For Immediate Release

Equine Extravaganza® Trainers’ Challenge Clinicians Announced

Raleigh, NC, May 29, 2007: Get ready for the competition! Three great trainers face off in this exciting colt starting competition, August 3-5, 2007 at the North Carolina Equine Extravaganza, NC State Fair Grounds (Raleigh, NC). Top trainers Ed Dabney (Monroe, GA), Terry Myers (Ostrander, OH), and Scott Purdum (Union Bridge, MD) will work with young unstarted horses. Stay tuned, the winner of the North Carolina event moves on to compete at The Virginia Equine Extravaganza, October 26-28, 2007 at the Richmond Raceway Complex (Richmond, VA)—meeting Kenny Harlow (Cumberland, VA) and Bob Jeffreys (Middletown, NY) for more colt-starting action.

Join lead judge and internationally respected clinician, Julie Goodnight (Poncha Springs, CO), 2006 Trainers’ Challenge champion Tommy Garland (Powhatan, VA), renown author Don Hoglund and clinician Randy Abernathy as they work with the audience to choose the horse trainer with the most skill and kindest horsemanship.

North Carolina Equine Extravaganza visitors are invited to be part of the judging team. “We encourage our attendees to weigh in on the selection process,” says show producer Vicki O'Hara. “After each training session, the judges will ask the audience to hold up color coded cards for the clinician who demonstrated the best natural horsemanship skills in working with their horse that day.”

The clinicians and celebrity judges are just part of the Trainers’ Challenge star power. The horses for the 2007 event hail from nearby North Carolina State University. The two-year-old American Quarter Horse Association and Palomino Horse Breeders of America horses are by Zippo Strait to You, a 1990 stallion owned by Chuck, Ralph and Tracy Copeland of Knollwood Farm. Zippo Strait to You was the 1994 National Snaffle Bit Association High Point Hunter Under Saddle Maturity Horse, and has received 11 PHBA World and Reserve World championships. He also has a Superior in AQHA Western Pleasure and Western Riding. The three young horses (two colts and a filly) will be auctioned off after the competition—proceeds go to NCSU.

Last year’s Virginia Equine Extravaganza’s Trainer Challenge winner, Tommy Garland, was selected as a contestant in the 2008 Road to the Horse, the nation’s premiere colt starting competition.  “We are so honored that our 2006  Virginia winner was selected for this prestigious event,” said O’Hara. “It gives this year’s competition an exciting edge!”

Admission to the Trainer Challenge is included with Equine Extravaganza general admission.  Get your tickets today to make sure you’re present for all the action. Log on to www.equineextravaganza.com for more info and to order tickets online.

Bios

North Carolina Clinicians

Ed Dabney (Booths 221, 223)

A fifth-generation horseman, Ed Dabney has an unusual depth of experience.   Throughout his life in the ranching, motion picture and training industry Dabney has held positions as varied as ranch cowboy, rodeo competitor, wilderness outfitter and hunting guide, college instructor for colt starting, instructor of classical equitation, horse trainer, riding instructor, producer of instructional horsemanship videos and nationally acclaimed clinician.  Dabney has studied under masters of classical equitation and has incorporated into his teaching the methods of the famous European riding schools of 16th and 17th centuries.  Dabney’s nationwide clinic schedule includes his foundational Gentle Horsemanship techniques featured on Ed’s first DVD series “The Six Keys to Harmony” along with offering clinic formats as varied as Ranch Roping, Fear Management and Classical Seat Development.  The focus of Dabney’s mission is to assist horses and their owners in having a more safe and pleasant life together by establishing a relationship of mutual respect and trust through the use of gentle communication. 

Terry Myers (Booths 701, 703)

Terry Myers is a leading trainer, champion rider and breeder, and national clinician. Myers has trained stock and hunter horses for state, national and world competition for over 30 years. His training incorporates work with both horse and rider to achieve balanced movements. His Ride-in-Sync™ philosophy helps students understand how body position affects horse performance. Myers is available for training sessions, clinics, horse training and boarding, and interviews. Horse & Rider magazine selected Myers to judge Conformation Clinic. He is also an advice columnist for Horse & Rider's Sound Advice column. Myers hosted an Internet chat on EquiSearch.com, an online magazine, and continues to answer visitors’ training questions. Myers was formerly the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association coach for the Ohio Wesleyan University Equestrian Team. Myers trained his Paint Stallion, Reckless Obsession, to achieve American Paint Horse Association champion status, as well as to titles as Superior Halter Horse, Superior Trail Horse, and Superior Western Pleasure Horse.  

Scott Purdum  (Booths 723, 725)

Purdum has ridden, owned, and worked around horses all his life. He was riding by age 3 and immediately his parents recognized his love and natural abilities towards these animals.  Scott began his show career at age 6 and has continued riding and showing hunters and pleasure horses since. He attended the University of MD for 1 year as a student in their Equine Management Program. He also worked as an intern with top rated Quarter Horse trainer Ken Adkins.  Purdum has recently dedicated himself to bringing horses and people together through mutual respect and trust. Purdum works primarily by giving individual, customized attention to students, teaching private or small group lessons to his clients. He also maintains approximately 12 horses for full training or breaking. Some of his work includes breaking and training BLM Mustangs, Sport Horses, Quarter Horses, ex-race horses to make hunters, and he has broken 2 year olds for the track.  

