Highlights

BY TAMMY CHIPKO

  You have probably seen the ads for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy recently and may have wondered, “What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?”

Whether you own, ride or treat equine athletes, the use of increased atmospheric pressure for medical therapy is intriguing. To better understand the therapy and its value within the equine world, I have asked Geoff Pfeifer, who specializes in this type of therapy, to explain the uses and advantages of the treatment.

TC: What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)?
GP: Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is a treatment performed with high-pressure oxygen, which aids in the process of healing diseased or damaged tissues. It is based on the premise that healing is accelerated when more oxygen is made available to body tissues than the amount they are able to absorb under normal atmospheric conditions.

TC: Why is oxygen so important in the aid of repair and recovery?
GP: Under normal circumstances, oxygen is transported through the entire body by the red blood cells, which carry 98% of their capacity in oxygen. With hyperbaric oxygen therapy, oxygen is dissolved into all the body’s fluids and tissues, and can also be carried to areas where the circulation is compromised or even blocked. Oxygen is important for the health of all cells in the body. The level of oxygen in the blood stream can be increased up to 15 times higher than normal which has dramatic effects on the cells and speeds up the body’s natural healing process.

TC: What type of results have you seen with HBOT in humans?
GP: (HBOT) has been used on people for many years with outstanding results. It can be used to reduce swelling, pain and can prevent Hypoxia of the traumatized tissues. There has been tremendous success with HBOT in treating sports related injuries. An example is Terrell Owens, a wide receiver who underwent HBOT after breaking his leg six weeks before the playoffs. The treatments sped up his recovery time significantly allowing him back to play a remarkable game. I trained with the doctors who utilized several innovative therapies to rehabilitate him in record time.

TC: HBOT is helping top athletes worldwide, so it makes sense that it would help our equine athletes, right?
GP: Absolutely! We have been using this treatment with horses for quite some time. We apply HBOT not only for bone, tendon, and ligament injuries but also for shipping and exercise recovery, tying up, burns and other trauma. We have found that HBOT radically increases blood flow to the area of injury. Stem cells are always in the blood circulation so when you increase circulation you increase the ability of stem cells to implant in the injured area and naturally repair the damage. HBOT can be used alone or as an adjunct or complement to other therapy’s such as shockwave treatment, stem cell surgery, acupuncture, and antibiotics.

TC: How did this specialized treatment center get started in California?
GP: Kellie Jean Cerin founded The Equine and Animal HBOT Center of Southern California in 2005. Kellie’s family had a medical background, and her husband Vladimir was a successful trainer of both Olympic athletes and racehorses. We first installed the best equipment available and then made sure that our technical staff of experienced horsemen and women were all extensively trained and certified. You can trust, therefore, that your horse will be cared for in an optimum way.

TC: How did you get involved with HBOT?
GP: When I worked as a Neuro-psychologist I recommended HBOT for the various types of brain injury, stroke and autistic patients that I worked to rehabilitate during those years. For people with brain damage HBOT was one of the few therapies that I saw produce beneficial results. Starting 30 years ago I began my training in a Chinese style of physical therapy, then later in Naturopathy and European Biological Medicine. I started treating a few race horse trainers about 10 years ago and anytime I’d pull a new machine or technique out of my “toolbox” I’d hear “We’ve got to try this on the horses!” Then 5 years ago they got me down to the track and I fell in love with the horses. I’ve done a series of equine retrainings for the past 5 years and bring several innovative rehabilitation methods to the horse world that are typically reserved for elite human athletes.

TC: It must be very rewarding for you when you see the results.
GP: Yes, it is definitely rewarding and that is why I’m extremely positive about HBOT. We have had so many people bring horses to us because the diagnosis was grim at best. When for various reasons all other treatments have failed, HBOT has been effective. Some years ago friends of Kellie’s (the owner) had a yearling with such a bad leg injury that the vet said to put him down. Kellie treated the yearling for free and, due to a course of HBOT and antibiotics, the young horse recovered fully. I will never forget watching this yearling out in the paddock jumping puddles after a rain when, shortly before the treatment, he could barely walk.

