Horse whispering in English

RECREATIONAL SPORTS
FIND MORE NEWS ONLINE AT NWI.COM
NL | TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2014 | PAGE B3
FIND MORE NEWS ONLINE AT NWI.COM
NL | TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2014 | PAGE B3
HORSEMANSHIP
Pirates win NIPWLS
Jr. Pee Wee state title
PROVIDED
The Merrillville Pirates defeated the Tri Town Raiders 12-6 in
double-overtime to win the Division 2 Jr. Pee Wee Northern
Indiana Pop Warner Little Scholars state championship, Nov. 2 at
Merrillville High School’s Demaree Stadium. The team advances
to the Mid-America Regionals, which start Nov. 15 at Ames Field in
Michigan City. Players include Robert Buggs, Colin Cantrell, Caleb
Carter, Devon Davis, RaShaun Donald Jr., Travis Grayson, Devin
Jarrett, Joel Johnson, Jorryn Junigan, A’veyawn Madry, Jeremiah
Mahone, Keonte McKinney, Yusef Muhammad, Angel Nelson,
Anthony Parker Jr., Leon Roberts, Amarion Scott, Waine Smith
Jr., Jaylen Thomas, Javon Tolbert, Marrell Tyler II, and Cameron
Williams. The team’s coaching staff consists of Sieon Roberts Sr.,
Terrence Thomas, Tim Grayson, Kenneth Butler, James Williams,
Eric Nelson, Henry Johnson, Sam Vesley and Wesley Davis. Team
parent is Anita Roberts.
PROVIDED
Gia Gulino and her horse “Danny” compete at the 2014 Maclay Hunt Seat Championship held Nov. 2 at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.
Immanuel Lutheran wins
National CC Meet
Horse whispering in English
Local equestrian qualifies
for Maclay Championship
JOHN BURBRIDGE
[email protected], (219)
933-3371
PROVIDED
Twins Chessie and Isabella Polizzotto, both pictured in front
holding the banner on opposite ends, helped Immanuel Lutheran’s
Lady Eagles win the Lutheran National Cross Country Meet,
which was held Oct. 25 in Mequon, Wis. It was the first national
title for the 25-year-old school based in Batavia. More than 150
runners from 34 schools from six states participated in the race.
Isabella earned all-american status as well as teammates Melanie
Williams, Tori Cammarano, Anna Jerdee, Caroline Daniels, Kelly
Schmieder and Caroline Hager. The mother of the twins is former
Lansing resident Beth Henning Polizzotto.
Griffith Blackcats
basketball sign-ups
No Boundaries 5K
training offered
GRIFFITH | Griffith Black-
SCHERERVILLE | The No
Bo u n d a r i e s 1 0 -we e k
training program for those
aspiring to run their 5K
is being offered by Fleet
Feet Sports Schererville,
located at 635 U.S. 30. The
coach-led program offers
two-weekly group workouts, a technical T-shirt,
entry into the goal race,
and a post-race party.
Cost is $125.
The program starts
Nov. 22. For details, call
(219) 864-1000.
Cats Boys Basketball will
hold registration for the
2015 season at the Griffith
YMCA, 201 North Griffith
Blvd. — Room 107 — from
9 a.m. to noon Saturday
and Nov. 22; from 6 to
8 p.m. Nov. 18. Cost for
players in grades 1 and
2 is $45; cost for players
in grades 3-8 is $75; the
maximum per family cost
is $110.
For details, contact Tim
O’Brien at (219) 805-3559.
Babe Ruth Umpire
Clinic on Dec. 6
Midwest Elite All
Star Cheer back
CROWN POINT | An indoor
DYER | Midwest Elite All
National Babe Ruth Baseball Umpire Clinic will be
held in Crown Point at the
Crown Point Fun Center
Dome, 1301 Merrillville
Road, from 8:30 a.m. to
2 p.m. Dec. 6. The cost
of the clinic alone is $25,
which includes lunch,
plus $40 to take the Certification test or to recertify. For details, call Gerry
Furman at (219) 789-6641
or John Pearson at (219)
661-9923.
Illiana Eagles
holding tryouts
CROWN POINT | The Illiana
Eagles professional indoor
arena football team of the
Champions Indoor Football League will be hosting an open tryout from
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 29
at the Crown Point Dome
indoor athletic facility,
1301 Merrillville Road.
The cost is $50 per athlete, who must be at least
18 years old. Registration
will start at 10 a.m.
The tryout will conclude with a controlled
scrimmage. Athletes must
wear tennis shoes or turf
shoes.
For details, call head
coach Tim Arvanitis at
(219) 796-4654.
Star Prep cheerleading is
back at Midwest Training and Ice Center, 10600
White Oak Ave. It is open
to boys and girls ages
3-18. To register, call (219)
558-8811.
Baylor Youth
Basketball events
HIGHLAND | Baylor Youth
Basketball is hosting a
Holiday Tournament for
boys and girls in grades
2-8 at the Division I and
II levels, Dec. 6-7. For
details, go to baylorbasketball.org.
ST. JOHN | Amazing as he
may have been, you can
bet “Ed the Talking Horse”
didn’t know more than one
language like Gia Gulino’s
horse “Danny” now does.
