Lindsay Berreth

Feb. 16 – Altoona, Fla.

Looking down the entry list of the Rocking Horse Winter II Horse Trials, Feb. 15-17 in Altoona, Fla., I somehow knew I’d be interviewing Buck Davidson. With six advanced horses across three divisions, including his longtime partner Ballynoe Castle RM, how could anyone bet against him?

Sure enough, Buck showed the strength of his string, topping two divisions of advanced, but with two vastly different horses.

Health officials in the United Kingdom and across Europe are scrambling to find out why traces of horsemeat have been found in a wide array of products sold as 100 percent beef. Fingers have been pointed and blame thrown in every direction as this complex investigation into the food supply chain continues to expand.

Starting March 11, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials will implement the Animal Disease Traceability Program to improve their ability to trace livestock during a disease outbreak.

The new system applies to all livestock crossing state lines. And while the ADTP’s primary purpose is to track disease outbreaks among cattle, it’s expected to be an important tool in containing equine outbreaks as well.

Four-star eventer Colleen Rutledge’s son, Connor, died on Feb. 3. He was 8.

Connor was born with severe disabilities and was confined to a wheelchair.

On Jan. 27, Connor stopped breathing, and Rutledge’s husband, Brian, performed CPR to revive him. He was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md., where he fell into a coma and was unable to be revived.

Show jumper Katie Dinan has purchased a new horse, Glory Days, from Swedish rider Daniel Zetterman.

Zetterman bred, raised and trained Glory Days (Cardento 933—Diamond Glory, Diamond Serpent), a 12-year-old Swedish Warmblood. Together, they competed on numerous FEI Nations Cup teams for Sweden.

Zetterman brought the gelding to Florida last year for the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival, where he caught the eye of Dinan’s trainer, McLain Ward.

Eventer Allison Springer has purchased Kelly Pugh’s advanced mare Copycat Chloe in an effort to grow her string of upper-level horses.

Springer was familiar with the 11-year-old Trakehner-Thoroughbred cross (Stiletto-Copycat’s Dancer, Alezan Dancer) because she spent a year and a half in her barn while Pugh worked for her.

Pugh and Copycat Chloe earned individual gold and team silver at the 2010 Adequan FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships (Ky.) before moving up to the advanced level, where they completed the Dansko Fair Hill CCI*** (Md.) in 2011.

The North American Point-to-Point Association, founded in 2001 to promote and preserve steeplechase racing through amateurs and juniors, has been dissolved.

Started by amateur jockeys George Strawbridge and Mason Lampton, NAPPA operated as a 501(c)3, promoting point-to-point racing through foxhunts and educating juniors and amateurs with clinics and summer camps.

Tracy Brennan has a simple philosophy when it comes to her off-the-track Thoroughbred, Beau. “If something new comes up, we give it a try,” she said.

To date, Brennan and Beau have tried everything from team penning to foxhunting to historical demonstrations, all in a side-saddle. While Brennan jokes that Beau is a “jack of all trades, master of none,” the pair proved their skill in their first foray into dressage last year and earned a special honor in the process.

Lamplight Equestrian Center, located in Wayne, Ill., has been sold to Nina Koloseike Moore, an amateur hunter/jumper rider from Batavia, Ill.

Following the success of multiple Thoroughbred-only horse shows in the Mid-Atlantic last year, several off-track Thoroughbred advocates have announced the creation of the Thoroughbred Alliance Show Series, to premiere this year.

The series will consist of Thoroughbred-only shows in the Mid-Atlantic, culminating in a year-end awards banquet for horses and riders who accumulate points throughout the series. The banquet will be held at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md., in January 2014. Registration for the series is free.