Record Horse Sale at 8th Annual UFA Sale - Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Posted by kathy

By Sam Hardstaff

The eighth annual United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) Ranch Horse Competition and Sale and Two-Year-Old Prospect Show & Sale were held November 1, 2008 as part of the 30th annual Pfizer Stockade Round Up in Lloydminster, Alberta. There were some great crowds for the horse shows and sales and an enthusiastic buyers group. The Lloydminster Exhibition Association is excited to announce that the high selling horse was sold for a record-breaking price! Tbone Little Zan, consigned by Stankievech Ranches, was bought by Todd and Sue Bygrove of Sky Track Ranch in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan for $16,700. There were 12 two-year-old horses on offer with gross sales of $47,250.00 and an average price of $3937.50

The Ranch Horse sale was also very successful with our top selling horse selling for $8750. Top selling horse Fire Town Orphan was purchased by A-M Paulsen of Prince Alberta, Saskatchewan. Thank you to A-M Paulsen for being our top volume buyer for the second year in a row — we appreciate your support! In total there were 12 Ranch Horses on offer with gross sales of $48,800.00 and an average price of $4066.67. Thank you to all the buyers and consignors for participating and supporting this sale again this year.

UFA Show Results:
2 Year Prospect: K&L Quarter Horses—SWIFT FANCY SAN
Ranch Horse: Millar Ranch—DANDYS TONTO

FEI Calls for Resignation of Dressage Committee - Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Posted by kathy

By Malina Gueorguiev

The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) Executive Board (EB) requested the immediate resignation of the entire FEI Dressage Committee (DC) on November 3, 2008. The FEI EB has taken this decision following a series of issues indicating the current DC’s lack of flexibility on certain key matters. The DC has been seen to work in isolation, not fully representing the interests of the Dressage community as a whole.

On November 22, 2008 a Dressage Task Force was set up to deal with the following aspects:

• Issues surrounding the significant area of training and development;

• Assessment and selection of judges for major championships and Olympic Games;

• Fitness for purpose of the method of judging dressage;

• Competitions needs thorough review — both in terms of the number of judges, their positioning, and the judging process;

• Following significant feedback from National Federations, it is clear that the decision to move from four to three riders in a team is not universally accepted as the best for the sport and this therefore needs reviewing;

• The system for qualification for championships, and the receipt of Certificates of Capability for championships, world championships, and Olympic Games;

• Finally there is a need to review the consultation process within Dressage and how it affects the structure of the committee going forwards to ensure maximum involvement by the key stakeholders both internal to the sport and external within the greater sporting/Olympic/Paralympic environment.

The confirmed members of the Task Force are: Frank Kemperman (Netherlands), chairman and representative of the event organisers; Richard Davison (Great Britain), riders representative; Robert Dover (U.S.A.), trainers representative; Alain Francqueville (France), chef d’équipe. A further member representing the judges is being finalized.

The Task Force will be in place until the 2009 FEI General Assembly by which time a new DC will be elected. For more information, visit www.fei.org.

Norwegian Olympic Rider Hansen has Second Hearing - Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Posted by kathy

By Melanie Huggett, with files from the Associated Press and the FEI

Tony Andre Hansen had a second hearing on November 8, 2008 in the prohibited substance case involving the horse Camiro at the 2008 Olympic Games. The FEI Tribunal heard testimonies from expert witnesses and received additional submissions from the legal teams of both parties.

Hansen is fighting hard to keep the Norwegian show jumping team’s bronze medals. Without his scores, his teammates would drop out of contention, and the fourth place Switzerland team would move up into third place.

Camiro tested positive for the banned pain relieving substance capsaicin after the team show jumping event in August, for which he got suspended and was not allowed to compete in the individual jumping class. Capsaicin is derived from chili peppers, and can also be used as a doping substance when applied to the legs of a horse to encourage them to jump higher to avoid knocking bars. Hansen says his team still is not sure where the substance came from.

Three other riders have been disqualified and suspended in cases involving capsaicin: Germany's Christian Ahlmann was banned for four months, Brazil's Bernardo Alves for 3 1/2 months, and Irish rider Denis Lynch got a three-month ban.

There were also been two cases involving banned medications: Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa was banned for four and half months for testing positive for nonivamide, a pain relieving medication; and Courtney King of the U.S. was banned for one month after testing positive for felbinac, an anti-inflammatory.

For more information, visit www.fei.org.

Manure Spreading Advisory - Saturday, November 22, 2008

Posted by kathy

- www.hcbc.ca
A manure spreading advisory was made on November 7, 2008, for residents in the south coastal region of BC.

In general, manure application on any crops after November 1 is not advised. The Manure Spreading Advisory Committee (MSAC), which consists of industry and government representatives, recognizes that some farmers might not have adequate capacity in their manure storage facilities to hold their current levels of manure and the additional levels expected to accumulate over the winter. The MSAC further recognizes that the environmental risks of applying manure carefully under appropriate conditions are likely less than the environmental risks of overflowing manure storage facilities in winter.

If producers plan to spread manure, the only suitable receiving crop is well established perennial grassland. The principal environmental risks associated with manure application at this time are:
• Surface runoff of manure nutrients and pathogens to water courses
• Short-circuit flow of manure nutrients and pathogens to water courses through drain tiles
• Soil compaction from operating heavy equipment on fields that are very wet

Manure applied to established perennial grassland at this time of year should take into consideration the following recommendations:
• Apply at rates matched to crop nutrient requirements (suggested maximum rate of 60 kg/ha of manure nitrogen)
• Protect surface waters from runoff by maintaining adequate setbacks to watercourses: at this time of year, the suggested minimum setback distance is 10 metres (33 feet), depending on a variety of factors including weather, topography, soil conditions, and rate of application
• Apply manure only when soil is trafficable and there is no significant rain, i.e. greater than 10 mm of rain (or its equivalent in snow) forecast for any of the next 5 days
• Do not apply manure to tile-drained fields, particularly if water is currently flowing through the drain tiles
• Do not apply manure to areas of fields that are frozen or saturated
• Do not apply manure to areas of fields that are subject to flooding or runoff

The MSAC will be monitoring weather and soil conditions and will issue further advisories as considered necessary. For more information, visit www.farmwest.com.