2010 Zone 6 Classes

Plans are already underway for the 2010 versions of the Zone 6 Classes. The third annual Zone Challenge will be held as an USHJA National Hunter Challenge on June 11th at the Midstates Horse Show in Mason City, Iowa, followed by the Pro-Eq class the next week on June 18th. The Powers Horsemanship Class will take place on September 18th, also in Mason City. The Zone Committees are working on new ideas for the Zone Finals, so stay tuned for those.

Raffle Ticket Fundraiser for Zone 6

Raffle Ticket Fundraiser Update

Kelly Fedt and Brookside Farm are the winners of a Miller and Sons Golf Car for the week of the Midstates Summerfest Horseshow, June 9-13, 2010. Highlighting the weeks events will be the $5000 USHJA Zone 6 Hunter Classic.
Another raffle ticket drawing will take place prior to the class on the June 11th for a stall during the Midstates Fall Horse Show September 15 – 19. Zone 6 Championship Classics are held that week along with the Zandra Powers Memorial Horsemanship Classic.

Zone 6 News (June 2010)

A bit unusual for Zone 6 but we actually had a spring season. Two months of beautiful spring weather found our members very active. May horse shows began in Mason City, Iowa, with windy weather, to be expected, and mild temperatures. Riders were excused from wearing their coats on the weekend (not to be expected)!! Diane Popp joined us for a forum on the May 7th, and some forty members attended. As a fund raiser for the $5,000 USHJA – Zone 6 National Hunter Classic a raffle was held. Miller & Sons Golf Car from Britt Iowa donated a golf car for the week of June 9th to 13th at the Midstates Summer Horse Show, and Midstates Horse Shows gave a stall for a week at the September Fall Horse Show. The drawing for the golf car took place May 9th and was won by Mary Armstrong’s Brookside farm. The final drawing for the stall was done between the first round and the handy round of the Hunter Classic on June 11th. Gail Brandt from Hugo, Minnesota was the winner. The zone raised a little over $600 on the raffle.

May also saw the first of the MHJA "Opportunity Circuit" classes. Horse Shows. Zone 6 has granted them $500 for the circuit which will offer these classes at six of the local "B" rated horse shows. The first offering was at the MHJA Horse Show held at Carriage house in late May. They are offering "opportunity" Beginner Adult Equitation, Beginner Junior Equitation, Intermediate Equitation open to both Juniors and Adults and on up to Opportunity Jumper classes. The classes progressed from poles on the ground to cross rails, to fences 2’ – 2’3. The kick off for these classes was a Shortest Stirrup Opportunity class sponsored by St. Croix Saddlery.

Having enjoyed spring and summer during May we returned to spring for the Midstates Summer horse show. Rains so heavy that one or two of the days start times were delayed. We lucked out for the $5,000 class on Friday the 11th. Ken Nordstrom and Carleton Brooks created a wonderful course in the large Grand Prix ring, making good use of the bank and "natural elements". (Friday was one of the delayed start days, and a horrendous rain storm in the morning supplied some un anticipated water elements in the ring. No bonus points allowed for leaping over or walking through them!!!) Flora Battiston from Brazil was on hand to add her wonderful floral decorating touches to the jumps. It was lovely. There were 30 entrants and the winner was "Showtime" owned by Katie Sweeney and ridden by Kim Barone. Sue Kyllonen, on "Fritz" a Westphalian that Jim Urban brought over from Germany a few years ago, secured second place with a score of 95 in the handy round. Kim Barone was back for third place on "Calligraphy" owned by Molly Hayward. It was a great evening.

At this writing the two Alpine horse shows have been held, and also the Riverbend horse show. Some of our members are heading to Colorado, others are staying home for the Carriage House Horse Show in mid August. Two members qualified for the NAJYRC, Brook Cudmore, Nebraska, and.Caitlin Ziegler from Illinois. Unfortunately they will not be competing this year. Zone 6 has Pony Finals Team this year. Representing the Pony Jumper Team is Nicole Bangasser from Jordan, MN and "Little Miss Ruby", Kamille Marcussen from Coralville, IA with "Autumn Sunrise" and, Ellie Foelker from Jefferson, WI and "Bluebird". The team will be heading to Kentucky the week of August 9th-15th.

