Horse Illustrated's Grooming Challenge

Horse Illustrated's Grooming Challenge Contest, sponsored by Absorbine, recently came to a close and the winner has been chosen:
Congratulations to Amy Conforti of Maine and her Thoroughbred Wally. She won a basket of ShowSheen grooming products and some other goodies.

Absorbine's very own Molly O'Brien

Horse Illustrated then gleaned the top five grooming questions from the entries and asked Absorbine's resident grooming expert Molly O'Brien to share her methods for solving them. She really knows how to clean up a mud-encrusted pony!

Horse Illustrated Article

Here is a link to the article on HorseChannel.com, the online accompaniment to Horse Illustrated. It's a real source of knowledge for horse folks!

http://www.horsechannel.com/horse-exclusives/2010-hi-grooming-challenge.aspx

Thanks Horse Bloggers!

Check out these nice reviews of our products!

Midwest Horse Blog who reviewed ShowSheen Finishing Mist- 

About horses and horse ownership by two women who own horses and live in the midwest of the United States

http://midwesthorse.blogspot.com/2010/11/absorbine-new-product-review.html

Bitless Horse Blog who compared Santa Fe Detangler, ShowSheen Detangler and a few other detanglers-

Just a Southern Ontario gal trying to discover true horsemanship through science rather than tradition

http://www.bitlesshorseblog.com/2010/11/review-de-tanglers-comparison.html

Again, thanks for considering our products and for providing a great place to discuss horsemanship!

Mazy, Molly and HorseChannel.com

We were delighted to read the new HorseChannel.com's Question Of The Week: A dusty winter coat. Our very own Molly O'Brien of Absorbine wrote in to tell everyone how she conquers a dusty winter coat. Molly is a life-long horse woman and competes in the Morgan show circuit. Her shining star is Rum Brook Immortal Waltz, a five year old mare with a ton of personality and a very sweet disposition. I know, because I've filmed her several times for our Absorbine videos and am basically in love with this filly! Her barn name is Mazy, an 1800's word for waltz.

http://www.horsechannel.com/horse-experts/horse-management/dust-free-coat.aspx

Pilates Exercises for Horseback Riding

Most of the sports we do can be enhanced by a little physical training. Of course, most organized sports encourage strength and cardio work on top of playing the actual game. Also individual sports like skiing, rock climbing and cycling all benefit from some extra-curricular training. It seems logical that horseback riding, requiring strength and endurance to hold on, stay balanced, change direction etc would benefit from some training. Pilates may not be for everyone, but it is interesting to note what muscle groups they suggest you target and it does seem to be a good fit for some equestrians.

Check out this link to an About.com article describing an equine Pilates workshop in Colorado. I found it first in Kathrine's Horse Blog. The workshop was put on by Pam Harrington, Pilates instructor and Patty LeBlanc owner of Cappaleigh Farm.

http://pilates.about.com/od/pilatesforeverybody/ss/Pilates-Exercises-For-Horseback-Riding.htm

Dispatch from a “Wild” Weekend at WEG

Heather Bean, Absorbine Marketing Manager writes:

I had a once in a lifetime experience this past weekend when I flew down to Lexington, KY to attend the World Equestrian Games. I spent a good amount of time in the Bit of Britain tent (www.bitofbritain.com) meeting loyal Absorbine customers from around the world.  I can’t tell you how excited everyone was to be there – taking in all of the wonderful sites the Kentucky Horse Park has to offer. Angelea from HorseGirlTV joined me to talk about our brand new ShowSheen Finishing Mist. She was approached by several fans and was more than gracious when giving autographs and sharing stories. 


We also spent some time (but not nearly enough!) watching the competitors on the cross-country course. What an opportunity to see world-class competition less than 15-feet away from us. 


To top it all off was the Horse Mania art installation. One horse called "Imagination" by Jamie Givens Schneider struck me as particularly wonderful because of its “wild” subject matter.  You will recognize it as soon as you see it. 

"Imagination" by Jamie Givens Schneider

WEG Week Two

Jaime and Jason McKinley at WEG-

Jaime McKinley

Thursday was a beautiful day to enjoy being part of the horse world in Lexington.  After watching Chester Weber tie for the lead in the driving competition, we decided to head back to the Alltech Experience pavilion to enjoy some refreshments. To my surprise, I recognized one of my friends and business associates among the 20,000 people walking in the other direction.  My husband Jason and I had the luck and fortune of being invited to join our friends from Dover Saddlery at a reception they were hosting along with the USHJA.  An added bonus was that the reception was air conditioned!  After exchanging stories about the previous night’s team show jumping competition, Jason and I thanked our hosts and started our trek back to the airport for our trip home.  To my good fortune, I spotted walking towards me one of my heroes, David O’Connor, who was kind enough to stop and chat.  I was gushing with admiration and was so happy to have my husband meet him with me.  With a beaming smile, we finally began our long trip home.

~Jaime Mckinley, VP Of New Product Development, Absorbine

Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil riding HH Rebozo during the evening session of team show jumping on October 6th

WEG Week One

Molly O'Brien, our current Absorbine staffer on deck at WEG writes:

Yesterday, I had tickets to the second half of the team Grand Prix dressage finals.  I got to see a number of absolutely wonderful horses and riders, including Edward Gal and Moorlands Totilas (Netherlands), Laura Bechtolsheimer and Mistral Hojris (Great Britain), and Steffen Peters and Ravel (USA).  

Those three competed again today in the individual competition.  Although I didn't have tickets, I watched a number of rides on the jumbotron outside the Bit of Britain booth.  Edward Gal and Totilas won the gold with an amazing score of 85.667, Laura Bechtolsheimer and Mistral Hojris took home the silver (a hallmark for Great Britain) with a score of 81.708, and Steffen Peters and Ravel earned the bronze medal with a score of 78.5428. 

The most touching moment, which was played on the jumbotron booth, occurred after Gal and Totilas left the ring.  Gal teared up for a moment, patting his horse on the neck.  If you compete with your horse, you know that amazing feeling when the two of you put it all together at just the right moment.  All the hours, days, months and years of working and sweating and trying and worrying fade away, while that incredible feeling of accomplishment courses through your very being.  For that moment, it's just you and your horse, and you're overwhelmed with emotion for all that your wonderful partner has given you. 

About an hour after the competition, what looked like the entire Dutch team and supporters -- many dressed in orange -- arrived at the Veuve champagne booth across from Bit of Britain to celebrate.  A huge cheer went up when Edward Gal arrived.  He left, but then came back a little later and spoke a few words to his teammates and supporters, again to great cheers and fanfare.  A few minutes ago, as I walked into the hotel, Edward Gal was in the lobby, where one of the event staffers asked him to pose for a picture -- probably for the millionth time today!  He graciously complied (a sign of a true champion), then carried what looked to be a tray with some dinner down the hall, probably off to his room for the night.  A mere mortal after all, no doubt ready for some food and sleep.

 ~Molly