News Articles

Monday, June 13, 2005

Races in Owego attract 2-, 4-legged contenders

Skyline Corral boosts joy of riding
BY JUSTIN WALDEN
Press & Sun-Bulletin 		 

OWEGO -- When Randy Hinrichsen was 12, a neighbor introduced him to the joy of riding horses.

 
[ photo ]
Randy Hinrichsen and Rowdy kick into gear for the home stretch of their run Sunday in the "bleeding heart" category at the Skyline Corral's barrel racing at the Tioga County Fairgrounds.
 
DIOGENES AGCAOILI JR. / Press & Sun-Bulletin
[ photo ]
Deanna Bowman, 14, of Lockwood rides Pepsi around a barrel in the "bleeding heart" category.
Photos by DIOGENES AGCAOILI JR. / Press & Sun-Bulletin

Fast-forward 40 years: Hinrichsen now owns 25 horses and also regularly rides a beautiful brown quarter horse named Rowdy in competitions.

It's a passion that has Hinrichsen spending about 30 minutes to an hour three to four times per week with Rowdy. That's on top of several hours at the end of each day with the other horses.

"You're not going to do this unless you love the horses," Hinrichsen said, as he received a gentle nudge from Rowdy.

There were about 155 entries Sunday for a Skyline Corral speed show competition at the Tioga County Fairgrounds, including Hinrichsen, an Owego resident who drives trucks for a living.

Competitors, whose ages ranged from 3 to 69, participated in three timed events in a dirt-covered arena at the back of the fairgrounds. Some of the competitors were trying to qualify for a national event in Augusta, Ga., in November.

Sunday was the second of four speed shows for the Skyline Corral. The group also sponsors show or performance competitions at the fairgrounds.

The events typically have two types of competitors, said Debbie Oakes, president of Skyline Corral.

On the one hand, there are the baby boomers, who are introducing their children to the sport, Oakes said. On the other hand are people who qualify for bigger events and who plan to ride rodeo for more serious prizes. About $1,500 to $2,000 would be awarded Sunday.

"We pride ourselves in offering good family entertainment," Oakes said.

Hinrichsen seems to fall somewhere in the middle of the range of competitors.

He said he will drive to places such as Saratoga and Corning for weekend competitions, but it can be expensive and time-consuming to ride in the national events.

"The object is just to be the fastest," Hinrichsen said. "It's always semidangerous."

Rowdy weighs 1,200 pounds, and standing on all four hooves, he's about 7 feet tall. Hinrichsen has raised the 11-year-old horse, and he used to race Rowdy's mother.

During the first competition, known as the bleeding heart, Hinrichsen raced Rowdy around the dirt arena in under 20 seconds.

The adults were preceded by children, who wore helmets and were led around the arena by a supervising adult. It took some children about 75 seconds to complete the bleeding heart, which was a race around three barrels that had the horses running in a heart-shaped pattern.

Robin Payne, who attended the event with her 15-year-old son, Ryan Rockwell, and her husband, Kevin, said riding horses is a thrill that some people just seem born to enjoy.

"It just comes from within," Payne said. "A lot of love goes into them."

Payne said Sunday was the 10th time she participated in the Skyline Corral's Owego competition. The proximity to her home in Sayre, Pa., and the camaraderie of fellow horse enthusiasts make the Owego event enjoyable.

Like Hinrichsen, Payne said a great deal of work goes into riding horses in competition:"It's not just get on a horse and run. There's a lot of timing and training involved.

 
AQHA Settles Lawsuit
The Associated Press
Tuesday, June 11, 2002; 11:03 PM

AMARILLO, Texas –– The American Quarter Horse Association reached an out-of-court settlement Tuesday that will allow horse breeders to register embryo-transfer foals.

Attorneys said the AQHA agreed to amend its rules, and horse breeders agreed to drop millions of dollars in damage claims against the association. District Judge Pat Pirtle approved the deal that requires the AQHA to pay $550,000 in attorneys' fees.

In 2000, several horse breeders sued the AQHA, saying the association would not register numerous superiorly bred, embryo-transfer horses – a rule that devalued their horses.

Under the AQHA's embryo-transfer rule, a mare could only produce one foal per year eligible for AQHA registration. By transferring embryos from one mare to a surrogate, a breeder can produce multiple foals per year, but only one foal was eligible for AQHA registration each year.

Under the settlement, the AQHA agreed to changes its rule effective immediately. The AQHA said any foals produced by the embryo-transfer technique will be eligible for registration if they meet other registration requirements.

© 2002 The Associated Press
BARREL FUTURITY HORSES LOST IN BRIDGE COLLAPSE
Read Article from AQHA   (May 29, 2002)

AQHA MOURNS LOSS OF TWO MEMBERS, FOUR HORSES IN ARKANSAS RIVER BRIDGE ACCIDENT

The American Quarter Horse Association today mourns the loss of Gail Shanahan and Maggie Green, two victims of the Arkansas River bridge accident that occurred Sunday, May 26, 2002.

According to news reports, Shanahan and Green were returning to their Texas homes from the Old Fort Days Barrel Futurity and Super Derby in Fort Smith, Ark., after a successful weekend at the show.

In the early hours of Sunday, May 26, 2002, a 500-foot section of the bridge on Interstate 40, near Webbers Falls, Okla., collapsed into the Arkansas River, after a barge hit the bridge. Numerous cars, trucks, tractor-trailers, one motor home and the Kay Blandford horse trailer carrying four American Quarter Horses plunged into the water.

Several of the automobiles, including the horse trailer, were recovered Tuesday. Only three horses have been recovered, including a five-year-old sorrel American Quarter Horse mare, EARLY TRAIN, owned by Blandford.

