On Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at 9 am, the Rocky Mountain Horse Association will be holding their 24th annual International Horse Show at the Kentucky Horse Park, Covered Arena. 

The RMHA’s 24th International Horse Show will run until September 15th and culminate with Grand Championship classes in the Saturday evening performance.  

Admission to this event will be included with park admission.  Several local vendors will be set up around the show ring concourse daily.  Events for the whole family are planned throughout the week. 

Please join us anytime during the week of September 11-15th for family fun and entertainment at the Kentucky Horse Park to celebrate the Rocky Mountain Horse Association’s International Horse Show.  More information available on RMHA website: www.rmhorse.com.

In 1986, the Rocky Mountain Horse Association was founded as a non-profit organization in Kentucky.  The Association is dedicated to the preservation, promotion and breeding of the Rocky Mountain Horse.  Even though the Rocky Mountain Horse as a recognized breed is relatively new, the horses go back more than 70 years to a small farm owned by Sam Tuttle, in Estill County Kentucky.  Mr. Tuttle developed these horses which had a natural single foot (4-beat gait) for riding at the Natural Bridge State Park.  The name “Rocky Mountain Horse” is derived from the fact that Mr. Tuttle’s line of horse is descendant from a stallion originally from the Rocky Mountains.  This stallion bred to Kentucky mares and was the beginnings of the Rocky Mountain Horse.  There are over 19,000 registered Rocky Mountain Horses in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and Australia, and are also found in several countries throughout Europe.  

***This brief history of the Rocky Mountain Horse® is an excerpt from the book “Rocky Mountain Horses”,
courtesy of the author, Bonnie Hodge.  For more information contact Bonnie at www.wildfireenterprises.iceryder.net.

Melissa Eller
Administrative Assistant, Rocky Mountain Horse Association
859-243-0260
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Looking for a bomb-proof trail horse who has done it all? Meet Sir Maybelline, a former show hunter, racehorse, and currently a solid trail horse who is sound and sweet as the day is long.

He acts much younger than his age, and the person who adopts him will be getting the equine equivalent of a fine Kentucky Bourbon: warm, smooth, pleasant, and aged to perfection.

Seriously, don't let his age (21) deter you. Sir Maybelline is a 16.1-hand Thoroughbred gelding who has a great personality, is still in the prime of his life, and has a lot to give!

For more information on Sir Maybelline or any of the other adoptable horses at the Kentucky Equine Humane Center, contact them at 859-881-5849, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or www.KyEHC.org Please repost and help him find a forever home!

Prize money will reach $3,000 for the Thoroughbred Horse Show Association's Fall Show on October 6-7 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. Entries are being accepted for the show, TBHS's second event following its successful inaugural Spring Show on April 14 in which more than 100 Thoroughbreds of all ages competed in 39 classes using their registered names with The Jockey Club.

TBHS was founded in 2011 by a group of Central Kentuckians interested in creating opportunities to showcase the talent and competitive spirit of off-the-track Thoroughbreds. Its shows are affiliated with The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program (TIP), which encourages the retraining of Thoroughbreds into other disciplines upon the completion of their careers in racing or breeding.

TBHS' Fall Show builds on the success of the Spring Show in April and will be a fundraiser for Boys & Girls Haven in Louisville (boyshaven.org). The nonprofit organization works to teach young people to become productive and healthy members of the community. Its equine program enables young people to work with Thoroughbreds.

“We are really excited about supporting Boys & Girls Haven,” said TBHS Executive Director Jan Roehl. “They have a very successful equine program, and our show will give the kids job training and a chance to work with horses while they help us with the many tasks required to conduct the show."

The Fall Show will offer enhanced prize money, thanks to The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program (TIP). Classes include a Hunter Classic and a Jumper Classic, both of which will award $500 to the winner. TBHS also is hosting a $1,000 Dressage Challenge and a $500 Gamblers Choice, and is encouraging people and organizations to become sponsors of these events.

