Hey horse loving bloggers. Want to blog the upcoming 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games? Enter this contest.
Land O’Lakes Purina Feed is excited to announce the Purina® “Live from Lexington” Contest, an opportunity for horse lovers everywhere to showcase their blogging skills for a chance to attend and report live from the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Lexington, Ky. The contest is sponsored by Purina Mills, LLC and co-sponsored by EquiSearch (www.EquiSearch.com) and Active Travel. Contestants can learn more about “Live from Lexington” and enter online at www.LiveFromLexington.com.
“Two grand prize winners of the contest will be our Purina blog-o-spondents and will report to our fans on the latest happenings at the Games,” said Brant Gilbert, marketing manager, Horse Business Group. “We know that Purina has some of the most loyal customers and horse enthusiasts in the industry, and we are excited to find the perfect duo to send to the competition and enjoy the festivities.”
Contest entries can be submitted online at www.LiveFromLexington.com between March 1 and May 31, 2010. To participate, entrants must submit a video of sixty seconds or less explaining why they want to be a Purina® Live from Lexington blog-o-spondent. Videos will be judged based on the entrant’s response, qualifications, articulation, and talent.
On hand for the presentation were Alltech’s Tyler Bramble (r) and Dr. Alan Wessler, MFA Inc. MFA is an official animal health and nutrition partner for the games. They join more than 60 other organizations who have also partnered with Alltech for this first time competition in the United States. The games will be held in Kentucky from Sept. 25 to October 10.
I talked to both Tyler and Alan about their partnership and what it means to each company this evening.
You can listen to or download my interview with Tyler here:
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The equine group at Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica has produced a short video to help promote it’s new Vetera virus protection.
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI), announces the introduction of its Vetera™ West Nile virus family of vaccines, the only vaccines containing the North American Equine E159™ 2005 horse isolate representative of the virus that is most likely to infect horses today. The Vetera family of vaccines includes protection against West Nile virus; Eastern, Western and Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis; and tetanus, in a variety of combinations.
Podcasting for the equine industry is alive and well in the form of the Horse Radio Network. This morning’s program is coming to you from the world famous Coffee Zone in Jefferson City, MO and features an interview with HRN founder and “chief bottle washer” Glenn Hebert.
Glenn says he started HRN after having produced an equine podcast for a client of his. In the past year they’ve grown the network of programming to 5 regular podcasts.
Glenn says they have regular advertisers supporting them and of course they’d like to have a few more. A major piece of advice that he offers is to make a commitment to your podcast. You have to produce it regularly to build an audience and it doesn’t happen overnight. I can’t agree more.
Learn more about HRN and podcasting by listening to this week’s program.
I’d like to thank AgWired Sponsor, Fluidigm, for their support of the ZimmCast.
At the recent BlogWorld and New Media Expo I met Glenn, Chief Geek, for the Horse Radio Network. It looks like they’ve really got the podcasting thing down pat. I’m betting they’re even making a living at it. Must be something to it (he said tongue in cheek).
The Horse Radio Network is your home for equine related online horse radio. Over the next couple of months we will be providing you some fantastic shows and content all about horses.
From the serious to the sublime, from Arabs to Welsh Ponies, from 9 handers to 19 handers we will cover it all. There is no prejudice here, its just about horses. Sure there will be some shows that emphasis one breed or another, but we will do our best to cover it all.
The key to the Horse Radio Network is fun! We believe that people own horses for fun and entertainment. Why else would you put up with the early morning feedings, stall cleaning, vet bills, long trips to shows, empty bank accounts and everything else that goes with being a horse owner.
Participants in the Global Dairy 500 Conference were treated to a horse show and dinner at the Kentucky Horse Park. Our visit included seeing multiple horse breeds and riders dressed in traditional costume. I spoke with one of the riders mounted on an Arabian horse named D’artagnan. He’s 11 years old and on loan to the Park by his owner. You can listen to my interview below.
I also shot a video clip which includes an interview with the other horses and riders.
Besides hanging around with us and getting in lots of photos we also had a ring show that included a set of miniature horses pulling a wagon. I thought you’d enjoy seeing them.
Holistic health for horses just got a little better.
Horse and pet nutrition and health products company Arenus of St. Charles, MO recently acquired the intellectual property, technology and product lines of Equilite, Inc.
