Tag Archives: USMMA

USMMA Clinic in Las Vegas!

What happened in Vegas?  It won’t stay in Vegas! The USMMA Annual Clinic happened in Las Vegas October 20-22nd! !

Here were the end results:

Functional Test  (Marchador/Rider)

  1. Flying Oaks Zodiac – Rusty Parks
  2. Alegria de los Cielos – Alessandra Deerinck
  3. Flying Oaks Athena – Jeff Bosley
  4. Flying Oaks Netuno – Rick Schatz

Geldings Marcha (Horse/Rider)

  1. Flying Oaks Zodiac – Rusty Parks
  2. Flying Oaks Netuno – Kate Barcelos
  3. Tesoro de los Cielos – Alessandra Deerinck
  4. Tory (Hilario do Lucero) – Sandy Dory

Geldings Conformation (Horse/Handler)

  1.  Tesoro de los Cielos – Alessandra Deerinck
  2. Flying Oaks Netuno – Rick Schatz
  3. Flying Oaks Zodiac – Rusty Parks
  4. Tory (Hilario do Lucero) – Sandy Dory

Geldings Champion – Flying Oaks Zodiac

Geldings Reserve Champion – Flying Oaks Netuno

Mares Marcha  (Horse/Rider)

  1. Flying Oaks Athena- Rusty Parks
  2. Fiesta do Campo Real – Kendall Melline
  3. Alegria de los Cielos – Alessandra Deerinck

Mares Conformation (Horse/Handler)

  1. Alegria de los Cielos – Alessandra Deerinck
  2. Consentida do Cascade – Jake Martinez
  3. Flying Oaks Athena – Rusty Parks

Mares Champion – Alegria de los Cielos

Mares Reserve Champion – Flying Oaks
Athena

Stallions Marcha and Conformation (Horse/Rider/Handler)

  1. Nashville (Igor do Lucero) – Rusty Parks
  2. Rio de los Cielos – Kendall Melline & Jake Martinez

Stallions Champion – Nashville (Igor do Lucero) – Rusty Parks

Stallions Reserve Champion – Rio de los Cielos – Kendall Melline & Jake Martinez

Overall SHOW CHAMPION– Flying Oaks Zodiac!

The clinic was taught by 2 Brazilian professionals from the ABCCMM, both of whom have taught at our past USMMA clinics. We welcomed them back!

Tiago de Resende Garcia – Tiago is the ABCCMM Director of the ENA – the National School of Judges. The ENA trains MM judges on how to evaluate conformation, gait and functionality of the Marchador. Tiago and his team judge every sanctioned ABCCMM show in Brazil, including the National Show in July which brings 1500 horses to the show ring over 11 days. Tiago has taught Marchador symposiums and lectures around the world.

Kate Moura da Costa Barcelos – Kate is a licensed vet and an ABCCMM inspector (the 1st woman). She has been the ABCCMM inspector for North America for several years. She is also an ABCCMM education program director. Kate is an accomplished rider, competitor and instructor; once the #2 dressage rider in all of South America. Studying for her doctorate, she balances work, school and her farm.

Attending the clinic were a mix of trainers, breeders and owners from far and wide.!

AB, Canada – Bill Dory, Sandy Dory, Blake Holtman, Patty Horner
BC, Canada – Gena Rome
AZ – Lynn Kelley
CA – Alessandra Deerinck, Linda Holst, Theresa Longo, Jake Martinez, Kendall Melline
OK – Rusty Parks, Rick Schatz
MO – Karin Roberts
MT – Tresa Smith (there for the PBR and clinic. Lori Silcher and her MM friend were also there because of the PBR so they joined in too!)
NV – Jim Hannah
TX – Cathy Pierce
NC – Jeff Bosley
SC – Aline Greene
UT – Valarie Giacalone

Spread over 3 days, the clinic featured some classroom parts, but mostly hand-on riding and teaching the marcha gait, Marchador conformation and the functional test. On Wednesday, the day was more relaxing with a beautiful trail ride in the red rock country of Nevada. Jim Hannah did a great job organizing this day.

Everyone helped throughout the clinic and one of the best parts of the clinic was getting to meet other Marchador owners and breeders! That actually may be the best part, for me.  I had a great time there

Thanks to the clinic committee, the trainers and the participants for helping us pull off our 4th annual clinic! Special thanks to those that brought Marchadors – Bill and Sandy Dory, Jim Hannah, Flying Oaks and Rancho de los Cielos.   The clinic cost is partially underwritten by the USMMA and the ABCCMM, so thanks to them too!