“We purchased him
online from the Netherlands,” Gia said. “So when
we got him, there was a
little communication gap
at first because all he knew
was Dutch.”
We l l , wh a t d o yo u
ex p e c t f ro m a D u tc h
Warmblood breed?
“It took him a while to
learn English,” Gia said.
Really, it’s not as absurd
as it sounds.
“He was used to hearing
words and commands in
Dutch,” Gia’s mother, Kelly
Gulino said. “So when we
would say something to
him like ‘good boy’ he
didn’t understand us at
first.”
Ever since they got him
last Christmas, Danny —
who also goes by “Cappello” when registered at
competition shows — has
been more than just a good
boy (“goede jongen” in
Dutch).
“For his age (6 years
old), he’s very brave,”
Gia said. “That’s what
impressed us when we saw
the online video of him.
“Young horses tend to
get spooked when they
approach a jump. Not
him.”
Gia has been riding horses since she was
about Danny’s age and has
competed in horse-riding
shows for numerous years.
Now 14, the junior equestrian from St. John has
just finished her first season riding in the hunt seat
equitation class.
Gia and Danny managed
to earn enough points at
competitions throughout
the Midwest to qualify for
the Zone Regionals.
“ T h a t’s wh a t I wa s
hoping to accomplish this
first season ... make it to
regionals,” Gia said.
After placing among the
top riders at Zone Regionals, Gia advanced to the
ASPCA Maclay National
C h a m p i o n s h i p, wh i c h
took place Nov. 2 at the
Kentucky
Horse Park
in Lexington
a s pa r t o f
the National
Horse Show
event.
Gia was GULINO
one of 153
teen riders
from across the country who qualified for the
event, which has been held
annually since 1933.
Though no one asked
Danny (in English or in
Dutch) if he was nervous
competing in his first
Maclay Championship,
Gia admits the long wait
for their first run did affect
her comfort level.
“We were one of the
last to go, so it was hard to
keep calm,” Gia said. “And
your horse will sense when
you’re nervous.”
In hunt seat competition, the horsemanship
of the rider is under more
scrutiny than the horse. In
hunter and jumper classes,
there’s more focus on the
horse’s performance.
Gia and Danny were
unable to place at the
Maclay National Championship, but Gia will have
at least three more years
to improve (the prestigious competition is open
to ages up to 17) and Danny
is likely a year or two away
from hitting his optimum
stride.
“I enjoy working and
riding with him,” Gia said
of Danny, with whom she
practices five to six days
per week at Judgement
Farms in Oswego under
the tutelage of trainer Tina
Judge-Boyle.
“We don’t always train
when I ride him,” Gia said.
“Like after a competition,
it’s nice to just take him
out for a walk.”
Gia has endured her
share of bumps and bruises
after being thrown from
the saddle a few times. She
almost always gets back
on, but one time when a
horse stopped on a dime
while approaching a jump,
Gia flipped over the mane
and landed head-first into
the ground.
She had to be treated
with a neck brace before
being taken away in an
ambulance. Gia says she
barely remembers the
incident, but her mom sure
does.
“It was one of the scariest moments in my life,”
said Kelly, who also was
a competitive equestrian.
“That’s one reason when
we purchased (Danny) we
made sure he was the safest horse we could find.”
Recreational sport results
Community Bridge Club
Nov. 1 Results
North-South
Alan Geller & Dave Bigler 1.10
Pat Mikuta & Carolyn Potasnik 0.77
Al Simmons & Zafar Khan 0.55
East-West
Trudy McKamey & Yuan Hsu 1.10
Howard Balfour & Claire Murvihill 0.77
Anna Urosevich & Indra Gupta 0.47
Chuck Schultz & Jim Angell 0.47
Novice Game:
Sharon Snyder & Madge Kollar 0.64
Charlene Millard & Dee Keeby 0.45
Gail Sangster & Mary Kocevar 0.32
Alice & Don Giedemann 0.21
Calumet Bridge Club
Nov. 3 Results
North-South
Alan Geller & Jim Angell 3.67
Marge Hedegard & Claire Murvihill 2.67
Helen Miller & Barbara Walczak 2.00
Marilyn Ginzel & Patsy Thomas 1.62
David Mitzit & Roger Sokol 1.55
Pat Mikuta & Hilda Connor 0.84
Don Valiska & Carol Osgerby 0.76
Caron Espinosa & Pat Princehorn 0.68
East-West
Joe Chin & John Goring 2.41
Bob & Joan Butz 1.28
Wayne Hiser & Lois Edelstein 1.27
Alan Filler & Jim Fill 0.91
Trudy McKamey & Bob Porter 0.64
Al Simmons & George Roeper 0.51
Beach Bridge Club
Nov. 4 Results
Bob Porter & Trudy McKamey 0.70
Sharon Snyder & Madge Kollar 0.49
Laverne Niksch & Wayne Carpenter 0.35
Community Bridge Club
Nov. 5 Results
North-South
East-West
Dave Bigler & Wayne Carpenter 1.50
Yuan Hsu & Alan Yngve 1.13
Judy Elliott & Jim Angell 2.67
Cathy Mason & Helen Miller 2.00
Pat Mikuta & Bob Porter 0.69
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