According to a press release, Equilite provides many all-natural herbal health products that are safe for horses, horse owners and the environment. Ingredients are human grade and made in the US without sugars, fillers or chemical additives.
Arenus acquired Equilite’s three product lines: the Sore No-More® Liniment Product Line, Herbal Supplement line and Botanical Animal® Flower Essence line, totaling 39 individual products. Other Equilite products include bathing, fly control, general health, behavioral training, relaxation, liniment and legs, as well as natural pasture seed.
ARENUS® is owned by Novus Nutrition Brands, LLC (a Novus International company) and is specifically dedicated to improving the health, performance, and longevity of all horses and dogs.
You’ve heard of C-SPAN. Now there’s H-SPAN. The H is for Horse. HorseTV, the first and only multi-platform television network dedicated to providing programming for a worldwide equestrian audience, announced today the launch of H-SPAN, the industry-serving component of its online television portal.
With the announcement of the H-SPAN activation and the amazing lineup of initial programming included in the launch, HorseTV now is leading the way in providing broad international public access to many of the industry’s important happenings, discussions, critical issues and political agendas. Travel, time and expense constraints will no longer be barriers to participating in or learning from important events, seminars, meetings or debates on industry issues. H-SPAN can provide live, interactive and archived on demand broadcasts to a worldwide audience.
H-SPAN . . . “Spanning the Horse industry” . . . is a first-of-its-kind service for the industry, and is provided by HorseTV as a neutral, non-edited informational and interactive platform for any event with a message, mission or agenda that contributes to the make-up of the equestrian industry worldwide .
“New Holland is one of our corporate sponsors, which we are very proud to have on board, so we are happy to be here sharing a booth with them talking about horses while they talk about tractors,” says Ginger Walker, APHA director of special events.
APHA is the second largest horse breed registry in the United States with nearly 100,000 members and Ginger says they are a very exceptional horse. “The color really sets them apart, they’re basically a stock horse with color and each one is unique – no two are alike, they’re like a snowflake,” said Ginger. “They’re very fun to ride and they can do all sorts of things.”
Visitors to the New Holland/APHA booth get to play Wii games to win Michael Peterson CDs. Ginger is shown here congratulating one young visitor on his Wii bowling score.
Listen to or download my interview with Ginger here:
It was a wet and wild day at My Lady’s Manor Steeplechase races. Can you say “mud?” I left after the main race which you can see the winner of here. I got very lucky and was presented a pass to the owners and judges tower right over the finish line.
The race was pretty exciting but I don’t have the winner’s name. If anyone knows they’re welcome to leave it in the comments.
Before the events got started I met and interviewed Turney McKnight, direct of the Manor races since 1978. He says this is the 99th running of the race. He says the race evolved from the horse and buggy days and was a real source of sport. The distance hasn’t changed and is still over 3 miles with 16 jumps. The crowd can be as many as 7,500.
It pretty much rained all day while I was at the races. Turney was one of the first people I met and we sat in his truck to talk. You can listen to my interview with Turney here:
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I also shot a video clip of the end of the My Lady’s Manor race. You might here my Nikon clicking because I was shooting stills at the same time. I don’t recommend that. But us professionals can handle it!
Need a good book or two to curl up with in the evenings? I was recommended a few books recently that I thought I would share with all of you. These books are not just for horse lovers. They are for anyone who wants to be inspired. Interestingly, the author royalties from the sale of these books go to the care of the 63 rescue horses currently residing at the Proud Spirit Horse Sanctuary. These two novels are authored by Melanie Sue Bowles, who is incredibly passionate and dedicated to the equine industry. Her mission is to care for unwanted and elderly horses, and she is raising money through book purchases. Today, nearly 200 downtrodden horses reside at Proud Spirit.
The first book is appropriately titled, The Horses of Proud Spirit, and her second novel is titled, Hoof Prints. Melanie’s first book details her mission to care for abandoned horses. The second novel takes readers on a journey back to the lives of their favorite horses. In a time where horse slaughter is banned, there is an increasing number of unwanted horses. I give kudos to those that dedicate their lives to caring for them. I just hope that books like these don’t create the image of horses as pets. Horses are animals; they live and die. It’s the circle of life in agriculture, and I hope these books don’t sway too much away from that message.
In any event, these books sound like they have a good message and a heart warming story in between the pages. To order, head to Amazon or Proud Spirit.