Next year’s clinic moves EAST to the Carolinas or Tennessee! A new format and new classes will be added – send in your suggestions – perhaps Working Marchador would be fun!

Our goal is to keep learning and enjoying our Brazilian Saddle Horses – the Mangalarga Marchador!

p.s.
Attached is the pdf file that described the clinic if you are interested in learning or reading more.

USMMA Fall Journal

Rox Rogers riding her Marchador La Paz Jivago in western dressage. La Paz Jivago is one of the five stallions in the SW Future Foal semen bank.

The fall journal of the USMMA contains longer articles about the Marchador breed.  Inside this journal:

  • Visit to Brazil’s breeder Haras Capim FIno – Kindle McCauley
  • Western Dressage – Rox Rogers, Haras Cayuse, MT
  • Human to Horse – Alessandra Deerinck, CA

Please click on the link to view the pdf file.

 

Fall Journal of USMMA

SW Update — John Kelley resigns as USMMA President

Below is the letter John sent to the USMMA Board with his resignation.  Susann Gabriel is now the new USMMA President.

Susann,
I wanted to give you a heads up on the announcement  that I plan to send to Aline for the next newsletter.  I suggest you or someone from the Board provide additional information on this policy change so the membership will get a perspective on the change.
There has been a change in the USMMA Organization.   I have resigned as President of the USMMA, effective May 5, 2012.  Susann Gabriel, an eight year USMMA Board Member, current Vice President, and passionate owner of Marchadors will become President until the next USMMA election in 2013.
The USMMA is a strong organization, with a solid balance sheet and outstanding reputation in the United States, Brazil, and Europe. The USMMA  Registry includes nearly all the owners, breeders, and Marchadors in North America. We have a strong working relationship with Brazil, evidenced by the very successful 2012 Sela de  Ouro and Clinic recently held in Ocala Florida. 
The USMMA Board has recently approved a policy change that I cannot support and over my strong opposition.  It was clear to me that I should step down.  The direction approved is to move toward a requirement that US inspections for Mangalarga Marchadors be performed before a horse can be registered with the USMMA, based on the USMMA breed standard that is similar to the ABCCMM standards.   Here are a few of the reasons behind my strong opposition:
– I do not believe, at this time, that we should be excluding Marchadors from the USMMA based on inspections. We had already enacted safety and quality measures with parental DNA and a verification of no genetic defects at birth.  I believe the number one goal for the USMMA should be growth and diversity.  I fear that this change will discourage some USMMA members from registering horses perhaps simply because of the cost of inspections or fear that their horses won’t be accepted and we will lose Marchadors and perhaps those members from our base.
– The Marchador is a BRAZILIAN breed.   I believe our current process of encouraging American breeders to join the ABCCMM and voluntarily seek ABCCMM inspections keeps that connection strong.  I believe, for breeders especially, that inspections provided valuable information but should not be mandatory or a requirement to register Marchadors with the USMMA.
– In my mind, the quality of the MM breed in the U.S.  is a three legged stool.  One of those aspects is genetics.  However, limiting the gene pool also creates an adverse affect – poorer quality in the breed.  The other two legs of the stool are presentation and training.   If a very well-bred quality Marchador is not presented well or trained correctly, then it will look like bad breeding.   We all imported or bought the highest quality Marchadors to begin breeding programs.  It is the other two legs of the stool that I personally feel need the most attention.    The USMMA  could do more with education, more with show kits, more with clinics and bringing up gait trainers than will ever be accomplished with an inspection program. 
Lynn and I have enjoyed our time actively involved in the USMMA Board of Directors but it is time for new leadership. We are confidant that the USMMA will continue to be a successful organization. We will continue to support the Mangalarga Marchador as members of the USMMA and as members of the Brazilian Association, the ABCCMM.  We will also maintain dual registration of our Marchadors including inspections performed by ABCCMM authorized inspectors.  We will now focus our time on our personal goals of improving the quality and diversity of the Marchador breed via imported frozen semen and frozen embryos from top Brazilian breeders and developing the M Foundation.  
We will try to be available to other members to help in any way we can since we share a common passion, the Mangalarga Marchador.  
John J. Kelley

*******************************************************************************************************************************************

Many people will still have questions after reading this letter, so here is some more from the SW Future Foal perspective and our thinking.

Inspection & Registration

We believe strongly in the Brazilian inspection process and the quality of the MM breed.  There is a process to become members of the ABCCMM and to obtain ABCCMM inspections.  Every SW Future Foal is from ABCCMM inspected parents and is provisionally registered with the ABCCMM.    They are also registered with the USMMA, so if the new owner does not want to inspect, the USMMA paper becomes primary.

