Skip to content

Horses And Hope Trail Ride



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

More Stories

  • Latest Issue 2 25 HW

    Read More
  • ASHBA Annual Meeting Highlights

    The annual meeting of the American Saddlebred Horse and Breeders Association saw a substantial turnout of membership. More than half of the active, eligible members at the time of the vote let their voices be heard either in person or by proxy on two topics: a bylaw amendment proposal and the vote to elect two people to represent the membership on the nominating committee for the board of directors. Read More
  • Morgan Stallion Sweeps Date Changed

    The New England Regional Morgan Horse Show and Association along with the United Breeders Committee announces a date change for the upcoming Morgan Stallion Sweeps drawing to March 15th. Read More
  • AHHS Board of Director Election Results

    The results are in and the AHHS would like to congratulate the five successful candidates on their election to the AHHS Board! The five candidates elected are Chris Gantley, Maureen Quackenbush, Bryan Earehart, Amber Kildow, and Melissa Moore. Read More
  • Latest Issue 2 10 25

    Read More
  • Update on ASHBA Website

    Earlier today, we noticed that the server that supports the ASHBA database was experiencing a lot of activity. After a brief investigation, we discovered that certain parts of the system were being hit almost constantly and slowing down the server. This was leading to performance issues across the board. We pulled server logs and saw more than 77,000 requests for show results for this morning alone. Read More
  • Over $60,000 Raised At New York Morgan Stallion Service Auction

    It was a new year and a new committee for the New York Morgan Stallion Service Auction. With committee members emeriti Ivan Beattie and Lynn Peeples, Chairperson Jennifer Peek focused on the young trainers in the New York area, tapping Anna Kufs, Chris Bernard, Keith Friday, Lindsay Perry Atkinson, Rebecca Arotsky and Will Vidler, and Tuffy Owens to fill out the revamped team. Read More
  • Topping The Ladies Division

    Read More
  • 2025 Annual Membership Meeting of American Saddlebred Horse and Breeders Association

    The Annual Membership Meeting of the American Saddlebred Horse and Breeders Association, Inc. will be held on Thursday, February 13, 2025 at 2 pm EST at the Lexington Marriott City Center, 121 West Vine Street, in Lexington, KY.  Read More
  • Michigan Morgan Horse Breeders Futurity Activities

    The Michigan Morgan Horse Breeders Futurity (MMHBF) will host its annual stallion service auction on Saturday, March 1, with a full day of activities on Friday, February 28. The events will be held in the Middlebury, Indiana area with the Hampton Inn serving as the host hotel.  Read More