After a busy week of tests and projects, I finally headed out of Brookings to start SDSU’s Spring Break. While I’m not headed to Cancun like a lot of my classmates, I have a week of fun things planned to do, both work and play. While I was on my way home yesterday, I stopped at Schlagel Farms to work on a story about their century old farm. Here is owner of the homestead, Mona Schlagel, at the original site near Raymond, S.D.
Established in 1899, the 160 acres of this plot was established during the Homestead Act. The Homestead Act allowed for a pioneer to own the land they settled on after five years if they built a house on it, plowed the land, dug up a well and actually lived there. The Schlagel family traveled from Illinois to South Dakota to pursue a new life, and in 1906, the homestead was finally theirs. Since then, this plot of land has continued to stay in the Schlagel family. In 2008, they were recognized at the South Dakota State Fair for their century farm.
Today, I thought I would share a little piece of Dakota history with you. To understand who we are, we have to understand where we come from. South Dakota has a rich history of pioneer settlements, Indian wars, weather challenges and tales of the Wild West. Later this week, I will be experiencing this rich history with my Spring Break trip to the Black Hills. I will share my photos from my journey as the week progresses. Have a great weekend!
Trish Lynn (r) and the All American Cowgirl Chicks were at Commodity Classic sponsored by RFD-TV. Trish says they were real proud to be here.
The Cowgirl Chicks are a rodeo entertainment team that rodeo just about every weekend. They do about 85 performances a year, including outside the country. They’re trick riding professionals using castaway horses. They have to spend a lot of time working with them to train them. Trish says it’s a commitment and dedication to live the cowgirl way of life.
You can listen to my interview with Trish here:
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The recent surge in profitability within the agriculture sector is giving farmers and ag companies a bit of room to breath. But, Monsanto says, just a bit. Michael Doane, Monsanto’s Sustainability Team Lead says that with profitability comes responsibility: a responsibility for the agricultural climate of the future. There are big questions, Michael says, that begged to be asked, and, hopefully, answered. How do we meet the growing demand? How do farmers fit into the growing needs of the recent future? What will the world look like for our children? Will it be a world, Michael asked, that has a lot of pressure on its resource base?
“We’re going to have to produce more food on the same acres between now and 2050 then we’ve produced in the last 10,000 years combined,” Michael said. “That’s pretty substantial. That’s going to get us to twice the level of annual food production in 2050 versus today.”
Michael says responding to such demands is a responsibility that must be shared throughout the ag sector. But, he says, Monsanto is eagerly doing it’s part to help.
“This conversation about sustainability kind of hit us right between the eyes,” Michael said. “We went out and started talking to a lot of people about agriculture; and what doing more with less would look like; what would be important there.”
Ultimately, Michael says, Monsanto’s goal is to make farmers more productive and, consequently, more financially successful.
“Our goal is to make every farmer we serve better off the next year than they were the previous year,” Michael said.
And, Michael says, that goal is meant to benefit farmers all over the world.
“In developing countries we think we also need to do that,” Michael said. “So, we’ve committed to helping 5 million resource-poor farmers, who are simply trying to feed their families, do that.”
But, as much as Monsanto recognizes its role in securing the future of farming and the future of feeding the world, the Michael says finding long-term, sustainable solutions will be a team effort.
“It’s going to be the ‘we’ collectively that does this,” Michael said.
You can download and listen to Michael Doane’s entire speech at the 2008 Farm Progress Show in Boone, IA here:
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If you’re planning on traveling with a horse then you might want to check into the advice and help of some experts. The experts at Horse Travel Network. This is a new venture which was just announced at the National Appaloosa Show. They’re not tied to just one breed either by the way.
Mark Hardy is the President of Horse Travel Network. This morning he and I sat down and wound up talking far longer than I think we planned but he’s an interesting guy and this new venture sounds like it’s got some great potential. One of the things I find most interesting is how they’re totally internet based and have already got over 700 people signed up and it’s brand new! Word of mouth is working for them big time. The site will include advice, forums, blogs and of course, listings. It’s going to take advantage of some social networking applications which are really popular today.
The Horse Travel Network is a new sponsor of the Appaloosa Horse Club and offering their members a special deal right now of a free membership.
The program this week ends with music from the Podsafe Music Network. In the spirit of traveling I chose “Travel Ditty Guitar” from Acoustic Rosh. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.
