The Texas Hunter and Jumper Association and The Pin Oak Charity Horse Show are proud to announce the second annual Texas Hunter and Jumper College Equestrian Fair hosted by the Pin Oak Club on Friday, September 24, 2010, at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center in Katy, Texas.  The THJA College Equestrian Fair will be held in The Texas Children’s Hospital Arena Club at GSEC, overlooking the magnificent Main Indoor Arena, which will be featuring the Southwest Showdown Hunter/Jumper Show.

Our plans include a Meet and Greet session for equestrian-minded high school students from Houston and surrounding areas from 4:30 to 6:30 PM, a half hour break, then an open forum discussion with our distinguished panel of speakers from 7:00 to 9:00 PM.  Speakers will include Larry Sanchez, Shelby French and Amanda Love.  The panel discussion “Getting On Track” will cover how to become a potential candidate for a college equestrian team….and more!

Corporate sponsorship for the THJA College Equestrian Fair is generously provided by The Texas Hunter & Jumper Association (THJA). Fees to attend the fair are $50 for families, $25 for individuals, and $10 for Pin Oak Club members and THJA members.

For more information, click here, or call the Pin Oak office at 713-621-6290.  If you prefer,  you may contact Roxanne Cook at roxannecook@pinoak.org for more information.  We hope to see you there!  The Pin Oak Charity Horse Show is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization supporting Texas Children’s Hospital and The Ronald McDonald House of Houston.

Highlights of the show came on the first Saturday night with the Championship Stake Night.  For the American Saddlebreds, the Five Gaited Stake was won by Foxgrape’s Dauntless owned by Foxgrape Farms, and the Three Gaited Stake was won by London’s Time for Tea owned by Toney Wilkey.  Bluebonnet’s Royalty owned by Edmund Perwien won the Fine Harness Championship.  The grand finale of the evening came with the Nordic Lights $30,000 Grand Prix, won by Happy Z owned by Wilhelm Genn.  The following Friday evening, the $15,000 International Hunter Derby was won by Katcha’ Reminiscing owned by Caroline Auclair.  The second Saturday evening of the show saw Chantal, shown above, owned by Laura Ryan-Baraclo win the Houston Area Audi Dealers $30,000 Grand Prix.  To see more class winners, click here.

Katy Equine Clinic veterinarian, Dr. Joe Morgan, will be conducting a free seminar titled, “How to Manage Injuries in the Sport Horse” at the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show on Wednesday morning, March 24th, following the $10,000 Pin Oak Mini Prix.  The seminar will be located in the Sponsors’ Club inside the BBVA Compass ring.  Dr. Morgan will include the latest technology in treatments, such as stem cell, platelet-rich plasma therapy, and IRAP.  The seminar will be followed by a question and answer session.  Dr. Morgan is an expert in the area of lameness, airway surgery, fracture repair and stem cell therapy.

Neiman Marcus, a long-standing supporter of the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show, hosted a fabulous luncheon at their Galleria store on March 3rd, to celebrate the upcoming 65th anniversary show.  Special guest of honor, Craig Taylor, known for his exclusive line of women’s shirts, delighted the crowd with his spring and summer collection.  The fashion show was followed by a wonderful luncheon.  Guests included Stacey Swift from Neiman Marcus, Rick Terry from BBVA Wealth Solutions,  Pin Oak President Lynn Walsh, as well as many other perennial Pin Oak sponsors.

Due to an accidental injury, Andy Roberts is unable to serve as judge for the United Mountain Horse classes.  Pin Oak wishes him a quick recovery.  We are pleased to announce that Jimmy Black from Barnwell, South Carolina, will be judge the UMH division for the 2010 show.

Welcome Towne Place Suites and Fairfield Inn & Suites!

On the evening of December 3rd, Franco Valobra and Beatrice Bornibus, avid Pin Oak Charity Horse Show supporters, hosted a  holiday party for Pin Oak Club members and show sponsors.  The elegant cocktail party was given at their store in Highland Village, Valobra Jewelry and Antiques.  The highlight of the event was the presentation by Mr. and Mrs. Valobra of a beautiful piece of jewelry, which will be a main attraction for the raffle to be held during the show in March.  Raffle tickets are $50, and can be purchased through the Pin Oak office at 713-621-6290.  We send a heartfelt thank you to the Valobras for their unique and appreciated support of the Pin Oak Show.

Featured speakers were Larry Sanchez, Ellen White and Tanya McKay, representing Varsity Riding, and Amanda Love representing IHSA.  Colleges represented at this event included  Cornell University, Dartmouth, LSU, Mount Holyoke, North Central Texas College, Rice University, Savannah College of Art and Design, Southern Nazarene University, Sweetbriar College, Texas A & M, Texas Tech, University of Virginia Arlington, West Texas A & M, and William Woods University.  Corporate sponsorship for the THJA College Equestrian Fair is generously provided by The Texas Hunter & Jumper Association (THJA) and by  Running Creek Trailers.  The Fair was so successful that plans are already under way for next year!