TC: Where can we get more information about this therapy?
GP: The Center has a booth at the Oaks Blenheim Summer Series where everyone can come and ask questions and perhaps try a little fun oxygen treatment. The hope is to help you and/or your equine athlete.

The Equine & Animal Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Center is located in the city of Bradbury, about 7 miles from the Santa Anita Racetrack. Click here for their website and to watch a video on HBOT.

Geoff Pfeifer, Manager:
(310) 487-4654
equinehyperbaric@yahoo.com

BY TAMMY CHIPKO

  Santana Stables, situated in the Mexican city of Puebla, has chosen southern California as its home for the summer. I spoke with the owners, Paulo and Jennifer Santana, about their location, sale horses and summer plans.

  Santana Stables is located in the lovely community of HARAS in Puebla, about 60 miles southeast of Mexico City. Surrounded by volcanoes and snow-capped mountains, Puebla is an important industrial, cultural and educational center of Mexico and one of the oldest colonial cities in the continent.

  Known in California by her maiden name Preletz, Jennifer rides as an amateur. Now married and handling the sales aspect of their business, she explains that they live and work on one of the 50 beautiful farms in this community. Each farm shares the International Facility that includes, among other amenities, a Grand Prix Field and miles of green hills for galloping and conditioning. A medical hospital and an additional competition site are in the future plans. Their location provides a unique environment for keeping competition horses fit and happy.

  Paulo Santana, originally from Brazil, started his professional career developing young riders and horses. He has successfully competed at the International level and continues to compete in Mexico, Europe, and the United States. At the request of a family whose son had Olympic aspirations, Paulo came to Mexico from Brazil in 2003 as the young man’s private trainer. In 2005 he opened his own business in Puebla training a small group of clients
and developing a select group of young horses.

  Paulo characterizes his training method as the “natural” approach. Jennifer feels that he has a special talent for developing young horses. Patience is at the core of his technique and this calmness carries over to his horses and riders. His success spans from starting young riders as well as young horses in the 1.10m classes all the way to the Grand Prix show jumping level. Paulo explains that he prefers to keep a small group of horses and riders, so he can carefully tailor his step-by-step program for each individual’s needs.

  “My approach is the same with sale horses. I don’t like to have more than six or seven sale horses at a time,” adds Paulo. “We typically keep a horse for a year or more prior to selling it. Each horse is given personal attention and goals are set individually. We represent young horses, amateur horses, and Grand Prix prospects and have a great track record of selling quality horses. That is most important to me!”

Competing in the young horse classes, 1.40-1.45m, as well as in a number of Grand Prix, this year’s select group of six sale horses and a couple of Paulo’s students will be in southern California this summer. The group’s plans include competing at Oaks Blenheim and Showpark during the June, July and August “A” rated shows.   As we welcome Jennifer, Paulo, their students and horses to sunny SoCal, we hope to have rtunity to visit their facility and competitions in Mexico in the future. See a great video clip from Mexico produced by Showjumping Unplugged!TV on www.santanastables.com.	Crocodile Z is an 8 year old Grand Prix prospect from Santana Stables.
Santana Stables contact information:
Jennifer	Paulo
(310) 486-5345	(310) 925-2369
Jennifer@santanastables.com	Paulo@santanastables.com

BY LAURA WARE

  Ten riders are heading to Colorado in late July to represent Zone 10 at the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships. Congratulations to all who participated in the trials-- successfully competing at 1.40 is a huge accomplishment. Young Rider Team Member Paige Dotson was generous enough to share her trials experience. Part of Zone 10’s Gold Medal winning ‘B’ Team last year in Virginia, Dotson, 17, is hoping to strike a repeat performance at Young Riders this year participating on the ‘A’ Team.