We do not believe the USMMA should link registration with inspections nor change its registration policy to require mandatory US inspections.  Today about 10% of the current Marchador horse population whose owners are “unknown” to the USMMA.  We would like all Marchador horses to be registered and not become lost.   We think mandatory inspections could make more animals (and their offspring) unregistered (for a variety of reasons, could be cost, could be quality, could be indifference – the owner doesn’t care about inspecting)  and there is a real downside to that, in our opinion.

When we originally founded the USMMA, the registration process was designed similarly to the Andalusian design where all Andalusians (and half-Andalusians, for that matter) are registered with the IALHA.  Then if the owner or breeder desires, they can complete the paperwork and process to get their Andalusian registered and approved in the Spanish association – Pure Raca Espanol or PRE.    Fresians and Icelandics both have inspections where quality is assessed, but it is not tied to registration of the horses.

We also do not believe that any U.S. vet has the experience and knowledge of the MM breed to become an inspector for conformation, gait and temperament or for judging a Marchador.  We put our trust in ABCCMM inspectors.  It is the ABCCMM Horseshoe M brand that is the international mark of the Marchador horse and of its quality.  Substituting a USMMA brand is not the same in our mind.

As mentioned in the letter, John was the only dissenting vote on this issue.  As such, it was clear that he could no longer continue as President.   If John had remained as President, both he and I would have had to work on communication and implementation.   Clearly, because we are so against this policy, we did not want to work to make it a reality.

ABCCMM, Brazil and the USMMA

The Marchador is a Brazilian breed.  The ABCCMM (the Marchador association in Brasil) will always have more knowledge, more horses, more money and resources than the USMMA.   We have encouraged Marchador owners and breeders to become members of the ABCCMM and to inspect and register their Marchadors with them, as we do.   We would love to see that continue.   (The ABCCMM is creating a new registration book to solve some of the paperwork problems of the past.)  We would like to see everyone that owns a Marchador travel to Brasil to feel the passion, ride their horses and relive the history at the birthplace of the breed.

Partnering with the ABCCMM also helps us with the other aspects of marketing and promoting the breed:

  • the rich history and passionate stories of the Marchador breed,
  • the breed’s value in Brasil,
  • their marketing and international press about the Marchador,
  • training for the marching gait that is the hallmark of the breed &
  • visits back and forth, for clinics, shows and other.

A New Beginning

This is just our opinion and obviously others, just as passionate about the MM breed felt differently.  In the end, it does not matter what we think.   It only matters that the USMMA continue to grow and prosper and that the Mangalarga Marchador get more recognition and attention here.

It is a good thing to refresh the association; to get new members involved and working.   John and I have been around,  since the beginning of the association in 2004 when we formed it with other founding members and great friends, Cristiana Guerra, MM Horse Farms and Tresa Smith, Montana Marchadors.  Now eight years later, with a strong membership and bank account, it is a good time for us to step aside.

Remember that our work was voluntary.  We did it because of our passion for the breed.  Now it is time for others who are just as passionate (and hopefully younger) to take on the work we need for the next decade.

 

Marcha Gaits, Part 1

(For anyone who was there at the clinic, I encourage you to try to hear our instructor’s voices while you read this! Please feel free to add anything you picked up in individual lessons.  I have written about the gaits before, so I will not repeat those comments, but I’ll link to them in case you want MORE!)

Tiago showing the diagram of the Marcha

The Mangalarga Marchador has 2 marching gaits.  The Marcha is the same footfalls in both marcha picada and marcha batida.

The footfall sequence is

3 2 3 2 3 2 3 2
RH RF LH RF LH RF LH LF LH LF LH LF RH LF RH LF RH RF RH RF

When the length of time spent in lateral supports is higher, then the gait is marcha picada.  When the length of time is higher spent in diagonal supports is higher, then the gait is marcha batida.  In both,  there are moments of triple hoof support, which is what makes the gait smooth and easy to ride.

When the length of time spent in diagonal and lateral pairs are equal, it is sometimes described as marcha de centro.

To the human ear, in marcha picada,  there is a much longer time (in lateral) between the footfalls making the 4 beats very distinctive and easily heard.   In marcha batida, the marcha is still 4 beat, but the footfalls of the diagonal pairs land closer together making it harder to hear 4 distinct beats.

Training can help improve a Marchador’s natural gait, but genetics determine the innate quality and movement of the horse.  Breeding for the center of the spectrum is the goal for a smooth and well-balanced movement.