Comments from our participants:

“Good variety of schools.  It was nice to see so much interest in riding teams.  Good forum for all the kids.”

“The panel was really informative, and the meet and greet helped with details about the different colleges.”

“Good format.  Good talking to the schools first, then the presentation later.  Great speakers.  Extremely informative.”

Acclaimed trainer Frank Madden of New York conducted a two day clinic at Great Southwest Equestrian Center in Katy, Texas on November 9th & 10th.  Hosted by the Pin Oak Club, the clinic included hunter, jumper and equitation sessions for groups of riders, as well as exhibitions featuring Frank working one-on-one with riders and horses at several levels of ability.    Over 38 riders participated in the riding sessions, and over 110 auditors were ringside, watching intently as the well-known trainer helped riders get the best from their horses.   On Monday evening, 20 guests joined Frank for dinner at Hasta La Pasta restaurant.  Following dinner, Cathy Strobel of Horseback Magazine interviewed Frank, and then the session was opened for questions from the attendees.

“We feel lucky to have someone of Frank Madden’s experience and insight come to Texas,” said Patty Roberts, Pin Oak Executive Board member.  ”The Pin Oak Club is dedicated to bringing educational and fun events to this market.  I think everyone took away some very helpful and valuable information regarding their riding.”

As usual, this Pin Oak event was orchestrated largely by a team of volunteers.  Our thanks go to Event Co-Chairs Patty Roberts and Katrina Corn, Hospitality  Committee of Sally Hundley, Ruth Hawk and Susan Pelletier, Dinner Committee of Joan Cantrell and Monique Dougherty, Check-In Committee of Kathy Dougherty, Katrina Corn, Monique Dougherty and Nancy VonBrecht.  Thanks to Jim Wenman, who provided ringside management, and Lisa Atwell, who donated beautiful flowers for the event.  Roxanne Cook provided wonderful overall organization and support.

The Pin Oak Club is pleased to announce a riding clinic with Frank Madden on November 9th and 10th at Great Southwest Equestrian Center in Katy, Texas.  Frank Madden stands out as one of the most successful and dedicated trainers of young and developing show jumping talent in the United States.  He has trained several of the most promising junior equitation and junior amateur jumper riders – riders who have the potential to represent the United States at the highest level of international competition.  Frank and several of his riders were featured in the 2005 Animal Planet series, “Horse Power: The Road to Maclay”.  Animal Planet filmed as Brianne Goutal made history as the first junior rider to win all the major equitation finals with her 2005 wins in both the USEF Medal Finals and the ASPCA Maclay Finals.

There are several opportunities to participate in the clinic. Fun with Frank ($600) includes one rider/horse session ticket, one unlimited auditor ticket and one dinner ticket.  Focus on Frank ($500) includes one rider/horse session ticket and one unlimited auditor ticket.  Audit by Frank ($75)  includes one auditor ticket, and may be used either Monday, November 9th, or Tuesday, November 10th.  Fine Dining with Frank ($100) includes one dinner ticket. Additional pricing for the clinic includes stalls ($50), shavings ($11 per bag), and a grounds fee ($15).  A barn discount of $10 per person is offered for 15 or more persons auditing from one barn.  Pin Oak Club members receive a $15 discount on all packages.

The clinic will include six divisions as follows:  3′ Hunter, 3′3″ Hunter, 3′6″ Hunter, 3′6″ Equitation, 3′3″ Jumper, and 3′6″ Jumper.

For detailed information, click here to download the Adult Entry Package. Click here for the Youth Entry Package.  And click here for the Audit and Dinner Package.

Do you have questions?  Click here for FAQs.

On training your horse, Frank explains: “The theory behind riding is developing a means of communication with words, using your voice, legs, seat and hands to send a message to the horse to do what he needs to do.”   Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to learn the communication skills to train your horse.

The Texas Hunter and Jumper Association and The Pin Oak Charity Horse Show are proud to announce the first annual Texas Hunter and Jumper College Equestrian Fair hosted by the Pin Oak Club on Friday, September 18, 2009, at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center in Katy, Texas.  The THJA College Equestrian Fair will be held in The Arena Club at GSEC, overlooking the magnificent Main Indoor Arena, which will be featuring the Southwest Showdown Hunter/Jumper Show.