Virginia Clinicians

Kenny Harlow

Born and raised on a dairy farm in Culpepper, Virginia, Harlow now resides with his wife, Missy, at his training facility, Cedar Run Ranch in Cumberland, VA. It is at his Cedar Run Ranch that Kenny provides apprenticeship and intensive certification programs as well as private training sessions. Harlow and his Paint gelding “Blue” travel throughout the eastern United States doing five-day symposiums, clinics, expos, demonstrations, and training sessions. He is internationally known and has successfully completed an eight-day clinic tour in England, which was hosted by the AQHA UK. Harlow is a certified John Lyons Trainer and has also studied training and riding under Richard Shrake, as well as top trainers in the disciplines of dressage, eventing, and hunter/jumper.  Kenny’s specialty is working with problem horses and starting unbrokes. He proves that clear communication and patience is the key to solving some of the most difficult of problems. Kenny’s “Training with Trust” methods allow him to build a relationship with the horse in a way that encourages compliance. 

Bob Jeffreys

Bob Jeffreys passion for horses and years of personal experience and work with various trainers led him to develop the Partnership Training for Horse and Rider® system. His training methods encompass the most effective techniques available. Jeffreys’ unique Vowel Method of Applied Pressure™ enhances the rider’s ability to communicate with the horse by gaining control over specific body parts. Jeffreys has taken the time to consider training from the horse’s perspective. He carefully analyzes whether the horse is afraid, or is simply confused about what is being asked. Jeffreys grew up on Staten Island, NY, and began riding in his childhood. He earned a BBA degree from St. John’s University, and after college went to work in the oil business. Bob and his partner, Centered Riding Level 3 Instructor/Clinician Suzanne Sheppard, have combined their talents to develop a variety of Teaching Two as One™ horsemanship and equitation clinics, trail riding getaways, and his Trainer Education Program/Protrack™. He writes a column which is featured in New York Horse, Infohorse.com, and other equine media. He has been interviewed on various TV and radio shows, and has published a collection of equine articles, Partnership Points, as well as a new book, It’s All About Breakthroughs.   

Judges

Julie Goodnight (Booths 212, 214)

Julie Goodnight is a full-time equine professional with more than a quarter-century of experience. Her varied background ranges from dressage and jumping to racing, reining, colt-starting, and wilderness riding.  Goodnight is known for her upbeat and logical style of teaching, and for her ability to bridge natural horsemanship techniques with the principles of classical riding. Goodnight 's extensive experience training horses and riders has earned her the moniker, “Communicating Clearly with Horses and Riders.”  Her training and teaching techniques are frequent features of Western Horseman, Equus , Certified Horsemanship Association's The Instructor and many other excellent equine publications and websites. Goodnight is a Program Director for Certified Horsemanship Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the safety and quality of riding programs. 

Tommy Garland (Booths 409, 411)

Tommy Garland was the winner of the first East Coast Trainer Challenge at the Virginia Equine Extravaganza and has been selected to participate in the internationally acclaimed 2008 Road to the Horse Competition. Native Virginian Garland grew up around horses, and has followed in the footsteps of his horse trainer father.  Over the years Garland has become a renowned Arabian trainer, having worked with some of the best Arabian show and breeding barns in the country. His very impressive win list included the 2005 U.S. Arabian National Purebred Western Pleasure Junior Horse Champion on Midnight Magnum, owned by Dick Jenkins. Garland says the secret to making a top western horse lies in making something so hard look easy. He strives to have his horses look soft and relaxed and enjoy what they are doing.   

Don Hoglund (Booths 315, 317)

Don Höglund, equine veterinarian and wild horse expert, was called in to organize the largest single wild-horse rescue of modern times.  In NOBODY’S HORSES: The Dramatic Rescue of the Wild Herd of White Sands (Free Press; September 26, 2006; $25.00), Höglund—a scientific horse whisperer—tells the true story of the heroism, compassion, bravery, and dedication involved in the historic round-up of these wild horses from one of the most dangerous, forbidding places on earth—2 million acres of treacherous, desolate land best known for being a restricted missile range and site of the detonation of the world’s first atomic bomb. Höglund successfully led the safe capture, veterinary care, and adoption of the remaining horses. In NOBODY’S HORSES he recounts his adventures as he and his team of dedicated cowboys and soldiers set out on a race to prevent more tragic deaths by removing the surviving horses to safety, rehabilitating them, and eventually placing them in loving homes. 

Randy Abernathy (Booths 904, 906, 908)

Abernathy, selected as a 2006 trainer for the East Coast Trainer challenge, grew up on a family farm in McKenney, VA with cattle and horses. He has been riding horses since he was 10 years old and training horses for the past 20 plus years.  Abernathy has a natural talent when it comes to helping riders with their horses, which is what makes Abernathy’s training unique. From what Abernathy has learned from other trainers and his own experience with horses, he has come up with his own unique style. This special insight he has with horses helps riders accomplish things they never thought possible. He now operates Randy Abernathy Horsemanship, LLC on his family farm where he trains horses and gives riding clinics and Demos up and down the East Coast. Randy’s motto: It’s not what I can do with my horse, but what I can teach you to do with yours.  

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