Horses And Hope Trail Ride
Monday, September 26, 2011
Lexington, Kentucky - American Saddlebreds constituted a sizable portion of participants on hand to represent the breed at the HORSES and HOPE Trail ride, which was held on Sunday, September 18, at the Kentucky Horse Park, and hosted by Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear.
The event was held to raise money for HORSES and HOPE, which is a breast cancer initiative of the Office of the First Lady and the Kentucky Cancer Program. Its goal is to work with the state’s equine industry to identify new opportunities to provide breast cancer awareness, education, early detection through screening and treatment referral, as well as to raise funds to sustain programs into the future.
Of the total entries who participated in the trail ride, more than 50 were either riding American Saddlebreds, or were involved as part of ASHA’s Saddlebreds Have Hope contingent of participants, and the Saddlebred participants accounted for over $2,000 of the funds raised for this great cause.
Not only were Saddlebreds the largest single group in attendance at the event, but the collective resume of the Saddlebred participants was rather impressive as well. Among the Saddlebreds present at the event was multiple five-gaited World's Champion CHTitle Bound, ridden by Misdee Wrigley Miller; Country Pleasure Driving World's Champion Heirithmatic,ridden by Julie Kaufman; Country Pleasure World Champion CHWillie Angel, ridden by Dena Lopez; ASR Kentucky Futurity Yearling World's Champion The Power Of One, ridden by Dave Lopez; and accomplished five-gaited mount Rebel Rooster, ridden by Kristen Bagdasarian. The Saddlebred lineup also included several veteran trail horses, school horses, and Saddlebred “best friends” who took the ride together, all of whom negotiated every bit of the trail with ease, whether walking calmly along the trail, galloping through an open field, or walking over bridges or various other types of terrain.
The event was also great exposure for the American Saddlebred, especially to those who may not have had much previous experience with the breed. Others in attendance were very complimentary of the beauty of the Saddlebreds, who were perfectly well-mannered throughout the entire trail ride, with their ears up, exhibiting the upbeat attitude known all too well by those familiar with the breed.
To view photos from the event, visit the ASHA Facebook page and view the events photos albums,here and here.
ASHA would like to thank all the Saddlebred participants who helped to represent the breed well at this wonderful event, and raise money for this great cause. For more information about HORSES andHOPE, visit the organization’s website, at www.horsesandhope.org.
ASHA would also like to thank the following event sponsors:
Dabora Inc. (Saddle Horse Report, Horse World, World Champion Horse Equipment)
Mary Beth Clark
John R. Cummins, DVM
Honey Baked Ham
Hultquist: Protect Your Big Ideas
Mary Krentz
Jessica Lau
Lynwood Farms
Ian Partridge
Southern States
UPHA Pink Ribbon Program
Wild Impact Marketing
Mary Sue Walker and Justice Real Estate
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