Our plans include a Meet and Greet session for equestrian-minded high school students from Houston and surrounding areas from 3:30 to 6:30 PM, a half hour break, then an open forum discussion with our distinguished panel of speakers.    Featured speakers will be Larry Sanchez, Ellen White and Tanya McKay, representing Varsity Riding, and Amanda Love representing IHSA.  Colleges represented at this event will include Cornell University, LSU, Rice University, Savannah College of Art and Design, Southern Nazarene University, Texas A & M, Texas Tech, University of Virginia Arlington, West Texas A & M, and William Woods University.

Corporate sponsorship for the THJA College Equestrian Fair is generously provided by The Texas Hunter & Jumper Association (THJA) and by  Running Creek Trailers.  Fees to attend the fair are $50 for families, $25 for individuals, and $10 for Pin Oak Club members and THJA members.

Click here for a flyer about the Fair.  For more information, call the Pin Oak office at 713-621-6290.  If you prefer,  you may contact Roxanne Cook at roxannecook@pinoak.org for more information.  We hope to see you there!  The Pin Oak Charity Horse Show is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization supporting Texas Children’s Hospital and The Ronald McDonald House of Houston.

Jim Wenman made an outstanding contribution every day of the show, handling all of the small details that are so frequently overlooked during the bustle of daily activities.

Monique Doherty, now in her fourth year of volunteering with Pin Oak, was always available with a smile to work on the less desirable and low profile projects.

The Hilltop Pony Club, the Tejas Pony Club and the Gary Scheibe Family did a fantastic job organizing and running the Bistro.

Beth Colle and volunteers from Ernst & Young organized and ran the Kids’ Party during Week 2.  We would have been lost without them!

Julie Knowles returned this year to direct both Gala night check-ins.  What a lady!

Donna Henderson began helping us in February with computer work, organization, and bartending.  She was ready and willing to do anything we asked.

Amanda Wilson devoted her entire spring break to Pin Oak by working on the computer, selling merchandise and greeting guests.

Deitra Robertson, Craig Rabilio and Chris George, all from Deitra Robertson Real Estate, did a fantastic job setting up the Sponsors’ Club area, as did Marise Condon and Cathy King.

Rose Chambers served as the Pink Ribbon Class Committee chairman, and SGF Winning Ways Whinnies Youth Group and their sponsor, May Chaddick, raised money for the Pink Ribbon Class.

Nancy Simonds has served faithfully as ribbon presenter during the first week of the show for several years now.

Roger Gibson was a bright light, organizing the set-up for the Gala parties and providing the rose boquets awards for the Championship classes.

Ryan Walsh did a wonderful job of moving and building the merchandise booth.  Thanks, Ryan!

And thanks to Chris Tudor, who helped with the raffle at all events leading up to the show.

The Pin Oak Horse Show sends thanks to all those who purchased raffle tickets for the many beautiful items that were donated.  Drawing of the winning tickets took place Saturday evening, March 28, and Pin Oak is pleased to announce the following winners:

The Pin Oak Charity Horse Show concluded another very successful event on Sunday, March 29th. The show saw inaugural events, such as the Pink Ribbon Class, a new breed, the United Mountain Horses, the repetition of a beautiful traditional derby, the International Hunter Derby, now in its second year, and the exciting perennial highlights of the show, two Grand Prix jumping events.

The Pink Ribbon class, the American Saddlebred Ladies Five Gaited Class, honored those affected by breast cancer and raised funds for breast cancer research.  The class was won by  Fox Grape’s Dauntless owned by Fox Grape Farm.  The United Mountain Horses added interest and variety to the show, and their exhibitors were enthusiastic and congenial.  The USHJA International Hunter Derby, created to bring show hunters to the international level, proved to be an elegant, traditional event.  For the second year, Argentum, a beautiful grey horse, was the winner.  He is owned by Alta Balsadua and shown by Peter Pletcher.  The Saturday evening crowd of Week 1 saw MTM Centano, owned by MTM Farm and ridden by Tracy Fenny, win the ever-exciting Grand Prix 1.  The following Saturday,  Happy Z, owned and ridden by Wilhelm Genn, won the Grand Prix 2.

Other show highlights included the American Saddlebred Five Gaited Championship, which as won by Leatherwood’s Colors Up, owned by Bill and Coe London.  The Three Gaited Championship went to CH Mahvelous Asset, owned by Claude Pennington, and the Fine Harness Championship was won by It’s Double O’Deuce, owned by SGF Winning Ways Farm.  For more class results, click here Class Results

Karen Homer Brown of Lexington, Kentucky, has agreed to step in and judge this year’s IALHA classes, from March 19 to March 21.   Helen Hogan of Fort Worth, Texas, will judge the Dressage Sport Horse In-Hand classes on March 18, giving Pin Oak exhibitors the opportunity to show under two respected IALHA judges at one venue.  We would like to extend a Pin Oak welcome to both our Andalusian judges, and look forward to their participation in this year’s show.