UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS THIRD ANNUAL HORSE FESTIVAL TO BEGIN

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The University of Arkansas Dorothy E. King Equine Program will hold the Third Annual Horse Festival, Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2, at Pauline Whitaker Arena on Garland Avenue, two miles north of the UA campus.

The program on Friday will begin at 6 p.m. and will feature Jenny Vaught, three-star Parelli instructor. She will be describing training techniques on advanced and green horses. Well known in the horse world as a natural trainer, she has helped many people realize their dreams of establishing that special partnership with their own horses.

Also that evening at 7 p.m., "Starting Your Horses on Cattle" will feature Van Hargis, world-renown clinician.

While living in New Zealand in 1991, Hargis established his horsemanship seminars to offer individual counseling and western riding lessons. When he returned to Texas a year later, he opened the HVH Training Stables in Sulphur Springs, Texas. He then began traveling the South, conducting seminars that have attracted public attention through television, radio and numerous print publications.

Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m., Hargis will be featured in "Concept of Fear, Trust and Confidence while Dealing with Obstacles and Spookiness." At 1:20 p.m., JP Giacomini, French Certified Instructor, will perform a Grand Prix Dressage to Music.

Giacomini is a French certified instructor who has 30 years of professional experience. He has ridden close to 10,000 horses and has represented most breeds and disciplines. He has produced international champion horses in dressage, eventing and show jumping, and he has given clinics in 11 countries and coached Olympic riders. His equestrian career began by learning all-around horsemanship and equitation in the French military tradition, before gaining a thorough classical dressage education in Portugal, where he was assistant trainer at the Portuguese National Stud of Alter Real. He learned traditional horse management and conditioning from the experts in England, where he spent five years teaching.

World champion Jason Vanlandingham will close the festival Saturday evening with a demonstration on selecting and training top reining horses at 6 p.m.

Vanlandingham began to specialize in training reining horses in 1998. At the 2000 American Paint Horse Association's (APHA) World Show, he broke the top ten in the Sr. Reining in his first appearance. His first appearance in the 2000 World Wide Paint Horse Congress was his first championship, and in 2001, he returned to the APHA World Show and placed in the top ten.

He was a Limited Open Finalist at the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Derby and had two horses in the finals of the NRHA Limited Open Futurity, including Southwest Reining Horse Association (SWRHA) Intermediate Open Futurity. He also won the SWRHA's Limited Open Championship and Intermediate Open Reserve Championship.

The Horse Festival will also feature breed and horse association information and vendors for clothing, tack, jewelry, equipment and supplies. Elizabeth Nobles, Miss Rodeo Arkansas, will be participating in the festival Saturday as well.

Tickets are $5 for adults and children under age 12 are free. The festival is sponsored by Purina Mills Inc., AMKO Buildings and Nutrena, and all proceeds benefit the UA equine program.

For more information, contact the UA department of animal science at (479) 575-4262 or midrumm@uark.edu, or visit http://www.uark.edu/depts/dekep/home.htm. A detailed schedule of events is posted on the Dorothy E. King Equine Program web site as well.

The Dorothy E. King Equine Program is a part of the department of animal science in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. The program is designed to educate and expose students to all aspects of horse selection, care and management. Students will study genetics, nutrition, anatomy and physiology, diseases, health care, behavior and training, legal issues, business aspects and merchandising.

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