Dr. Bill Vandergrift discusses Gut Instincts: Feeding for Health and Performance at the Triple Crown Lunch and Learn & Learn presentation.

Parker, CO (July 11, 2017) – The summer show season is in full swing at The Colorado Horse Park, and Triple Crown® Nutrition is contributing to the excitement of top hunter, jumper, and equitation competition in more ways than one.

The company kicked off a weekend of fun activities by hosting a Triple Crown pizza party offering busy equestrians a break from the horse show bustle with free pizza, drinks, and relaxing steel drum music. To make sure no one missed out on the fun, the company took the party on the road, traveling around the showgrounds in a Triple Crown-themed golf cart to hand out free slices to hungry, on-the-go equestrians.

Adding to the activity-packed weekend, Triple Crown partnered with acclaimed equine nutrition consultant Dr. Bill Vandergrift to offer guests a unique chance to learn about optimum equine nutrition at its highly successful Lunch & Learn event. Vandergrift, formulator of the prestigious Triple Crown feed line, presented an in-depth talk on Gut Instincts: Feeding for Health and Performance, the first Lunch & Learn presentation of the 2017 Summer in the Rockies series.

The presentation, which took place at the Central Park Pavilion, covered a variety of topics including the importance of feeding prebiotics and probiotics to support a healthy gut, how to recognize leaky gut and its causes, and how to address gut issues with proper nutrition. Vandergrift, an advisor to top riders, breeders, and trainers including members of the U.S. Equestrian team, Canadian Equestrian Team, and German Dressage Foundation, later led a lively Q&A session geared towards specific feed-related issues.

Attendees also enjoyed a catered lunch while soaking up expert advice on how to design a superior feeding program and achieve optimal digestive health in their equine athletes. To add to the excitement, Triple Crown representatives were on hand to give out coveted swag and raffle prizes, and each attendee returned to the barn with a free bag of Triple Crown feed and a better understanding of achieving show ring success through quality nutrition.

Everyone had lots of fun at the Triple Crown pizza party week four of Colorado Horse Park’s Summer in the Rockies.

In keeping with their commitment to support horse-and-rider combinations that exemplify dedication to their sport, excellence in training, and healthy equine development, Triple Crown also presented its prestigious Triple Crown Excellence Award during weeks two, three, and four of the summer series. Triple Crown was thrilled to present the award, which includes a luxurious tri-color ribbon and a classic engraved silver tray, to three of the shows outstanding competitors: Dragonfly’s Cellestine, ridden by Madelyn Porter of DragonFly Farms, Classini, ridden by Bjorn Ikast, and Major, ridden by Micahel Tokaruk of Tokaruk Show Stables.

During week two of Summer in the Rockies, Porter, of Ladue, Missouri, won first place in the $5,000 U.S. Hunter/Jumper Association’s National Hunter Derby riding her 7-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding Cellestine (Chellys Z x Anna). At 16 years old, Porter is already an accomplished rider and plans to compete Cellestine in the Junior Hunter divisions going forward. She rides and trains horses at her family’s private barn, Dragonfly Farms.

Triple Crown recognized another example of exceptional equine health and fitness when they presented their week-three Excellence Award to Classini and rider Bjorn Ikast, winners of the 1.35m Open Jumper II2b class. Classini, owned by BBB Showjumpers, LLC, is a big, gorgeous grey 8-year-old Holsteiner gelding. He’s “super brave, scopey and careful,” said Ikast, a native of Denmark. Michael Tokaruk of Tokaruk Show Stables LLC, rider of 10-year-old Danish Warmblood, Major, winner of the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby during week four of Summer in the Rockies said, “I am honored to win the Triple Crown Excellence Award. Triple Crown makes great feed and I appreciate their sponsorship and support.”

Tokaruk and Major (Carmargue x Pinot) scored a 92 in Major’s very first Hunter Derby, amongst a large field of 31 horse-and-rider pairs. The duo claimed the blue and a nice $5,000 paycheck for their performance. Major is owned by the Porter family and Sleepy P Ranch LLC of Dallas, Texas and Wellington, Florida.

Sixteen-year-old Madeline Porter, riding Cellestine of Dragonfly Farms accepts The Triple Crown Excellence Award

Tokaruk added, “I loved the course. My horse is very elegant across the ground, so that hopefully caught the judges’ eye. Even though it was a National Hunter Derby with smaller jumps, he still gave a big effort. He’s used to jumping 1.45m so it’s a very different skill for him to go a little slower and jump a little lower, but he’s really an overachiever so even though the jumps are 3 – 3.5 feet high he really exploded over them.”

All three Triple Crown Excellence Award winners are a perfect representation of how commitment to excellence in training and education in equine nutrition serve as key ingredients in producing exceptional horses. Triple Crown’s own commitment to excellence is apparent in its superior feeds. Triple Crown was the first company to add prebiotics, probiotics, and organic minerals to horse feed and today, continues to deliver the very best in equine nutrition. Triple Crown is the official feed sponsor of the U.S. Dressage Team, the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team, and the Hermes U.S. Show Jumping Team, and is a proud sponsor of the 2017 Summer in the Rockies and Dressage in the Rockies show series at the Colorado Horse Park.

To learn more about Triple Crown Feed, please visit the company’s official Facebook page or Instagram @TripleCrownFeed, call (800-451-9916), or visit www.TripleCrownFeed.com.