Trail Blazer Magazine Celebrates 30 Years with the Trail Riding Event of the Year!
Source: Linda-Tellington Jones TTeam Connection Newsletter
January 24, 2008

"Different than anything else ever done before!" promises Trail Blazer Magazine Founder and publisher Susan Gibson about the upcoming Trail Blazer Festival February 29 to March 2, 2008. The Festival will be held at Rawhide, 20 minutes from the Phoenix airport.

"Trail Blazer Magazine has always been a leader of innovation education for the trail rider, and this Festival is just an extension of that same passion I have for trail riding. Yes, the Rawhide facility is really amazing and this team of speakers is going to be fun and entertaining – but never before has there been an event that offers such a high level of education in such a fun atmosphere. Not to forget, who doesn’t want to be in sunny Arizona in the dead of winter!"

Susan knew she has the right vision when The American Quarter Horse Association and Trails West Trailers stepped on board immediately as gold level corporate sponsors.

World renowned teacher and clinician Linda Tellington-Jones understands the vision of this Festival, ""Susan and I have a history over the past three decades of working together in a variety of groundbreaking projects. From the one-of-a-kind Performance Horse Symposium to the world renowned Race of Champions, Susan has blazed new trails with these events in a way that is fresh, innovative and always brings a high level of education to the world of trail riding. I can hardly wait to be there!"

Susan explains her connection with Linda and TTEAM goes back decades, "I was one of fifteen students who enrolled in the first TTEAM six-week course offered by Linda Tellington-Jones in the USA, and Linda’s work changed my life. I began to see horses with new eyes, and this profound knowledge has been the heartbeat of all my work with the Trail Blazer Magazine. My success with these cutting-edge projects over the years has always started with an invitation to Linda to join me."

"When I first saw the vision for the Trail Blazer Festival in my mind, it was to be a reflection of the passion that I have for educating and celebrating the trail rider. Once again, the first person I called was Linda. There are many great teachers in the horse world, but Linda is, in my opinion, truly one of the most inspiring and exciting."

Each day will involve 15 clinicians presenting 60 workshops, covering every aspect of innovative, ground-breaking ways in training, shoeing, saddle fit, equitation, lameness detection and prevention, wilderness medicine for both horse and rider, high-tech tools for the trail rider, horse health forum, and safety on the trail. Attendees will be able to reserve a spot in the workshops they want, and the workshop will end with a Q&A period so that all of the attendees can have direct dialog with the clinicians in a small-group setting.

The speakers for this year’s Festival are: Linda Tellington-Jones, Susan Harris, Peggy Brown, Alexander Kurland, Jochen Schleese, Monique Craig, Dr. Kim Henneman, Dr. Ella Bittel, Dr. Chris O’Malley, Willis Lamm, Scot Hansen, National Outdoor Leadership Wilderness Medicine, Daniel Welter and Kristi Redd, Trimble Outdoor Training for GPS. A complete list of their 60+ topics and detailed talking points are available upon request. In addition to the workshops, there will also be a variety of displays of all aspects of trail riding: from setting up camp to how to pack your horse, and drawings every hour worth thousands of dollars of trail riding gear.

Since this is the first expo exclusively for trail riders, all of the vendors, speakers, demonstrations and displays are focused on the passion of the trail rider. Trail Riders are saving their money and coming to Festival with the intent to outfit themselves and their horses for the year in the best of trail riding gear.

The Festival is being held in a very unique venue. The old west town of Rawhide, in Chandler, Arizona, is a theme park of its own accord. It is a totally re-created western town with rides, buffalo and other animals, costumed staff, and a steakhouse that is built from a century-old original building. There are exceptional golf courses nearby as well as all the attractions Arizona is famous for, and March weather is usually sunny and warm.

Pre-Registration is Required

The entry price will include all workshops and demonstrations, entertainment, and an indoor pavilion filled with more than 200 booths for unlimited shopping. Prizes will be given away hourly.

For attendee tickets or details on being a vendor, visit www.trailblazerfestival.us or call (928) 441-4550.