Anne Speck to Host Saddle Seat Equitation Clinic at IL Horse Fair
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Anne Speck
Anne Speck, successful coach and judge of national finals in both the Saddlebred and Morgan world, will host the Saddle Seat Equitation Clinic for riders of Arabians, Morgans, National Show Horses and Saddlebreds on Saturday and Sunday at the 19th annual Illinois Horse Fair, March 2-4. Presented by Purina Mills, Midway Trailer Sales, John Deere and Morton Buildings, Illinois Horse Fair is held at the state fairgrounds in Springfield.
Although the Equitation Clinic is on Saturday and Sunday, Illinois Horse Fair opens on Friday, March 2, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., when early bird shoppers will have access to 140 vendors' full stock of merchandise plus save money on special Friday-only promotions and admission charge. The popular breed and sport demonstrations, stallion parade, sale horses and reining, Western and barrel racing clinics are on Saturday and Sunday only as in previous years.
Not only has Anne Speck produced World and National Champion Saddle Seat Equitation riders on Saddlebreds and Morgans out of her Rancho Del Mar (now located in Valley Center, CA), but she also has judged equitation at the Saddlebred World Championship and Morgan Grand National, plus the UPHA Junior and Senior Challenge Cup Finals, NHS Good Hands Finals, USEF Medal Finals and AMHA Gold Medal and UPHA Finals.
Opened in 1974, Rancho Del Mar and Anne Speck quickly became synonymous with West Coast horsemanship excellence. As an equitation coach, Anne takes pride in developing riders who not only can “equitate” but also are horsemen and women in the finest sense of the word.
Her reputation as a passionate and talented trainer of equitation riders and horses has earned her icon status. Her riders have won World Championships and Medal Finals for the Saddlebred and Morgan breeds, including a double Medal Finals winner who won the Junior UPHA Finals and AHSA Medal Finals the same year at the American Royal. At the Morgan Grand National, four of her riders won the Saddle Seat AMHA Gold Medal Finals. Anne Speck riders with recent national titles include Jacqueline Beck, Ariana Corrigan, Mackenzie Lyttle, Tayler Walters and Cheyenne Banks-Diaz.
Anne has been honored by her peers in the Saddlebred and Morgan worlds. In 2004 she received the Audrey Pugh Gutridge Award at the Saddlebred World Championship and was named Woman of the Year by the American Morgan Horse Association. In 2003, she was named Instructor of the Year by the United Professional Horsemen’s Association.
This clinic provides an opportunity to ride with a coach who has trained and/or judged the best equitation riders in the Saddlebred and Morgan Saddle Seat divisions.
To Ride in the Anne Speck Saddle Seat Equitation Clinic
The Saddle Seat Equitation Clinic will be two hours each morning on Saturday and Sunday in the heated Livestock Center arena. Fee for the clinic is $150; up to 10 riders will be selected. To apply for the clinic, contact Joyce Harris at (217) 787-2244 or email Jasurbeck@yahoo.com. A clinic rider application is available at www.HorsemensCouncil.org.
Tickets to Horse Fair
Advance tickets may be charged to Visa or MasterCard; tickets at the door are cash only: one-day ticket is $12 adult, $6 child/senior; weekend pass is $20 adult, $10 child/senior. To purchase advance tickets, print a ticket order form from www.HorsemensCouncil.org, call the Council office at (217) 585-1600 (ask for Bonnie or Kenneth), or email BChandler@chha.net. A complete schedule of events is printable from the web site.
To Exhibit at Illinois Horse Fair
For information on exhibiting, contact Joy Meierhans, Horse Fair Manager, at (630) 557-2575, or email JM@TheMeierhans.com.
Illinois Horse Fair is produced by Horsemen's Council of Illinois, the state’s “organization of equine organizations” and individuals. HCI is the state affiliate of the American Horse Council and strives to provide centralized and representative leadership for Illinois’ 77,000 horse owners, 213,000 horses and its diverse $3.8 billion-dollar equine industry.
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