You can download and listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 177 (13 min MP3)
Or listen to this week’s ZimmCast right now:
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The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired which you can subscribe to using the link in our sidebar. You can also subscribe in iTunes
Cindy got to see Michael Peterson perform on Friday night but I got to see Callaway perform on Saturday night. She did a benefit concert for support of Appaloosa Youth Association activities and was a big hit with the young audience.
She played a full set of songs with her band and showed why she’s an up and coming star.
The ring was opened up so that everyone could come down out of the stands and get up close and personal. It took a little coaxing but once Callaway got started most of the crowd moved on down.
You can watch Callaway perform one of her songs in this video:
One thing I don’t think you’ll ever find me doing is calf roping. I may as well jump off a building as a horse after roping a calf. That is, if I could even swing the rope and ride at the same time.
These guys make it look like a piece of cake though. It’s still relatively early here in Jackson, MS but they’ve been out here at it since 7:30am. In fact, I think they start that early every day for 2 weeks.
The first week here is mostly the youth show with adults starting today. I’ll be around until about midday on Monday so you can expect more from here.
I don’t mean the golf company. Maybe you don’t know Callaway yet but I do. She’s a very young singing star and will be performing tonight at the National Appaloosa Show.
She’s on the left in case you didn’t figure that out. I’ll let you figure out who’s on the right.
Callaway will be performing a benefit concert for the Appaloosa Youth Association programs. She’s from Madison, MS but lives now in Nashville. Callaway is 16 years old and has been touring with the legendary Sam Moore.
I asked her if she liked horses and she loves them. She’s impressed with how kind the people are she’s met here and good at what they do.
You can listen to my interview with the Callaway here:
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The Riata Ranch Cowboy Girls are performing at the National Appaloosa Show for two nights. According to Executive Director, Jennifer Nicholson, they’ll be doing their choreographed lasso dance and acrobatic trick riding.
This morning I got to talk with them so in the interview you can hear from each of the girls here, ages 9 to 17, with Jennifer in the middle. Jennifer says they normally have about 15 to 20 girls a year who are in the program full time not counting others that participate in various clinics.
You can listen to my interview with the girls here:
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Post Update: The girls performed tonight at the show and you can watch some of their acrobatic trick riding in this video:
Riata Ranch was created in 1957 and became a unique riding school for young people combining horsemanship and character development – a concept that was well ahead of its time. The program provides an opportunity to learn about our western heritage while gaining valuable life lessons. An interesting and fun atmosphere is created while maintaining discipline and direction for an effective learning environment. The quality of instruction is designed so that each student gains a positive set of values of which to guide them through the rest of their lives.
Our vision is to prepare young people for the world’s challenges in a manner that ensures their success & contributes to the happiness of everyone who are fortunate enough to meet them. The training will benefit the whole person, body & soul, through a balance of intellectual, physical, artistic & moral lessons. The ranch’s enduring principles will become so internalized that each rider will forever measure his or her choices against the Riata Ranch philosophy.
This week’s ZimmCast is a little late I know but I wanted to wait until I got to Jackson, MS and the National Appaloosa Show so we could learn about how they’ve handled a major move to a new city with a show that’s been held in another location for a long time.
So this week you can hear Appaloosa Horse Club Executive Director and master blogger, Steve Taylor, tell us all about it. Steve is pictured on the right of the ring announcer.
He says the plan to make the move started before he joined the organization 2 years ago. Some of the reasons for the move included making sure they’re getting the best bang for their buck and allowing some new people in a different part of the country to have an opportunity to participate that couldn’t before.
Steve says the move also allowed them to look at how they’re marketing the show. He says they’ve received very good coverage from local media and that the organizational members themselves have been doing a great job of word of mouth. While they’re here in Jackson, his staff and members are doing a lot of local shopping and they’re even making sure they personally invite community members to the show.
The Appaloosa Horse Club also has its own magazine, website, blog, e-newsletter and during their shows they have one or more live webcams.
You can download and listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 176 (14 min MP3)
Or listen to this week’s ZimmCast right now:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired which you can subscribe to using the link in our sidebar. You can also subscribe in iTunes
Commodity Classic took place in Anaheim, CA. You'll find all of Chuck, Cindy and Joanna's photos here.
Exposing HSUS
If you're involved in agriculture then you should become familiar with HumaneWatch.org.
