Downeast Medal Finals

February 2022

Presented by Dover Saddlery

September 15-18, 2022

Visit our website for more information about Downeast. We welcome all feedback and suggestions: please email Ginger at ginger@downeastmedalfinals.com

Message from the President

I don’t know about you but I am tired of the cold and the ice. Usually I don’t mind winter as long as there is snow. Snowshoeing is fun, snowmobiling, watching the horses play in the snow. All good. But this frozen mess is very hard.

So what am I doing to maintain a brighter outlook? Watching the 2022 show dates come in and planning DMF 2022! September 16th to the 18th, with warm up day on the 15th. We will once again have the schooling area in its new location. The Hunter Futurity is back, the three Hunter Derbies, the Pro/Am and of course, the Team Challenge. New for this year all riders will be accepted into the Team Challenge and then there will be a random draw to see who will be on the six teams. All entries will participate on a team, some as riders, others as Chef d’Equip, horse holders, cheering squad and wherever they may be needed. Everyone will learn how to walk a course, plan the rides, and be a member of a team. The Horsemanship Challenge will be back as well so please start reading the educational articles in all of the newsletters as we will be taking questions from them and using general horse knowledge questions that can be found in any Pony Club manual or the USHJA quiz prep.

Shows are starting to apply for their dates so please keep an eye on the calendar. Also, please remember to check your own points. If we do not receive them within 2 weeks of the show, we will not be accepting them. If the points page says "points not received," the points will not count towards qualifying. If you do not see your points posted within the 2 week time frame, please contact the show and remind them to send in the points. We are not responsible for any points not sent in to us.

If you have any questions about the requirements for your division and if you qualify to ride in that division please check in with us. We are more than happy to help you understand all of the rules and everything DMF. Please free to email Ginger (ginger@downeastmedalfinals.com) with any questions.

Thank you to all of the sponsors who have agreed to be back for 2022. If you or your business would like to support our show please check out the various levels on our website sponsorship page.

Stay warm, think spring, and we look forward to seeing you all in September!

-Ginger

Camp Kippewa

Camp Kippewa and Kippewa Equestrian Academy in Monmouth, Maine offer true equestrian specialty programs with all the fun and traditions of sleepaway camp.

We have two different camp options. Our 3 ½ week, all-girls traditional camp (Camp Kippewa) provides campers with the option to select riding as one of the activities they participate in. They can choose to do this a few times over the course of the entire session, or up to two hours daily. We also have a brother camp, Camp Cobbossee, located just ½ mile down the road making for a convenient and fun way for siblings to stay close while each enjoying their own camp experience.

Our 12-day Equestrian Academy program is a riding specific camp. This program is built for girls who truly love horses and want to experience the lifestyle of a horse owner. The bunks overlook the horses as they graze, making for a truly unique experience. There is also time built-in daily for more traditional, non-equestrian, activities.

We welcome beginners through advanced riders with individual attention tailored to their level. All riders work with our highly qualified, dedicated instructors at their own pace in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. The 50+ horses are individually selected for our program based on the specific needs of our campers.

You can learn more at www.kippewa.com or www.kippewaequestrianacademy.com

Strategies for Prevention of Gastric Ulcers

By Delaney Patterson

Gastric ulcers are a common source of discomfort or chronic colic episodes in domestic horses. Gastric ulcers can cause behavior changes (i.e. bucking or misbehavior under saddle), abdominal discomfort especially when the girth is tightened, and weight loss. Gastric ulcers can also be associated with discomfort after eating grain meals, as opposed to hay. Some horses are predisposed to developing gastric ulcers based on high-stress travel and competition or race schedules. Management strategies to reduce the incidence of gastric ulcers include providing smaller frequent meals and allowing your horse to access forage consistently throughout the day (i.e. through grazing or a nibble net). Keeping feed in a horse’s stomach helps to buffer the stomach acid. For grain meals, a low starch pelleted feed is ideal, and beet pulp or soaked hay stretcher are other options for low starch meals. Starchy feeds increase the acidity of the stomach environment which can lead to ulcers. Up to a half cup daily of oil (canola or vegetable) added to feed can help supplement calories without adding starch as well. In regard to forage, alfalfa has natural buffering properties to reduce gastric acidity more so than other types of hay. If you know that your horse is going to have a stressful event in their life such as traveling to a show or moving to a new barn, we recommend that oral omeprazole be given at a preventative dose (one 250 lb dose Gastrogard or one dose Ulcergard once daily) for a few days leading up to and during the stressful event. Keeping your horse on a preventative dose of omeprazole is also recommended if your horse is on NSAID therapy such as Bute (phenylbutazone) or Banamine (flunixin). NSAID medications can lead to ulcers, particularly if used for long periods or at high doses.

View the rest of the article from New England Equine here.

Rider Spotlight - Anya Hankowski

The 2021 Downeast 12 & under Horsemanship Challenge was won by Anya Hankowski. Let's learn about Anya!

"My name is Anya Hankowski. I am eleven years old and I ride with Kate McDaniel at Mill Pond. I have been riding for four and a half years and this year I was lucky enough to make it to the Downeast MEdal Finals. I competed in Walk Trot on a lovely pony named Bizzy (Bismark). I was also lucky to be able to participate in the 12 and under horsemanship test and ended up taking home the blue ribbon! I was super excited and felt super proud that I had accomplished so much. I worked really hard. First I studied some books and the previous Downeast newsletters, then I made flash cards and studied with my sister Eva (who inspired me to ride) as well as some of my friends. Remember if you try hard you can accomplish your goals! Congratulations to all the riders that competed in the 2021 Downeast Medal Finals. Hope to see you next year!"

Attention to all Medal Finals winners, Derby winners, Hunter Futurity winner, Team Challenge winners, Pro/Am winners, and Horsemanship winners: We would like to feature you in the upcoming newsletters!

Please submit a bio including where you are from, where you ride, trainer, years at DMF, where you go to school/grade, favorite things about riding, your horse, future goals in riding and life, your horse’s favorite treats, anything about you and your horse!

Please submit to ginger@downeastmedalfinals.com. We look forward to learning about you!