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Thomas To Judge MHBA Yearling Show

Edited Press Release

Jonathan Thomas, trainer of the versatile multiple Grade I winner Catholic Boy, will judge the 88th annual Maryland Horse Breeders Association Yearling Show. Open to all yearlings eligible for Maryland-bred registration, the show will be held Sunday, July 24 at the Maryland State Fairgrounds' Horse Show Ring in Timonium. Entries are due by June 24.

Thomas was born in Virginia and raised at Paul Mellon's famed Rokeby Farm, where his grandfather, father and mother all worked. Growing up around quality horses, Thomas was 13 when Mellon's homebred Sea Hero won the Kentucky Derby. Twenty-five years later as a trainer, he was sending out Catholic Boy to win Grade Is on the turf and dirt, the latter in Saratoga's Travers S. It was only the third time in history that an American 3-year-old accomplished the Grade I dirt/turf double, following in the footsteps of Secretariat and California Chrome.

Before going out on his own, Thomas was an assistant for leading trainers Christophe Clement, Dale Romans and Todd Pletcher, and spent a year training in Saudi Arabia. He also worked in sales and breaking with J.J. Pletcher in Ocala, Fla., and over the years built up a business buying, breaking and training Thoroughbreds at Bridlewood Farm in Ocala.

Since saddling his first runners in 2005, he has a win percentage of 24%, and more than half his starters finish in the top three.

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US Equestrian Hopes To ‘Grow Access’ With Updated Membership Tiering Structure For 2022

US Equestrian is pleased to announce the launch of a newly designed membership tier structure to be implemented during the 2022 membership renewal season, offering more access, and expanded opportunity to grow equestrian sport through increased engagement. The new membership tiering will not impact the current pricing structure of membership categories but will adjust benefits and access allocated to each individual tier.

The move to restructure the membership tiering aligns with the next phase of the strategic plan announced in January 2020 and the million-member goal set by current President Tom O'Mara. The new member tiering will include three categories: 1) fans; 2) subscribers; and 3) competing memberships, offering an array of opportunities for enthusiasts and participants in equestrian sport.

“The goal behind this restructure is to create a model that is enticing for new members to join USEF so we can continue to grow access and interest in our sport from the grass roots level all the way up through our high-performance programs,” said Tom O'Mara, President of US Equestrian. “With the updated tiering, we believe we will encourage individuals passionate about equestrian sport to join our organization as a fan at no cost or upgrade their membership to a subscriber level for $25 to experience increased benefits, with the ultimate goal of expanding the pool of competing members participating at our licensed competitions. We know there are millions of people in the U.S. with a passion for horses and want everyone to have an opportunity to be a part of US Equestrian.”

The base fan experience is free and will allow individuals to learn about the benefits of USEF and sample offerings at no cost, encouraging interaction and connection with USEF on a free and ongoing basis. Fan members will have access to USEF Network livestreaming (not including On-Demand access), the Learning Center, the USEF Equestrian Weekly e-newsletter, and the Member Perks program. Fans will also automatically renew.

The subscriber tier of membership, available for $25 annually, will include exclusive on-demand and replay streaming on USEF Network, access to USEF Member Health Coverage options, and a mailed subscription of US Equestrian magazine while maintaining all exclusive benefits available to non-competing paying members, as well as access to the additional benefits offered at the fan membership level. Official Education Partners of USEF and their members will automatically be eligible for free Subscriber memberships.

The competing memberships will remain at an annual renewal fee of $80 and receive access to all US Equestrian benefits, including access to the membership health coverage options, as well as live and on-demand streaming via USEF Network, the Learning Center, Equestrian Weekly, Member Perks incentives, and the benefit of a working framework of to ensure fair and equal organized sport.

US Equestrian will launch the new tiers of membership at the beginning of the new competition year on December 1, 2021. To learn more about US Equestrian's member benefits and programs, please visit www.usef.org/join-usef.

The post US Equestrian Hopes To ‘Grow Access’ With Updated Membership Tiering Structure For 2022 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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New Vocations All-Thoroughbred Charity Horse Show Raises $150,000

After an uncertain, challenging and virtual 2020, the New Vocations All-Thoroughbred Charity Horse Show, Presented by Iris Smith Stables, LLC, returned to an in-person competition and raised a record-breaking $150,000 in sponsorships. All proceeds from the event will go directly to support New Vocations' efforts to rehab, retrain and rehome retiring racehorses.

The 18th annual show—held for the first time at Highfields Event Center, in Aiken, SC, Sept. 3-5—was an exciting and successful return to live events for New Vocations after a quiet past 18 months due to COVID-19. The competition brought together nearly 100 Thoroughbreds from 10 different states to compete in a variety of disciplines including dressage, hunter, jumper, Western and pleasure classes.

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“We were thrilled that we were able to far surpass our goal of raising $100,000 through the support of our generous long-term and new sponsors,” said Anna Ford, New Vocations Thoroughbred Program Director. “The new venue meant that we were able to put on a more intimate event, which allowed exhibitors extra opportunities to connect and share their love for Thoroughbreds. It was so rewarding to look across four competition arenas full of horses knowing that while they have rich racing bloodlines and histories, they now have new skills, new careers, and new purposes.”

Show highlights included:

Winner of the War Horse W/T/C was Bail Bondsman, shown by Karen Morgan. Bail Bondsman, a 2009 Kentucky-bred gelding by Bellamy Road, raced 44 times and earned $106,499
Winner of the Open Hunter Derby was Blame it on Texas, shown by Elisabeth Demars. Blame it on Texas, a 2012 Kentucky-bred gelding by Blame, raced 12 times and earned $12,788
Winner of the Open Jumper Stake was Ballerino, shown by Susan Sisco. Ballerino, a 2008 Florida-bred gelding by Lido Place (CHI), raced 15 times and earned $38,709
Winner of the Dressage High Score was Big Iron, shown by junior rider Mayela Salazar. Big Iron, a 2015 son of Caleb's Posse, raced 29 times and earned $65,281

At the show's inaugural exhibitor party, New Vocations also handed out several special awards recognizing:

The Thoroughbred that earned the most money racing: Two Notch Road, $536,193
The most recently raced Thoroughbred: Jammin Jamie, 6/28/2021
The Thoroughbred with the most starts: Mind Magic, 58 starts
The youngest Thoroughbred competing: Jammin Jamie, 2/20/2018
The oldest Thoroughbred competing: Bold Estela, 3/22/1994
The Thoroughbred sold for the highest auction price: Ditka, $500,000

The groups that traveled the farthest to compete: horses and riders from Sugar Creek Equinapy, in Harrisonville, MO, and North Country Horses, in Gansevoort, NY, hauled 974 miles and 956 miles, respectively.

“We were so glad to, once again, be able to celebrate the Thoroughbred with a weekend full of competition, fun and horses,” Ford said. “We're excited to get started on plans for what we hope can be an even better 2022 event.”

New Vocations Charity Show Raises $150K

The New Vocations All-Thoroughbred Charity Horse Show, Presented by Iris Smith Stables, LLC, raised a record-breaking $150,000 in sponsorships. All proceeds from the event will go directly to support New Vocations' efforts to rehab, retrain and rehome retiring racehorses.

The 18th annual show–held for the first time at Highfields Event Center, in Aiken, SC, Sept. 3-5–marked a return to live events for New Vocations after a quiet past 18 months due to COVID-19. The competition brought together nearly 100 Thoroughbreds from 10 different states to compete in a variety of disciplines including dressage, hunter, jumper, western and pleasure classes.

The post New Vocations Charity Show Raises $150K appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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