Thoroughbred events in PA and KY this month

Jazz, shown in his  racehorse days, will compete in the 100 Day Challenge

Jazz, shown in his racehorse days, will compete in the 100 Day Challenge

100 Day Thoroughbred Challenge at PA Expo

Thoroughbreds undergoing intensive re-training through Steuart Pittman’s 100 Day Thoroughbred Challenge will demonstrate their metamorphosis from racehorse to show horse at the Pennsylvania Horse World Expo in Harrisburg Feb. 23.

Beginning at 2 p.m., horses who have undergone 11 weeks of re-training will demonstrate their prowess in a variety of sport-horse disciplines, Pittman states in a press release.

Their performances will be judged by a panel of experts, and by the voting public, who may log on to the Retired Racehorse Training Project website to vote.

Online votes will be tallied and combined with judges’ votes.

Judges for 100 Day Challenge are:

  • Nick Karazissis, a leading hunter/jumper trainer from California who grew up riding Thoroughbreds.
  • Bev Strauss, eventer, racehorse trainer, and director of MidAtlantic Horse Rescue, one of the country’s oldest and most respected Thoroughbred placement organizations.
  • Donnan Jones (formerly Donnan Plumb), dressage guru to international eventers for decades, member of US dressage team at Mexico Olympics, and wife of legendary Thoroughbred bloodstock agent Russell Jones.
Michael Blowen. Photo courtesy Barbara Livingston

Michael Blowen. Photo courtesy Barbara Livingston

Old Friends meet up on Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail

The 5th Annual Old Friends Along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail dinner and bourbon-tasting benefit will be held Feb. 23 at the Seelbach Hilton Hotel beginning at 6 p.m.

The fun-filled evening benefits Old Friends of Georgetown, KY and Greenfield Center, NY, a Thoroughbred retirement facility founded by Michael Blowen.

The evening will feature a four-course Bourbon-themed feast, as well as live and silent auctions of exclusive equine artwork, autographed Bourbon items, racing memorabilia, fine jewelry, and more, according to a press release. Tickets are $100 per person, and the hotel is offering a reduced room rate of $119 per night.

Thanking the Seelbach Hotel and Kentucky Distillers Association for their support, Blowen notes the event is one of the most exciting fundraisers on his calendar.

Tickets may be reserved by calling Jennifer Biesel at Seelbach. Her number is 502-585-9292.

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