Laura: Please tell us a bit about your Young Rider horse.
Paige: I am taking Friponnier II CH (aka Flip) to the Young Riders championships. He is a 16 year old Swiss warmblood gelding, but he likes to pretend that he is still seven! Mandy Porter rode him as a young horse in Europe and brought him back with her when she returned to California. He has qualified for young riders at least three times - with me, Erica Buie, and once or twice with Kelly Fong. I cannot thank the Buies enough for selling him to me and my parents for buying him; he has done wonders for my riding! He moved me up from the low jumpers to the highs, to the opens, and I did my first (very small) Grand Prix on him in Del Mar last October. He’s a grumpy old man but he’s all bark and no bite. He will charge out of his stall ears pinned back, snarling, but all he really wants is for you to pay attention to him and play with him. And besides his strong dislike of Keri Potter’s dog, JJ, he’s a favorite at the Buie’s barn.

Laura: What did you like/dislike about the trials format?
Paige: I really like the trial format; it’s the reason I’m on the team. I was a little worried that it would be a lot of rounds for Flip but he almost bucked me off in the warm-up on the last day! Having experienced these trials and how they prepare you for the finals, I love them. It is nice to know what to expect when you get to the finals, and Linda Allen set the courses so that they are comparable to the finals, which allows us to know what we are going up against.

Laura: How much experience have you had competing at 1.45m?
Paige: I have been doing the 1.45m with Flippy since the end of last September. At HITS I competed in the Jimmy Williams future classes to get some more experience and have been doing the 1.45m at the previous trials this year.

Laura: Tell us about the trial rounds at Oaks Blenheim. How were the courses, difficulty factor, number of clean rounds, format…
Paige: The final trials were challenging and asked the riders to be consistent over a three day period:
Speed class: The first day faults were converted into time. There were some very tricky spots such as the double combination of verticals which were very tight. In order to be fast enough you had to do a forward eight to the jump, making the rails difficult to leave up. There also was a tall vertical that you had to jump on a very sharp angle. That one came down quite a bit. After a course that encouraged you to come very forward, a lot of horses got strong. Linda asked us to jump across the open water and go directly to a VERY tight one-stride. Many people had beautiful rounds until this point then had a rail at ‘B’ of this combination because they could not get their horses back after the beginning which was so forward, and then the forward water jump.
Day Two: The course was very technical, with a few wide oxers asking for scope. Once again, Linda asked if you could get across the water, this time going to it right after another jump, then get your horse back for a tall airy vertical. The last combination was a tight one stride where ‘B’ had black boxes underneath that scared some horses. The four Young Rider/horse combinations that were clean in the first round came back for a jump off. There was a very tight inside turn to the second jump that saved time, but was very risky and caused problems, as well as the last long gallop to a huge airy vertical. We had Saturday off, and then returned Sunday for a two round competition.
Final Day: The first course was very hard. The time was tight and encouraged riders to rush, causing them to have rails. The triple combination was early on and was a very quiet two to a longer one-stride at a rather wide oxer. Some people got the two done but had trouble getting across the oxer. The last line was the water jump, then a quiet seven to an airy vertical. Most of the class had a foot in the water, even while riding at it hard. After galloping hard to the water, they then had difficulty fitting in the quiet seven, in order to leave the last jump up. The second round was fairly straight-forward and much shorter, with many clean rounds. The time was tight and it seemed that the problem area on this course was the wide oxer that rocketed you into a tight two-stride of verticals. Then you had to protect your horse’s front end at the oxer that was seven strides away.

Laura: After last year, what do you expect and what do you hope for at NAYJRC?
Paige: Last year both the junior and young rider teams won gold, with Karl winning individual gold and Aurora winning bronze. It was the first time in a while that Zone 10 did that well. Our group was tightly knit and there was great team camaraderie. I expect the courses to be technical and the jumps to be big, but I think that our trials prepared us well. I'm sure that our teams this year will be just as close as last I hope that we can win some medals again - gold would be great! I hope to place in the top individually and maybe even get a medal.

