News
If you haven’t signed up yet, shoot us an email! Our first of a series of three young rider steeplechase racing clinics starts this Sunday, Feb 12th, at 10AM at Sycamore Farm, Hess Rd, Monkton, MD. The clinic is $10 for NAPPA members and $25 for non-NAPPA members. We’ll start with an unmounted session discussing steeplechasing, race strategy, saddling, and race course safety. Auditors are welcome to join our unmounted session (for free), but will have to keep up on foot if they’d like to join us for the mounted session that follows. We encourage all levels of riders to join us, even if you are not ready to jump! Download the CLINIC info and RELEASE and let us know if you plan on attending. We will also have 2012 NAPPA Young Rider Calendars available for purchase for $10 ($2 discount).
Come visit NAPPA at the MD Horse Expo on January 20-22 at the Timonium Fairgrounds. Visit our booth (#1423) to take a test ride on the Equicizer, check out discounts on membership and merchandise, and for your chance to win a NAPPA gift bag. There will also be a Steeplechasing 101 talk given by NAPPA Executive Director, Regina Welsh, at 1:00pm on January 22nd.
If you haven’t gotten your 2012 NAPPA Young Rider Calendar, now is the time! Give the office a call, stop by the expo, or email us at info@naptp.com to get your copy of the calendar featuring our top young riders for $12!
Membership call! Have you updated your 2012 NAPPA membership yet? Do so now for deep discounts on clinics and race entries. Membership discounts will be available at the NAPPA booth at the MD Horse Expo.
Our spring clinics are scheduled!
Feb 12 • Maryland Young Rider Clinic • Monkton, MD
Feb 19 • Pennsylvania Young Rider Clinic • Unionville, PA
Feb 20 • Virginia Young Rider Clinic • The Plains, VA
March 11 • Maryland Steeplechasing 101 Clinic (adult riders)• Pleasant Prospect Farm • Brookeville, MD
Adult Clinics for adults are being developed in PA and VA also. Please email NAPPA if you are interested. info@naptp.com
The 2012 NAPPA Young Rider Calendar is now available at The Mill, The Middleburg Tack Exchange, The Maryland Saddlery, and Dogwood Tack. Additional locations will be listed as they are added.
And don’t forget to make your year end tax-deductible donation! Happy New Year!
Congratulations to NAPPA young rider program graduates Fritz Boniface and Gus Dahl on their wins at the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup this past weekend. Fritz took home the $10,000 Lewis C Ledyard Memorial on Bulle Rock Stables’ Moonsox. After a flawless jumping trip, Fritz steered Moonsox to a 90 length victory for his father/trainer Kevin Boniface. The jubilant family was all smiles in the winners circle.
Win Photo: Fritz Boniface and Moonsox
It was a busy weekend for Gus Dahl, who had three rides at the Montpelier Hunt Races and a winner at the PA Hunt Cup. Gus brought home the silver in the 2 mile Athenian Idol Flat Race for Amateur Riders aboard Barry’s Song for trainer Leslie Young and owner Darren Nagle. Barry’s Song easily defeated the field of 8 to win over Bodie Island with Keri Brion by 1/2 length! Gus travels from Tennessee to ride races every weekend on the NSA circuit. Well done Gus!
Gus and Fritz weren’t the only NAPPA grads with major accomplishments at the PA Hunt Cup. Mary Motion rode her Woodmont to finish 3rd in the Arthur O. Choate, Jr Memorial NW2 Timber Race. Trained by Neil Morris, the bug rider was only beaten out by 3 lengths for the whole race by Champion Jockey Paddy Young and Mark Beecher. Mary’s Uncle Graham Motion and family came to cheer her on after having a busy day with their horses at The Breeder’s Cup in Kentucky the day before. Well done Mary!
Mary Motion huddles with other jockeys for the rider's meeting.
The Essex Fox Hounds Pt-to-Pt is rescheduled for Sunday, November 20th. Additional entries are being taken and will close this coming Monday, November 14th. The card will remain the same with the addition of a Hunt Team Relay. Please visit www.essexfoxhounds.org for up to date information and to learn how you can enter and purchase tickets.
Congratulations to all participants in Jr Field Master’s Chase Races this past weekend. Send us your photos and we will post them!
