by Bernice Niemeyer

The Calgary Regional Appaloosa Club members worked hard organizing the Claresholm Appaloosa Congress Show on August 19 and 20, 2006 which culminated in a very successful production.

A huge bouquet of flowers to the volunteers who donated their time to this endeavour:
continue reading "The Claresholm Appaloosa Congress Show (2006)"

by Jessie Gwynne

Over the weekend of August 12 and 13, 2006, the Cochrane Agricultural Arena hosted the 33rd annual All Breed Pony Show.

In past years, the show has been held at numerous locations across Alberta including Millarville, Thorsby, Okotoks, and Didsbury, but for the first time this year it was held in Cochrane.

Pat Clay, Sheila McLellan, and Dave and Grace Langford have organized, volunteered, and served on the judging committee since the show’s conception.
continue reading "All Breed Pony Show 33 Years Young"

Fans of the endangered Przewalski horse are mourning the death of the oldest known member of the sub-species.

The mare, named Cilka, was euthanized at the Prague Zoo at the age of 34. A zoo official said the aged mare was suffering and the decision was the right one to make.

The Przewalski horse, or Takh, is native to the grasslands of central Asia. It has never been domesticated and is the national symbol of Mongolia.
continue reading "Oldest known Przewalski horse dies at 34"

by Sheryl Hilton and Ronni Nordal

The fourth annual Zone 10 Northern Color Connection Paint O Rama (NCC) was held August 10 to 14, 2006 at the Red Deer Westerner Park Show arena.

The Zone 10 is formed according to geographical standards of the American Paint Horse Association (APHA) and consists of all Canadian provinces from Manitoba to British Columbia, as well as Alaska.
continue reading "Zone 10 Northern Color Connection (2006)"

A record crowd of 60,870 were treated to one of the most exciting finishes ever in this year’s (2006) BMO Financial Group Nations’ Cup at the Spruce Meadows Masters. They were to witness “Captain Canada” Ian Millar steer the home team to their first ever victory in the event’s 30-year history.

Finishing equal on faults with Britain after two rounds, it came down to just one rider from each team of four that had to jump off. In the end, both teams chose their anchor riders to contest the shortened course and break the tie.
continue reading "Team Canada Victorious at Spruce Meadows"

by Nicholas Arroyo

Did you know that your shopping habits have the potential to change the tack store business as we know it?

Some will say that’s good for the industry, while others will look at it as a serious threat to the well-established, family-owned horse tack businesses that we have all come to know and love.

As part of some research work for my upcoming book, I stumbled across a disturbing trend that is changing the landscape of the traditional “brick-and-mortar” horse tack shop. The domino effect on local tack shops is astounding and troublesome.
continue reading "Trends in Tack Buying: Is on-line purchasing destroying the local tack store?"

Horses All was there when the Horse Industry Association of Alberta (HIAA) launched its branding campaign and a new initiative for the horse industry on September 5, 2006.

After 25 years of organizing North America’s premiere equine conference – the Horse Breeders and Owners Conference – and working behind the scenes in various areas of the industry, the association is becoming less of a secret entity and more of a public organization.
continue reading "Horse Industry Association of Alberta Raises its Profile"