Laura: Why did you choose to focus on the jumpers instead of the equitation or hunters?
Paige: I chose to concentrate on jumpers for several reasons. Ever since I was little, I have enjoyed going fast on things, whether it's a roller coaster, a dirt bike, or a horse. After I competed in the short stirrup classes on my first horse, I got a pony jumper who was really fast and fun. From there on I did jumpers. Since I really enjoyed it and so did my parents, that’s where I ended up! A few years back, I got to watch the Olympic Trials held at Oaks Blenheim, while I was riding there in Children’s Jumpers. I got hooked on international competition and decided that I would really like to compete in the Olympic Trials someday.

Laura: What are your future riding goals?
Paige: Next year, I hope to start competing at the Grand Prix level regularly. When I graduate from high school I am going to go to college in California in order to continue riding and training with Keri Potter. Hopefully, after college I will turn professional. One day, also, if I have the horse, I would like to compete in international competitions such as the World Cup.

Thanks for your input, Paige, and good luck to you and both teams at the Championships!

Laura Listens is brought to you by Laura Ware. Winner of the 2007 LAHSA Junior Medal Finals and a recipient of the 2008 WCAR Jumper Rider Grant, Laura rides with First Field Farm and often trains with Archie Cox. She is very successful in the all three disciplines on her own mounts as well as catch riding other horses.

BY JACKIE McFARLAND

  Once again we are impressed with our Amateur riders’ accomplishments in & out of our sport, this time experience in the world of television combines with an amateur’s passion for knowledge.

A Growing Passion
  A few years ago, television production executive Kathleen Burns Rohr realized she had no outlet outside of work. Having ridden for fun as a kid, she missed the horse connection. From taking a few lessons a week to now jumping 3’ courses on her horse Levanti, the outlet has evolved into a serious passion. “It is the best therapy I could ask for. When I’m riding not only do I enjoy the outdoors but I can’t possibly be stressed about work when I’m trying to remember all the things I need to do on the horse!”

  Always seeking to expand her equestrian education, Rohr wanted to audit the George Morris clinic hosted by Karen Healey at Shelburne Farms last December. Unfortunately with her more than full time schedule she was unable to attend. Thinking that she was not alone in missing out on this opportunity, Rohr decided to send a film crew out and produce a DVD. “It started as a selfish desire,” she explained, “I wanted to produce it for my own sake and after spending hours in the editing bay I realized this was a great tool for amateurs and professionals.”

  After completing the George Morris Advanced Jumping & Equitation Clinic, a three-volume set, Rohr was looking for more. An email announcement about a WCAR Meredith Michaels Beerbaum clinic in Thermal offered that rare opportunity to capture one of the world’s best teaching our west coast riders. Having filmed the clinic in March, The Mental Game with Meredith Michaels Beerbaum is now available on DVD.

A Valuable Learning Tool
  When watching the clinic the viewer has an opportunity to watch top-level riders that you usually only see ‘perform’ in the show arena, actually make mistakes and then learn how to correct them. Rohr believes that the ability to watch the learning process is incredibly valuable for a rider as well as a trainer. It’s a type of continuing education for both – the rider as they identify their mistakes with the ones they are watching and the trainer as they learn new approaches to fixing horse and rider problems.

Bits From George & Meredith
  A couple George tidbits from the DVD – do they resonate with you?
• You should concentrate on one thing at time for a short time. Repetition creates body memory.
• Good form enables you to have good function

  George made a comment that the Europeans have learned from us and we have learned from them. Interestingly, Meredith is a unique combination of the strengths of both the American and European styles of riding. Winner of the 2008 FEI World Cup (her second WC win) Meredith is once again the number one rider in the world. She has achieved her continued success by winning the Mental Game. In her clinic she teaches riders to think for themselves.

The Result – Equestrian Clinics for everyone
  In less than a year, two world-renowned equestrians don the covers of Equestrian Clinic’s DVD offerings. Taking no shortcuts in production, each DVD is made-for-TV quality. “Now that I’ve got these products with a plan for more, I’m learning a lot about marketing and sales,” commented Rohr. “It’s a whole new world for me.”

See video clips and more info at www.equestrianclinics.com.