to vote for the Labour Government at the upcoming elections.
That's because the Federation believes that a National/New Zealand First coalition Government will be in the best position to "deliver the goods" for the racing industry.
This follows a political forum held at Te Rapa racecourse last week where party representatives were asked to outline their policies in relation to the racing industry especially in relation to taxation relief.
NZTROF secretary Les Lowrie says the forum was given a clear message that the Labour Party will not promise any taxation changes for racing which were urgently needed.
"It quickly became apparent at the forum from the Minister Of Racing, Damien O'Connor, that all the Government had to offer was its record over the past five years," Lowrie said.
On the other hand, Lowrie said, the National Party is to be congratulated for its "bold and visionary" racing industry taxation relief package which was announced on the eve of the forum.
The package brings a $25 million tax for the racing industry by bringing it in line with casinos in terms of the way it is taxed.
"It certainly sets a benchmark for the other political parties," Lowrie says.
"The National Party's policy for racing is the first real attempt we have seen in the last three decades to address the real problems which are facing the racing industry and we must respond to it accordingly by ensuring that they succeed in forming a coalition Government at the next election," Lowrie said.
"The Owners Federation believes that if the National Party's racing policy is adopted it will go a long way to revitalizing an ailing industry. What we now require from the National Party is an assurance that their shadow Finance spokesperson is 100 per cent behind the announcement and that it is to be introduced within a short time if they are elected," Lowrie said.
Lowrie said the indication given to him was that National's taxation changes could be in place by August 1 next year. He said National had also promised not to interfere in any way with the proceeds that many racing clubs currently receive at present from gaming machine grants.
Lowrie said that the big question for racing industry people to decide was where they should deliver their second or list vote.
"To the owners the best bet for the racing industry will be a National/New Zealand First coalition and that means that a strategic List vote for New Zealand First will be the best way to achieve this. It will be like having a dollar each way - whichever way the New Zealand public votes," said Lowrie.
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters told last week's forum that racing had been poorly treated by consecutive Governments and he guaranteed that within a year he would have the tax changed. "You've got a second vote, you should buy yourself some insurance," Peters said.
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