MMajor-SmartWhiskeyDoc

Six World Champions Crowned at Stock Horse World Show

MMajor-SmartWhiskeyDocMike Major and Smart Whiskey Doc • WillieGomezPhotos.comMore than 150 horses and riders gathered in Abilene, Texas, for the Western Horseman Stock Horse World Championship. Six world titles were awarded as well as more than $70,000 in cash and prizes. Contestants tested their abilities in four Stock Horse of Texas (SHOT) classes – Stock Horse Pleasure, Trail, Reining and Cow Horse – in several different divisions.

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Free Day at 2016 National Western Stock Show

WesternStockShowFreeDay2016 webPhoto courtesy of the National Western Stock Show

The National Western Stock Show and Visit Denver have joined together to say thank you and celebrate the passing of ballot measure 2C with a free day at the 2016 Stock Show. All stock show fans will receive free grounds admission on Jan. 19 during the 110th National Western Stock Show, which runs from Jan. 9 to Jan. 24.

Rapping up a Record

philrapp110815Phil Rapp • photo by Jennifer K. HancockPhil Rapp is now the $9 million man. Cutting’s all-time leading rider reached a new milestone at the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) World Show in Oklahoma City. With two horses in the Nov. 6 Senior Cutting finals, Rapp’s earnings were pushed past the $9 million mark, according to the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA).

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A Second Chance at Life

Students webColorado State University veterinary student Emily Bartlett monitors an equine surgery patient for signs that he is rousing from anesthesia. • Photo by Bill Cotton/Colorado State University Photography

Kate Marley knelt on the neck of a young rescued horse that, minutes before, had been altered from stallion to gelding.

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NRCHA Welcomes Two New Million Dollar Sires

wr-this-cats-smartWR This Cats Smart • Cam Essick photoThe National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) continues to add the names of exceptional stallions to its Million Dollar Sire list, proudly welcoming WR This Cats Smart and Gallo Del Cielo as the two newest members of this elite group. Foals by these two stallions have broken the seven-figure earnings mark in the reined cow horse arena, making them the 15th and 16th horses to achieve NRCHA Million Dollar Sire status.

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Vanlandingham Becomes An NRHA Million Dollar Rider

not-ruf-at-allJason Vanlandingham tipped his hat to the crowd after winning the 2013 NRHA Futurity Open aboard Not Ruf At All. • Photo by Kelsey PecsekNational Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Professional Jason Vanlandingham recently reached what many riders consider the “crowning achievement” in an NRHA competitor’s reining career when his NRHA earnings topped the million-dollar mark. “It’s a big honor and a tribute to all the people who have supported you and all our clients who have put us on great horses,” Vanlandingham shared while discussing his recent achievement. “We have been blessed by God to be in a business that we love and be successful at it. It’s a very humbling thing.”

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Antibiotic-resistant Gene Discovered in Soil Bacterium

foals 13KPR. equi is an important cause of disease in foals. • Photo by Kelsey PecsekA research team based at the University of Georgia (UGA) College of Veterinary Medicine has discovered a novel gene – erm(46) – that confers antibiotic resistance in Rhodococcus equi, a soil-dwelling bacterium that commonly infects foals and causes opportunistic infections in immunocompromised people.

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Western Horseman Stock Horse World Championship Kicks Off Friday

Mozuan webMozaun McKibben, of Whitesboro, Texas, earned the Stock Horse Open World Championship in 2014.Stock horse enthusiasts will gather in Abilene, Texas, this weekend for the Western Horseman Stock Horse World Championship. The event is managed by Stock Horse of Texas (SHOT) and showcases the versatility of the stock horse. Riders will compete in six divisions (Open, Non-Pro, Limited Non-Pro, Junior Horse, Youth and Novice) for World Champion and Reserve World Champion titles. Last year, more than $75,000 in cash and prizes was awarded.

AQHA Prevails in Cloning Lawsuit

On Oct. 26, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit entered an order denying the plaintiffs’ petition for rehearing of the opinion that rendered judgment for the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) in the cloning lawsuit. Specifically, that opinion held that the plaintiffs’ evidence did not prove a conspiracy to restrain trade and that “AQHA is not a competitor in the allegedly relevant market for elite Quarter Horses.”