|
|
|
The
Scoop
Equine
News you can use.
by Jill Haight
|
Seminole
Feed Sponsors the Florida Horse Park
The long awaited horse park in Ocala is now a reality, thanks
in part to Seminole Feed. A state of the art facility will soon
be built on the 500-acre Florida Horse Park. In addition to
the existing 80-miles of horse trails along Florida's Green
Ways, the venue will include facilities for dressage, show jumping,
cross-country and combined driving. The Florida Agriculture
& Horse Park Authority, along with the Ocala/Marion County
Chamber of Commerce and the United States Equestrian Federation
have combined efforts to complete the groundwork to host an
International four-star three-day event. The facility will hold
its inaugural event, The Ocala Horse Trials presented by Seminole
Feed, on November 5-6, 2006. For more information vist www.flhorsepark.com.
|
|
To
Protect Your Horses, Use ICE
Say you're traveling with your horses and are involved in a
serious accident. If you're incapacitated, how will first responders
know who to contact? How will they know what to do with your
horses?
USRider is advising horse owners of a new initiative that has
been receiving a lot of publicity recently - ICE, which stands
for In Case of Emergency. This very simple program has been
designed to aid emergency responders in identifying victims
whose identity is unknown and in determining who needs to be
notified.
Implementing ICE is easy. Program your emergency contact information
into your cellular phone and designate it with the acronym ICE.
For example, if your brother John is the person you want to
have alerted in the event of an emergency, insert the letters
"ICE" before his name in your phone's address book,
creating an entry such as "ICE - John."
For those who regularly travel with horses, it's important to
make it easy for first responders to know who to contact for
information on handling your horses. To do this, program an
entry called "ICE - Horse" with the contact information
of someone with the authority to make decisions about the care
of your horses if you are incapacitated.
The idea for ICE was conceived by Bob Brotchie, a clinical team
leader for the East Anglican Ambulance Service, after years
of trying to reach relatives of people he was treating. With
ICE, paramedics or police can swiftly find the number or numbers
and reach relatives or friends who could help identify deceased
victims and treat injured ones, by providing vital personal
information, including details of any medical conditions.
USRider strongly encourages the public, especially those who
travel with horses, to participate in the ICE initiative. "This
is a simple way to ensure that emergency, ambulance and hospital
staff can quickly find out who your next of kin are and be able
to contact them," said Mark Cole, managing member of USRider.
"In addition, those people could provide pertinent information
about your horses in the event of an emergency."
Before putting someone's name in as an emergency contact, be
sure to discuss it with the person first and ask for permission
to do so.
"While we recommend that USRider members carry their USRider
Membership at all times, we would like to recommend that they
use their cellular phones to program the emergency contact number
and membership ID number on their card into their cellular telephone
as well, such as 'USRider-800#' and 'USRider-ID#' - so they
have it in an emergency."
In conjunction with these recommendations, USRider recommends
that conscientious horse owners prepare a limited/special power
of attorney document relating to any treatment and care of their
horses in the event that the owner is incapacitated. A sample
power-of-attorney form is available online at www.usrider.org.
"While these are not pleasant subjects," said Cole,
"this is part of good animal stewardship, and conscientious
horse owners should take steps to see that their horses are
properly cared for in an emergency."
An additional safety precaution is to secure emergency contact
information to your horse trailer. USRider has created exterior
emergency decals and interior information placards that are
included at no extra cost in the USRider membership kit. Non-members
can request copies of these decals from the USRider website
by entering the site's guest book.
For more information about USRider, call toll-free (800) 844-1409
or visit www.usrider.org.
|
ARIA
to Hold Instructor Certification in Conjunction with Convention
On October 20, 2005, the American Riding Instructors Association
(ARIA) will host an American Riding Instructors Certification
Program (ARICP) Test Center in conjunction with its National
Riding Instructors Convention in Orlando, Florida. The convention,
October 20-23, features seminars, workshops, and one-on-one
consultations for instructors, equine-business managers, stable
owners, trainers, and coaches. Those registering for both the
convention and the ARICP Test Center pay a discount rate.
|
|
The
ARICP Test Center begins at 9 a.m. Throughout the day, participants
take written exams about general horsemanship, general instruction,
philosophy, the horse, and one or two areas of specialization.
In addition, candidates deliver a presentation related to their
field and submit video tapes and essays to be reviewed by the
ARICP Evaluating Panel. Results are delivered to candidates
in six to eight weeks.
Through the ARICP, more than 1,000 instructors around the world
have been certified in 14 areas-hunt seat, dressage, driving,
eventing, recreational riding, reining, western equitation/pleasure,
show jumping, saddle seat, mounted patrol training officer,
distance riding, riding to hounds, sidesaddle, and stable management.
Three levels of certification are offered with age and competency
requirements for each-Level I (Instructor in Training), Level
II (Instructor of Beginner through Intermediate), and Level
III (Instructor of Beginner through Advanced).
Established in 1984, the ARICP is a nationally recognized and
respected program offered by the ARIA. ARICP certification recognizes
outstanding teachers of horseback riding who instruct their
students in a safe, knowledgeable, and professional way. Certification
is designed for serious, above-average instructors with high
standards of honesty and integrity.
To learn more about the American Riding Instructors Certification
Program, the American Riding Instructors Association, or the
National Riding Instructors Convention, visit www.riding-instructor.com,
call 239-948-3232, or e-mail riding-instructor@comcast.net.
|
|
|
Jill
Haight editor of ec magazine enjoys competing in combined
driving events with her Arabian Gelding and spending time
with her husband Marty, daughter Kelly and their eight pet
pigs.
|
|
|
|