Shanahan and Green are the only two victims who have been confirmed. Friends who also were returning from the Futurity witnessed the accident-giving the media a personal aspect to the breaking news story.

Forty-nine-year-old Shanahan, an AQHA Member since 1989, was awarded a 10-year Cumulative Breeder Award in 1999. Her four-year-old American Quarter Horse, ECSTASY INTHE DECK, claimed 13th place at the Old Fort Days Futurity Finals with a time of 17.461 seconds and earned an estimated $7,000. Kay Blandford, who stayed behind in Fort Smith to continue in the competition, rode ECSTASY.

Shanahan was heading home to meet her fiancé, Hershel Goodman, in Stockdale, Texas.

Sunday was Margaret (Maggie) Green's 47th birthday. Green, an AQHA Life Member, had been married for more than 30 years to her childhood sweetheart, Ray. Green was an avid horse racing fan, running American Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds at racetracks in her hometown of San Antonio and the South Texas region.

Although the two women will have separate funerals, a joint memorial service will be held for them on Monday, June 3, 2002 at Rose Palace in San Antonio.

In lieu of flowers, friends may contribute to the Gail Shanahan Scholarship Fund, Security State Bank, P.O. Box 97, Stockdale, Texas 78410.

Information compiled by Old Fort Days, Kay Rogers Park and The Daily Oklahoman.

 
Rescued Horse Found At Slaughterhouse
 Ad Promises To Place Horses With Homes
 News Net 5 article from their website newsnet5.com
POSTED: 11:32 a.m. EDT May 17, 2002
UPDATED: 7:18 a.m. EDT May 21, 2002
CLEVELAND -- Like Katie Howards and so many other little girls, there's something special about horses.

NewsChannel5's Ted Hart reports that Katie first love was a 4-year-old horse named Bugs. For Katie, who has cerebral palsy, the gentle and loving horse was therapy.

Katie's mother, Nancy, said that riding and caring for the horse gave Katie self confidence.

"I think it helps you smile too," Nancy said.

Last year, Bugs got sick and Nancy had to make a decision about keeping the horse. She saw an ad for a rescue program, so she called.

"We thought that would be a way to retire him," she said. "You know, not have to put him down or anything."

With a promise of lifelong foster care, they gave Bugs away, but she now believes she made a terrible mistake.

Ginger
Bugs isn't believed to be the only horse put down by the rescue mission. Ginger, a Belgian, had a voracious appetite. Its owner, Jill Dietrich, said Ginger got expensive to keep.

Hart said she too, found the ad in the newspaper, and thought she could give Ginger a second chance.

"I feel terribly guilty," she said. "I looked that horse in the eye and put her on the trailer."

In both cases, the horses were given to Lou Simboli, WEWS reported.

"We've been doing this for 14 years ... since July 16, 1987," he said.

He gave a pitch that promised a good life with a loving family.

Within days, Nancy Howard and Jill Dietrich began growing suspicious.

"Eventually when he said he fixed her leg, I knew her leg wasn't fixable," Dietrich said. "That's when I called you."

She added that Simboli said they could come see Ginger at any time.

"The address he gave us was a car lot, so that really upset me," she said. "And I knew something wasn't quite right."

Hart reported that there's no way to know what happened to Ginger or Bugs, but we do know what happened to another horse that Simboli acquired the exact same way.

A NewsChannel5 undercover investigation found the horses weren't heading down the road to a foster home. Instead, the horse was heading to the auction barn to be sold for slaughter.

WEWS called Simboli and told him about a horse. He warned WEWS about unscrupulous horse traders.

"A lot of people go to these sale barns and sell their horses and a lot of 'em end up in bad hands," he said, adding you wouldn't believe what's going on.

Finding Lady Jane
NewsChannel5's horse is Lady Jane. She is a 6-year-old healthy horse. She does however have calcified ankles. A tattoo on her gums will help us identify her.

Simboli promises a good home and arrives with his trailer to pick up the horse.

When Simboli picked up Lady Jane, it was as if she knew something was going on because she initially resisted going into the trailer.

A few days later, Simboli told WEWS that Lady Jane had been placed with a family in upstate New York with a family with three young girls.

Hart reported that the horse was in fact taken to the heart of Ohio's Amish Country to the Sugarcreek horse auction, where 35 percent or more of the horses sold go to slaughter houses for human consumption in Europe and the far east.

Lady Jane was found crammed into a pen with other horses, all awaiting their trip through the auction ring.

WEWS made another call to Simboli to check on Lady Jane.

"The horse is in heaven," he said. "It's got property to run on. There's cows out there. She's in heaven."

Lady Jane is run through the ring and in a matter of seconds she is sold to one of the meat buyers.

She was sold for $460.

Simboli: "I have nothing to say."

WEWS : Why?

Simboli: "I have nothing to say."

WEWS: "Well, if you're running a legitimate programs, why won't you talk?"

Simboli: "It's legit. Legit as can be."

WEWS: "Well, tell me where these horses are going."

Simboli: "They're going to foster homes."

WEWS: "Well let's talk about a couple of them. It'll just take a minute."

Simboli: "No. No. I don't like this at all."

NewsChannel5 bought Lady Jane back and pulled her from the kill pen. The Pennsylvania SPCA, a legitimate rescue organization, helped WEWS find The Lost and Found, an organization that could place Lady Jane.

But for Katie and others who cherished the horses they gave away, their trust and faith may never be restored.

Copyright 2002 by NewsNet5. All rights reserved.
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*Permission Granted on 6/13/02 via email by Darlene at NewsNet5*