Standardbreds star at Equine Affaire

by Jessica Schroeder, USTA Outreach & Membership Enrichment Coordinator

Columbus, OH — Although cold weather, rain and snow greeted attendees to this past weekend’s Equine Affaire, the Standardbreds and their owners, riders and drivers stayed warm hustling to and from clinics and demonstrations all weekend.

Jessica Schroeder photo

Standardbred demonstration horses (left-right): Grain Of Truth, Today’s Success, Armbro Dane, Investor and Stud’s Hooligan.

Four horses welcomed attendees to the Horse & Farm Exhibit in the Gilligan Complex — Grain Of Truth, Artgentina, Big And Little and Mr Bailey. The latter three were available for adoption from New Vocations Racehorse Adoption and received a lot of interest from those looking for a new horse.

Artgentina and Big And Little also spent a lot of time in the petting stall, adjacent to the USTA and Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association booth space. They, along with Armbro Dane, Investor, Stud’s Hooligan and Today’s Success, hammed it up for the #SelfieStation.

Artgentina and Mr Bailey were also model horses used for various clinics such as “What your horse’s body tells you about your nutrition program,” acupuncture, pre-purchase exams, practical barn etiquette and “Tips for training or re-training your off the track horses.”

Armbro Dane participated in three clinics under saddle including Ken McNabb’s “Spook Proofing Your Horse,” overcoming obstacles while on the trail and teaching your horse to tie anywhere for trail rides.

Highlighting the weekend’s activities were two 10-minute demonstrations showcasing the versatility of the Standardbred as well as giving a bit of history about the breed and sport. Grain Of Truth (with drivers Roy Burns and Jennifer Daniels) represented the racing horse, while Armbro Dane (and rider Claire St Peter) showed in endurance riding gear, Investor (Julie Allison) as a western show horse and Stud’s Hooligan (Amanda Munson) and Today’s Success (Stephanie Geewax) demonstrated English walk/trot/canter and jumping.

Winnie Nemeth photo

Artgentina in the petting stall with some young fans.

Grain Of Truth, the consummate professional in harness, also represented the breed during Fantasia on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Going around the Taft Coliseum to The Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour” the crowd got hyped as Grain Of Truth and Daniels were the first of many breeds and driving disciplines showcased.

The Standardbred could not have been presented so well without the many volunteers and supporters for the weekend. Along with the demonstration horses and their owners/riders listed above, thank you to Kacey Burns, Tyler Burris, Tabby Canarr, Danny Collins (for supplying Grain of Truth’s race bike for the weekend), Kayla Clark, Gray Daniels, Sierra Graham, Lyndsay Hagemeyer, Emily Hay, Aimee Hock, Dr. Laura Kennedy, Regina Mayhugh, Dot Morgan, Winnie Nemeth, Jason Roth, Susan Schroeder, Duncan Shallcross, Mary Wright and Mike Zielinski.

Since 1996, the Standardbred Equine Program has worked with owners of off-the-track Standardbreds to educate the general public about the many disciplines Standardbreds excel at once they are retired from racing. For more information about the SEP at the USTA, visit LifeAfterRacing.ustrotting.com, or send e-mail inquiries to sep@ustrotting.com.

Related Articles:

  • Standardbreds at Equine Affaire (Tuesday, April 05, 2016)
    The USTA, Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association and New Vocations Racehorse Adoption have once again teamed up to promote the Standardbred at Equine Affaire, April 7-10, at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus, Ohio. Highlighting the group of horses representing the breed is $1.5 million earner Grain Of Truth.

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