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Battle of the Breeds
This year’s Spruce Meadows Masters in Calgary was another big, fun affair. Perfect weather, good crowds, spectacular international jumping competition and the entertaining TELUS Battle of the Breeds. Team Appaloosa finished in second place overall among 10 breed groups. Congratulations and thanks to the members shown here: Allie Sutton, Kaylee McLachlin, Kristin Lee and Lynn Johnson. It all came down to the last horse in the last class, so spectators were pretty enthused. The Appaloosa Horse Association of Alberta took care of an attractive exhibit at Equi-Faire and organized the team. The expected attendance mark of 200,000 people was surpassed and there were folks stopping by the booth who actually wanted information about buying Appaloosas…kind of a nice experience to find out that the mood “out there” is somewhat positive. I’ll be posting a few more photos in the blog album. Thanks to Laurie, Ann and Mary Lou for all your help!
The banners are fluttering everywhere in Calgary; local television covered the airport arrival of equine passengers from Europe, so it must be time for the “Masters” at Spruce Meadows. The first two events of the TELUS Battle of the Breeds were held Thursday. I guess we should also mention that the world’s best jumpers are also here and providing great thrills. 
After five very competitive events, a few weather episodes and lots of scoreboard watching, Team Appaloosa was officially declared the Champions of the 2007 Battle of the Breeds at Spruce Meadows in Calgary. Today’s trail class proved to be the difference, but every single point earned by each horse and rider/driver was critical. Our breed earned the admiration and respect of thousands of fans and made it to center stage at one of North America’s premier equestrian events. Feel free to offer your congratulations with a comment. These ladies proved that competition can be fun as well as rewarding. They are genuine ambassadors for the Appaloosa brand. Thanks to each of them and to the supporting cast that worked hard to keep things going. Participants are identified in the previous post.
Absolutely any fan of Appaloosa horses would have been thrilled by the sight of Team Appaloosa receiving the Battle of the Breeds championship trophy in front of thousands of spectators today at Spruce Meadows. The team left to right: Sherry Gresko, Leduc, Alberta; Lynn Johnson, Rimbey, Alberta; Anita Wilson, Wolf Creek, Montana; and Jessie Halabura, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan;. Congratulations ladies! 
Not to give too much away by the look of the championship coolers, but Team Appaloosa finished second in the trail competition and edged their way to an exciting overall victory in the TELUS Battle of the Breeds at Spruce Meadows in Calgary. Here they get the chance to take a bow in front of the enthusiastic Battle fans. Later in the day, the team was center stage in the huge and colorful International Arena in front of a crowd of several thousand. 
Lynn Johnson and Dandy’s TQ Bobby negotiate one of the more interesting obstacles in the TELUS Battle of the Breeds trail competition. The TELUS “ball” needed to be pushed through the uprights to score points. As you can imagine, some horses were gung ho to play ball, while others had apparently not seen anything quite like this in daily life. I think it was worth 50 points, so certainly worth a try for most competitors. After the regular trail run (which is a timed event in the battle), participants had the option of attempting a bonus obstacle of a short polo goal. As in Jeopardy Jumping, it was worth 100 points if successfully negotiated, but carried a similar penalty if not completed within the 30-second time limit. High drama all the way around.
Equi-Fair visitors at Spruce Meadows in Calgary were intrigued by the unique and splashy color pattern on “Chester.” He’s a two-year-old gelding officially named ZIPSFITFORCHOCOLATE sired by FIT TO BE TIED and owned by Appaloosa Horse Association of Alberta President Shelby Biddlecombe. For a youngster, he tolerated the noises, strange sights and bustle of people traffic really well. He was quoted late in the day however as saying that he was ready to go back home for a while.
These “Friends of Appaloosas” are part of the volunteer corps helping promote the breed at the Spruce Meadows “Masters” event this week in Calgary. On the left is Shelby Biddlecombe, Claresholm, Alberta, who happens to be President of the Appaloosa Horse Association of Alberta this year. In the center is Connie Hunter of Sunset Stock Horses, Fort Macleod, Alberta. Connie brought a yearling filly by All Around Texas to help greet visitors to the exhibit area in the Riding Hall. Each club volunteer for the AHAA booth also makes the commitment to bring an Appaloosa horse for the day. The breed exhibits are an obvious draw for young and old at the Masters. On the right is Stacey Engleson of Taber, Alberta. She’s a horsewoman and an Appaloosa friend, but also a terrific young artist. One of her paintings was used for the Appaloosa Horse Club of Canada’s 50th Anniversary show poster this year. Looks like another of her works will find its way to Moscow! Thanks ladies.
The extra pageantry of having spiffy horse soldiers lead the parade of winners into the ring for each Battle of the Breeds awards presentation is very cool. I got a little confused by the various titles I read and heard, but I think these fellows are part of the “Royal Household Guard.” Lots of history that someone else will need to explain. The bottom line is that the folks at Spruce Meadows know how to stage an event. In fact, the organizers of the 2008 Olympic equestrian activities are here to observe and learn. I’d say that’s high praise itself.