For great images from the PA Hunt Cup, check out these links!
Congratulations to NAPPA graduate Gus Dahl on his 3rd sanctioned win in the last year. Gus steered Hot Rize for Owner/Trainer Karen Gray to a 28 length victory in the Maiden Claimer this past Saturday at the Aiken Fall Steeplechase. Way to go Gus!
Due to a very unseasonal snow storm in October, the Essex Fox Hounds were forced to postponed their Pt-to-Pt scheduled for this past weekend (10/30). They plan to run two weeks from now. Check back for the new date. We will post it as soon as they give it to us. They are also accepting more entries if you missed the deadline the first go round.
SATURDAY, October 29th: NAPPA grad Gus Dahl rides for Hall of Fame trainer Janet Elliot at the Aiken Fall Races . This is Gus’ first ride for Elliot. We wish Gus lots of luck on his ride on Elliot’s Silent Vow and on Karen Gray’s Hot Rize.
SUNDAY, October 30th: The Essex Fox Hounds will revive their Pt-to-Pt. The race day cards 9 races for riders young and old. Gates open at 10AM. Visit www.essexfoxhounds.org for more information!
Congratulations to long time NAPPA Young Rider Mary Motion on her first sanctioned outing as a licensed NSA amateur jockey aboard her own Woodmont. Trained by Neil Morris, Motion and Woodmont placed 5th out of a field of 7 in the Steeplethon at the VA Gold Cup. Congratulations to Ms. Motion and NAPPA hopes to see her on the NSA overnight again soon!
REMINDER: Entries for the Essex Fox Hounds Pt to Pt are due this Monday by noon. See www.essexfoxhounds.org for more info. The race card includes flat and jumping races for amateur riders young and old, a Lead Line Trot Race, and an Open Amateur Foxhunter Timber Race. Tailgating tickets are also available for purchase on their website.
CALENDARS: The 2012 NAPPA Young Rider Calendar is looking for sponsors for each month and the cover. Rates are $500 per month or $1,000 for the cover. Contact Regina at the NAPPA office for more details.
HAVE YOU TRIED TO CALL US?: Due to the recent storms, hurricanes, and flooding our NAPPA phone line has been down. Leave us a message and we’ll return you call as soon as possible. For immediate reply, email is your best bet. info@naptp.com
With Blue Ridge and Thorton Hill Pt to Pts already behind us…. you only have two more to get your P2Ping fix in before the fall season is over. The Essex Fox Hounds will revive their Pt-to-Pt October 30th, hosting a doable day of racing for foxhunters, adult young riders alike. The card will boast 8 races consisting of Field Master’s Chases and Flat Races for young and old(er), stick pony races, Lead Line Trot, a Hunt Team Relay, and a Timber Race. We hope you’ll also join the PA Hunt Cup as the young riders face off on November 6th in the PA Junior Hunt Cup, a 2 mile Field Master’s Chase for Juniors on horse and ponies.
The 10th Anniversary of the NAPPA Championship held May 22nd at Great Meadow in The Plains, VA will feature THE BEAT UP CUP, a NAPPA Alumni flat race. Riders have either graduated from the NAPPA Junior ranks or are retired Amateurs. The field will star Rosie Napravnik, who finished in the 2002 NAPPA Championship Field Master’s Chase on French Revolution and has gone on to be a star on the flat racing scene. Napravnik made NAPPA very proud this year as she became the 5th female jockey to ride in the Kentucky Derby. Other entries will be piloted by Remy Winants, Jazz Napravnik, Willie White, Fritz Boniface, Michael Finney, and Mary Motion just to name a few.
The Championship Races will feature a full card of Field Master’s Chase Races for Juniors and Adults, two Timber Races, and The Beat Up Cup. The Championship will be run in conjunction with the Wine Festival at the Plains. Tickets may be purchased by contacting the NAPPA office at 410-329-3749 or by emailing info@naptp.com.
Welcome to the new NAPPA website! We hope you’ll be able to find information more easily now. We hope to provided you information more regularly, so keep checking back for updates! Don’t forget to join NAPPA! We need your 2011 membership forms as soon as possible! See you at the races!