“In the Gamblers Choice class, jumps have a point value based on difficulty and riders have a time limit in which to complete the course,” Roehl said. “Riders choose which jumps to attempt and the order in which to take them. The rider with the highest number of points wins. Spectators will find the class fun to watch.”

Information about the Fall Show, including an entry form, is available on TBHS website, tbhorseshow.com.

For more information, contact executive director Jan Roehl at (859) 559-1409 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

PHOTO: Participating in the Thoroughbred Horse Shows Association's “War Horse” in-hand class during the April 14 show at the Kentucky Horse Park were (from left) Red Zipper, a 9-year-old stakes-winning gelding by City Zip who earned $303,935, with Michelle Parish; Prayer Service, a 10-year-old winning gelding by Stephen Got Even who earned $162,961, with Morgan Adams; and Train Robbery, the 25-year-old, Grade 3-winning dam of Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner Cat Thief, with Martha Murdock.  Photo (c) Debbie Savage

Meet Unravelled, a 6-year-old, 15.2-hand Thoroughbred mare who is available for adoption from the Kentucky Equine Humane Center.

She was surrendered to the Kentucky Equine Humane Center last year, in foal, as a starvation case, but she and the foal are doing great now.

Unravelled is progressing well in the Thoroughbred retraining program at the center.  She will need an experienced rider, but best all all, she should be sound for any discipline.

Find out why Thoroughbreds make great horses for whatever you ask of them!  With their keen intelligence and excellent work ethic, they are outstanding prospects for just about anything.

For more information on Unravelled or any of the other adoptable horses at the Kentucky Equine Humane Center, contact them at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , 859-881-5849, or click on www.KyEHC.org.

Patrick Smithwick, author of "Racing My Father" will be here to sign his new book,
"Flying Change: A year of racing and family and steeplechasing" 
Saturday, July 21, 11am to 1pm 
Kentucky Horse Park Gift Shop 

Don't miss this chance to meet the author and pick up his book, which is described as, "This memoir of dueling ambitions is the tale of a man who decides in mid-life to call off all restraints, silence all naysayers, put his mind and body and courage to the test, and do what in his case-he has been away from the world of racing for twenty-five years-is the impossible: within a nine-month period get a horse to ride in the most difficult steeplechase race in the world, and then, ride that horse as if his life depends on it, which, literally, it does."

See you here!

Meet Montana, a 12-year-old Appaloosa gelding, who is looking for a good home. 

He is 14.3 hands, friendly, and gets along well with his pasture mates.  He is easy to catch and has good ground manners.  Montana has been ridden for pleasure and would be suitable for an advanced beginner to intermediate rider.

To find out more about Montana or schedule and appointment to meet him, contact the Kentucky Equine Humane Center, 859-881-5849, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . 

To see some of the other great horses who are available for adoption, go to www.KyEHC.org.

Meet the adoptable horse of the week, Port Allen. 

He's an 8-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, 15.3-hands, who had a previous life as a show hunter.  He is currently in the retraining program at the Kentucky Equine Humane Center, where he's doing very well (the photo above was taken before he came to the Humane Center).

Port Allen went to first horse show in April and did very well in that new situation. He is personable and has good ground manners.  He does have an old suspensory ligament injury but he is fully recovered.  He would probably be best suited for flatwork. In his retraining program it appears that he might make a nice dressage horse. He has requested an advanced beginner or intermediate rider. 

At 8 years of age, he is just starting to come into his best years, so he'd love to have a new home with a wonderful owner. 

For more information about Port Allen or any of the other adoptable horses at the Kentucky Equine Humane Center, contact them at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , 859-881-5849 or www.kyehc.org

Meet the adoptable horse of the week: Sophie.

She's a Mustang cross who is sound, loyal as a Labrador, and needs a new home. 

Sophie is going well at walk, trot and canter in the training program at the Kentucky Equine Humane Center.  She is brave and confident, a real people horse, loves barn cats and gets along well in any situation. 

She's about 14.3-hands and only 4-years-old. 

For more information on Sophie or any of the other adoptable horses from the Kentucky Equine Humane Center, contact them at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , 859-881-5849, or go to www.kyehc.org.