Downeast Medal Finals

June 2022

Presented by Dover Saddlery

September 15-18, 2022

Visit our website for more information about Downeast. We welcome all feedback and suggestions: please email Ginger at ginger@downeastmedalfinals.com

A huge thank you to Dover Saddlery as our presenting sponsor and we also wish to thank all of our returning sponsors for their fantastic support. Please be sure to support them anytime that you can. Welcome to our new sponsors Gifford’s Ice Cream and C4 Belts. We are excited to announce that ByCoCo will be on grounds throughout the show offering fantastic coffee and hot chocolate!

We have posted information about the educational scholarships offered by DMF as well as all of the show scholarships that will be available this year. Check out our Scholarships Page for more information.

As usual all stall mats, shavings and hay will be reserved with the vendor McCarthy Enterprises, 207-474-8952. Please be sure to pay for your shavings and hay when calling it in, there will be no option to pay for it at the show.

Horse Biosecurity

Biosecurity is defined as a set of preventative measures to help avoid the transmission of infectious diseases in livestock. As members of the horse show community, we are constantly putting our horses at risk to contract infections from unknown sources. The purpose of this pamphlet is to outline some procedures that can be easily used by horse show management, owners, horse caregivers and trainers to achieve the goals of proper biosecurity principles.

Biosecurity measures for horses before the competition season:

Vaccinate your horse for infectious diseases and make sure these vaccinations are current and up to date. Equine Influenza and Equine Herpes Virus vaccinations should be included in your vaccination program. It is important to understand that vaccination does not guarantee protection against these equine diseases and eliminate the need for good biosecurity measures. There is no vaccination against the neurologic form of the Equine Herpes Virus. Effective 12/1/2015, it is now required to have your horse vaccinated for Equine Influenza and Equine Herpes Virus prior to attending a USEF competition. Documentation of vaccinations being administered within the previous six months must accompany the horse to the competition. Horses in FEI competitions should be vaccinated according to FEI rules.
Not all equine diseases are infections such that they can be transmitted from horse to horse. With some equine diseases, horses serve as dead-end hosts and can’t transmit the disease to other horses. Consult your veterinarian regarding other vaccinations that might be advisable in consideration of specific risks.
If there are any horses at your home stable with an infectious disease, properly isolate or contain the ill horses away from the others. Your veterinarian may recommend a 30-day quarantine for your stable to insure that the risk of further transmission of disease is eliminated.

If your horses travel to shows via commercial or communal transport, inquire about the disinfection procedures used to clean the trailers and how often the trailers are cleaned. Ideally, the trailers should be disinfected after each new group of horses has been delivered.

Helpful information for prevention of diseases in horses at shows:

At competitions, there are many people who can help in biosecurity efforts. The people with the most regular contact with horses are the grooms, trainers, owners, and stable personnel responsible for cleaning stalls and feeding horses. Others that may contact the horses might include stewards, td’s, drug testers, and veterinarians.

Horses and Equipment: All horses should be treated as individuals as much as possible.

Limit direct contact with other horses and people. Do not allow the horse to touch noses with other horses while in the warm-up or collecting rings. Do not allow visitors to touch your horse.
Use specific buckets for each horse only for feed and water. Label the buckets with the horses’ name so there is no cross contamination with other horses. Use a specific halter for each horse, clearly labeled.
DO NOT SHARE- buckets, halters, lead shanks, bridles, or tack between horses.
IF YOU MUST SHARE- scrub and clean equipment with detergent and dry completely between shared use.
When filling water buckets, DO NOT dip the end of the hose in each bucket. Hold the hose above the water when filling.
Do not allow the horses to drink out of communal water tanks.
Use different wheel barrows for cleaning stalls and feeding horses.
Ideally, use a separate turnout paddock for each horse. Do not mix horses between barns. Do not graze the horses in common areas.

Daily horse monitoring:

Temperature: Take horses’ temperature two times a day and record it on a chart. Rectal temperatures are taken with a thermometer. These can be bought at a local pharmacy.
Clinical signs: Off feed, coughing, runny nose or eyes, quiet attitude, fever (102F or higher).
Report to show veterinarian or show office if your horse is sick. Keep horse in its own stall and limit contact until an isolation plan is made.

Read more about Biosecurity from USEF.

Sunset Flowerland - DMF Sponsor

Thank you to Sunset Flowerland & Greenhouses for sponsoring Downeast Medal Finals for many years!

Sunset Flowerland & Greenhouses has been in the Ellis Family since the early 1800s. Previous generations had Short Horn Cattle, an apple orchard, a farm stand, sheep, and chickens. The greenhouse was started in 1952 by Richard and Floralie Ellis.

Since then, we have grown from one greenhouse to 21 greenhouses with a wide variety of trees and shrubs, along with a garden center full of perennials. In addition to the greenhouses, a flower shop and gift shop were built in 1972. In the late 90s, two of Richard and Floralie’s children, Kenneth Ellis and Catherine Hebert, took over operations, becoming the seventh generation to continue agricultural farming on this property.

Now, Ken, along with his wife, Sandy, and sister, Catherine, continue to run it with the help of their children: Mike Ellis, Don Ellis, Jerry Ellis, Harlan Benner, Rachel Benner, and Tanya Benner.

In addition to the greenhouses that grow houseplants year round, we offer seasonal items including vegetable seedlings, bedding plants, perennials, trees, shrubs, mums, poinsettias, and much more. We also have a full-service flower shop. We always have wide selection of arrangements already made by one of our talented designers, but can custom design an arrangement for you while you wait.

Along with the fresh cut flowers, we have a large gift shop with a wide selection of gifts, including garden statuaries, garden tools, artificial wreaths designed right in our shop, and artificial arrangements.

Rider Spotlight - Rose Rice

At the 2021 Downeast Medal Finals, Rose Rice won the Downeast Medal Finals Walk Trot Poles Medal. Let's learn about Rose!

"My name is Rose Rice, I’m 8 years old and I live in Byfield, MA. I’m in second grade at Newbury Elementary School. I ride at Evenstride which is right next door to my house! In the winter, I can even see the top of the indoor arena from my bedroom window.

The summer I was five, I went to pony camp at Evenstride and fell in love with horses. One week of camp turned into two which turned into weekly lessons, then a home show (where I qualified for DMF on the cutest pony, Luna). Then the winter after I turned seven, I was lucky enough to get my own pony, Sailor (Red Right Return).

Sailor was a 10-year old chestnut gelding. He was the best pony. I would walk into the barn and call his name and he would whinny at me from his stall. Sailor loved to go for walks and rides outside, peppermint treats, and shaking off his bridle. Sailor and I had a lot of fun together doing local shows and even sleep away ones.

I was so excited for Sailor and I to go to DMF last September. We showed in Walk-Trot and had so much fun! I didn’t realize that I won the DMF medal final until they called my name but everyone around me knew and they had a good laugh (see photo). I made lots of new friends and we all played together when we weren’t showing. I liked to sit in the stands and cheer on all my friends in their classes. Also the food at DMF was so yummy! The french fries were the best.

After show season ended, Sailor had to go home. Don’t worry though, I hear he’s living his best life as a lead line pony for two little girls. I can’t wait to go to DMF this year. I already qualified for DMF in short-stirrup on my new pony, Checkers. See you in September!"