HumaneWatch.org is the work of David Martosko and in this week's program you get to meet him via my phone conversation with him. He's compiling a great online library of information on this group.
Hey horse loving bloggers. Want to blog the upcoming 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games? Enter this contest.
The 
Podcasting for the equine industry is alive and well in the form of the 
At the recent BlogWorld and New Media Expo I met Glenn, Chief Geek, for the 
Holistic health for horses just got a little better.
According to a 
You’ve heard of C-SPAN. Now there’s 
Sharing a booth with New Holland at the CMA Music Festival in Nashville this year is the 
APHA is the second largest horse breed registry in the United States with nearly 100,000 members and Ginger says they are a very exceptional horse. “The color really sets them apart, they’re basically a stock horse with color and each one is unique – no two are alike, they’re like a snowflake,” said Ginger. “They’re very fun to ride and they can do all sorts of things.” 
I saw my first steeplechase races live and exciting today in Monkton, MD thanks to the 
The race was pretty exciting but I don’t have the winner’s name. If anyone knows they’re welcome to leave it in the comments.
Need a good book or two to curl up with in the evenings? I was recommended a few books recently that I thought I would share with all of you. These books are not just for horse lovers. They are for anyone who wants to be inspired. Interestingly, the author royalties from the sale of these books go to the care of the 63 rescue horses currently residing at the Proud Spirit Horse Sanctuary. These two novels are authored by Melanie Sue Bowles, who is incredibly passionate and dedicated to the equine industry. Her mission is to care for unwanted and elderly horses, and she is raising money through book purchases. Today, nearly 200 downtrodden horses reside at Proud Spirit.
The first book is appropriately titled, The Horses of Proud Spirit, and her second novel is titled, Hoof Prints. Melanie’s first book details her mission to care for abandoned horses. The second novel takes readers on a journey back to the lives of their favorite horses. In a time where horse slaughter is banned, there is an increasing number of unwanted horses. I give kudos to those that dedicate their lives to caring for them. I just hope that books like these don’t create the image of horses as pets. Horses are animals; they live and die. It’s the circle of life in agriculture, and I hope these books don’t sway too much away from that message.
After a busy week of tests and projects, I finally headed out of Brookings to start SDSU’s Spring Break. While I’m not headed to Cancun like a lot of my classmates, I have a week of fun things planned to do, both work and play. While I was on my way home yesterday, I stopped at Schlagel Farms to work on a story about their century old farm. Here is owner of the homestead, Mona Schlagel, at the original site near Raymond, S.D.
Established in 1899, the 160 acres of this plot was established during the Homestead Act. The Homestead Act allowed for a pioneer to own the land they settled on after five years if they built a house on it, plowed the land, dug up a well and actually lived there. The Schlagel family traveled from Illinois to South Dakota to pursue a new life, and in 1906, the homestead was finally theirs. Since then, this plot of land has continued to stay in the Schlagel family. In 2008, they were recognized at the South Dakota State Fair for their century farm.
Trish Lynn (r) and the 
and 
The recent surge in profitability within the agriculture sector is giving farmers and ag companies a bit of room to breath. But, 
Mark Hardy is the President of Horse Travel Network. This morning he and I sat down and wound up talking far longer than I think we planned but he’s an interesting guy and this new venture sounds like it’s got some great potential. One of the things I find most interesting is how they’re totally internet based and have already got over 700 people signed up and it’s brand new! Word of mouth is working for them big time. The site will include advice, forums, blogs and of course, listings. It’s going to take advantage of some social networking applications which are really popular today.
Cindy got to see Michael Peterson perform on Friday night but I got to see Callaway perform on Saturday night. She did a benefit concert for support of Appaloosa Youth Association activities and was a big hit with the young audience.
One thing I don’t think you’ll ever find me doing is calf roping. I may as well jump off a building as a horse after roping a calf. That is, if I could even swing the rope and ride at the same time.
I don’t mean the golf company. Maybe you don’t know 
The 
Steve says the move also allowed them to look at how they’re marketing the show. He says they’ve received very good coverage from local media and that the organizational members themselves have been doing a great job of word of mouth. While they’re here in Jackson, his staff and members are doing a lot of local shopping and they’re even making sure they personally invite community members to the show.
If you're involved in agriculture then you should become familiar with HumaneWatch.org.
