Aiken

The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.) Is hosting two championship shows in 2022, both held this month. The T.I.P. Championships & Eastern Dressage Championships are taking place Oct. 6-9 in Aiken, South Carolina, and the T.I.P. Western Championships & Central Dressage Championships are scheduled for Oct. 12-15 in Lexington, Kentucky, in conjunction with the Retired Racehorse Project's Thoroughbred Makeover. Nearly 350 Thoroughbreds are slated to compete in 38 divisions. Each division will be awarded $2,000 in prize money with awards through 10th place and special classes will be held...

The New Vocations All-Thoroughbred Charity Horse Show, presented by Iris Smith Stables, LLC, has wrapped up its June 3-6 run by raising over $150,000. Held for the second year in Aiken, S.C., the show--which is in its 19th year--nearly doubled the number of horses competing with more than 165 Thoroughbreds from 15 states. All proceeds from the event, which includes classes in a variety of disciplines, go directly to New Vocations to support efforts to rehab, retrain, and rehome retiring racehorses. "This show is always a true testament to how...

The City of Aiken Parks, Recreation and Tourism will host the 14th annual Breakfast at the Gallops Friday, Mar. 18, beginning at 8 a.m. at the Aiken Training Track. Local trainers will be on hand to talk to participants about the various training methods used at Aiken. Those in attendance should enter the Two Notch Road entrance closest to Audubon Drive. Vehicles must stop for all horses. A light breakfast begins at 8 a.m. This year's guest speaker is Caton Bredar. Tickets for Breakfast at the Gallops are $20 each...

The New Vocations All-Thoroughbred Charity Horse Show, Presented by Iris Smith Stables, LLC, raised a record-breaking $150,000 in sponsorships. All proceeds from the event will go directly to support New Vocations' efforts to rehab, retrain and rehome retiring racehorses. The 18th annual show--held for the first time at Highfields Event Center, in Aiken, SC, Sept. 3-5--marked a return to live events for New Vocations after a quiet past 18 months due to COVID-19. The competition brought together nearly 100 Thoroughbreds from 10 different states to compete in a variety of...

New Vocations, the country's oldest and largest racehorse adoption program, will host the 18th Annual All-Thoroughbred Charity Horse Show Sept. 3-5. The event will be held at Highfields Event Center in Aiken, S.C. Iris Smith Stable, LLC will be the title sponsor. One of the largest fundraisers for New Vocations, the annual show was held virtually last year due to COVID-19. As a way of showcasing the versatility of Thoroughbred athletes, classes will include hunter, jumper, combined test, pleasure, in-hand, dressage, and western. An exhibitor's party will take place on...

The Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.) Championships horse show will return this Oct. 8-10 at Stable View in Aiken, SC, officials at The Jockey Club T.I.P. announced Monday. The 2020 event was a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of $60,000 will be up for grabs, with awards down to 10th place in 30 divisions spanning hunters, jumpers, dressage, a combined test, Western dressage, English pleasure, and Western pleasure. For the first time, the event will also offer in-hand championships. We are delighted to be able to bring the T.I.P....

The Aiken Steeplechase Association has cancelled the Spring Steeplechase, held annually at Bruce's Field in Aiken, S.C., due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This year's edition was to be held Saturday, Mar. 20. Aiken's Holiday Cup in October is currently still scheduled. For more information, visit aikensteeplechase.com. Officials at the Foxfield Races have also been forced to cancel its spring races, scheduled for Apr. 24. According to a release, they will focus their efforts on the Fall Races, tentatively set to take place Oct. 3.

In every crisis, it's possible to find examples of kindness and generosity, of people reaching out to help total strangers out of the goodness of their heart. To focus attention on the many people in the industry who have stepped forward to help those who have been impacted by the coronavirus, the TDN has launched a series that we hope will put a smile on your face during these difficult times. We'll do our best to bring you a little bit of good news every day. Most of the trainers...

Marcus and Crystal Ryan's Mason Springs will consign two juveniles at next week's OBS March Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale. It'll be the Aiken-based couple's first time selling horses at an auction other than the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale--they'll offer an Exaggerator colt (hip 162) on Tuesday and a filly by Not This Time (hip 486) on Wednesday. "We love the Midlantic sale, but it's nice to branch out finally," Crystal Ryan said of the decision to head to OBS. "We both love traveling so much. We hope to be able to...

For one weekend, it seemed like the good old days for the Aiken, South Carolina Training Center. In fewer than 24 hours, starting with the July 5 evening card at Prairie Meadows, horses that had trained at Aiken won the GIII Cornhusker H., the GI Belmont Oaks Invitational, the GI Belmont Derby Invitational and the GIII Kent S. For a training center whose horse population now peaks at about 110, it was a tremendous accomplishment. But such a run of success was not unusual. That is if you take a...