Below is the gait spectrum:

 

Pace                           Marcha Picada             /\            Marcha Batida                                         Trot

(True lateral)                                            CENTER                                                         (true diagonal)

 

 

Here is are some videos comparing the 2 gaits and you can HEAR the difference, although all Marchador gaits are smooth.  These may not be the best examples of the MM breed, but I chose them because the horses were ridden on hard ground so you can hear as well as see.

Marcha Picada

Marcha de Centro (Marcha Batida)

Marcha Batida

“To help you feel and analyze the marcha, you need to use 5 things:   2 eyes, 2 ears and 1 seat.” says Tiago during the classroom lecture.   Sometimes the marcha is not visible to a untrained human eye.  The feet move too fast for us.   The ears are very good to listen for the gait.   And the seat, it should signal when the gait is smooth.   As the rider, you try to put the horse in that place, and make that feeling and sound last for longer and longer periods of time.

“It is like a dance”.  The horse must stay relaxed in the neck, but driving from behind.  “So, the rider, he sets the boundary in front to make a door that is closed.”  So, the horse moves into collection, but it is a give and take between the horse and rider, especially in the beginning, for the horse to stay relaxed and giving to the bit.

Okay, now we understood the diagram of the marcha.

The quality of the movement in Brasil is judged on many levels:  the showiness of the gait (the C with the front legs), the diagram of the marcha (how close it comes to perfection in footfalls and timing), the length of the stride (they want it to be ground covering, extension is valued) and finally, the smoothness of the gait.

So, now how do you bring it out in your Marchador?    For this, we relied on Kate’s individual riding instruction on the Marchadors brought to the clinic.  Next post!

 

 

 

 

SW Update – The Ocala MM Clinic April 20-22nd

The Ocala MM Clinic was a resounding success.  Hosted by Connie Claire, Ocala FL, everything went off without a hitch for the first ever Sela de Ouro (the Golden Saddle, the way of the Marchador) in the U.S.!  The Sela de Ouro consists of 3 phases:  a long ride similar to an endurance ride with vetting and judging, classroom and arena instruction and judging of conformation and gait,  and also a functional test, similar to an obstacle class.

Some photos from the clinic, just click to enlarge!

The instructors were flown in from Brasil to evaluate the 18 people and 12 Marchadors that participated.  Most were from the East Coast, but some of us came from AZ and OK too.   The breeders and owners there represent 40% of the Marchadors in U.S.  (Next year, the clinic moves west.)  The instructors were ABCCMM (Brazilian MM association) professionals Tiago de Resende Garcia and Kate Moura da Costa Barcelos, both licensed veterinarians and judges in Brazil.

Tiago is the ABCCMM Director of the ENA – the National School of Judges.  The ENA’s objective is to train MM judges on how to evaluate conformation, gait and functionality of the MM breed.  Tiago and his team judge every sanctioned ABCCMM show in Brazil.  Tiago has hosted symposiums and lectures to enlighten and inform MM breeders.

Kate is an ABCCMM inspector (the 1st woman) and education program director.  Kate was the instructor of our 2011 MM clinic.  An accomplished rider, competitor and instructor, Kate was the #2 dressage rider in South America and now uses classical dressage in preparing and training Marchador horses for many farms in Brazil.

We had a fabulous time meeting new people, Marchadors, and of course, learning more about our fabulous MM breed!  Our heartfelt thanks to Connie, Tiago and Kate!!!!

The Champions:

  • Sela de Ouro ride on Friday – Aline Greene, Saint Horse, SC and her mare Erva-Doce de Tesouro
  • Combined Gait and Conformation on Saturday:  for Stallion – Bill Kambic, Haras Lucero, TN and his imported MM stallion, Ritmo A.J.; for Mare – Sandy Kambic, Haras Lucero, TN and her imported mare, Amora or Aliane Fazenda Zouga (bred by Rick Schatz, Flying Oaks Ranch, OK when he was breeding MMs in Brasil), for Gelding – Connie Claire, FL with her gelding Leo or DaVinci do Summerwind (bred by SW Future Foal, AZ)
  • Functional test on Sunday – Jeff Bosley, SW Future Foal @ Lumber Bridge on his mare Bacara do Summerwind (bred by SW Future Foal, AZ)

Almost every person excelled and placed in each competition so the results were exciting and close!   We even had a tie for the winner of the Functional test so there was another run made by Jeff and Bacara against Sue Current on Folego do Lucero!  Brooke Little from Marchadors InMotion, came with her young stallion Cheveyo do MManor (Erva-Doce’s son) who impressed the crowd with his gait,  disposition and performance.  Except for his youth (he had just been started under saddle at age 3), he could have won it all, in my opinion.

And a good time was had by all!  Be sure to come to our next one if you can!