At home the season is winding down. Cariage House and the State Fair will see lots of the local Twin City members attending, can’t miss all the amazing options for eating!! Others are getting ready for the Hott Horse Shows held at the Maffit Lake Equestrian Center in Iowa, August 11 – 15 and 18 – 22. Maffit Lake requested a grant from the Zone 6 Committee for the purpose of conducting an Equine Conformation Clinic to be held August 13, 2010 in conjunction with the Two Rivers Summer Festival Horse Show, held at the Maffitt Lake Equestrian Center in Cumming Iowa. United States Equestrian Federation RR Judge Mr. Walter James Lee and Dr. Scott McClure, DVM, Associate Professor and Section Head of the Equine Science Department at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine, will conduct a forum following regularly scheduled horse show classes and preceding the exhibitor’s party and dinner. This is open to all attending the horse show, and if there are equestrians in the area they too are welcome. The clinic is free to all.

September has a good offering starting with The Otter Creek Horse show in Wheeler, WI, over the Labor Day weekend. Then Sept. 15 – 19 the Midstates Fall Horse Show, Mason City, Iowa, and two more Hott Horse Shows – Sept. 22 - 26 Madison County Fall Classic, Sept. 29 – Oct. 3, Madison County Fall Classic, and the Minnesota Harvest Horse Show Oct. 5 – 10 to close out the season.

For the Zone 6 Committee fall also signifies the time for Rule Changes. Please keep informed of any rule changes and rule change proposals by going to the USHJA rules page or for a list of all proposed rule changes visit USEF.org The committee welcomes your opinion and input. Hope to see many of you in the coming weeks.

New Projects

Zone 6 has approved a grant to assist with a new project in conjunction with MHJA. The MHJA and the USHJA are sponsoring the "Opportunity Circuit" at the six Twin City area MHJA horse shows. Participate in at least 3 of the shows, and you’ll be eligible for a circuit award! Opportunity classes are exempt from all USEF, USHJA, and MHJA membership fees and give a rider the opportunity in trying out the horse show world or competing in a new discipline while experiencing competition at a recognized show with licensed judges, and course designers.

Sections for Circuit Awards – Each section will have a champion and reserve awarded. The awards will be presented at the MHJA banquet, November 20, 2010, at the Metropolitan Ballroom in St. Louis Park, MN. Winners will be notified prior to the banquet.

Equitation classes are judged on control of mount, appropriate pace, steering and effective position of rider. Hunter classes judged on performance, manners of mount, and suitability at this level of competition.

Opportunity Circuit Specifications (PDF)

Minnesota Hunter and Jumper Association (June 2010)

The MHJA Opportunity Circuit is off to a good start. This circuit was helped by a Grass Roots grant from USHJA. The fist classes were held at the MHJA Show, May 20-23 at Carriage House Farm in Hugo, MN. At least 20 new exhibitors participated, ranging in age from 6 to the 50 and over group. The hope is that these classes will introduce people to the fun of our sport. It will be interesting to view the statistics and demographics from these classes at the end of the year.

The MHJA Challenge series is also off to a great second year. The first two shows had 18 and 20 entries respectively, in this class. Not only is the prize money good, but exhibitors also enjoy getting out the formal attire. Patterned after a Hunter Derby style class, the MHJA Challenge gives course designers a chance to have fun and riders a chance to demonstrate their handy hunter skills.

The MHJA Medal finals are quickly approaching. Best wishes to everyone for a safe and dry season. No more flash floods, please!

Missouri Hunter Jumper Association (May 2010)

Congratulations to all whose photographs appeared in the horse show issue of The Chronicle of the Horse. Board member Edwina Graham coordinated photos with help from Chris Mautz of cjmphoto, who donated a free 8x10 photo to division winners.

In addition to division winners, Zone 7 was represented with Courtney Link and Top Gun, David Hughes’ Midnight Blue, Marianne Michalson and Conteur Song, Katherine Nestor and Skye Blue, Raegan Rast and Ginger Spice, and Kaitlyn Alsup and Kiss for Luck. Nancy Sutherland and Vancouver repeated as grand amateur owner hunter, 36 and over.

MOHJO is pleased to announce a new division for year-end awards. It’s called the Masters, and it will be a 2' division open to seniors only. No birth certificate needed, you know who you are.

Interscholastic Equestrian Association (May 2010 News)

We need to hear from you

Feedback Request from Members

Zone 6 would love to hear from the members about what they would like to see offered at the Zone level. Any questions or suggestions on forum topics, educational events, or programs you would like to see for 2011 season would be greatly appreciated. Both the Hunter and Jumper Committees would like to know how they can better serve zone members. Please send your questions or suggestions to dpopp@ushja.org or any of the Zone 6 committee members.

In order to meet our goal in making this website the best tool for all your zone needs, we want to hear from you. Please let us know your thoughts and suggestions on how to make this site more proactive. Please contact USHJA Zones Manager, Diane Popp or at 859.225.6700.