Stacy Westfall First Woman Competitor at Road to the Horse

MURFREESBORO, Tenn., Nov. 14, 2005 -- After six months of secrecy, event producer Tootie Bland announces reining champion Stacy Westfall as the fourth clinician and the first woman to compete at the 2006 Road to the Horse Colt Starting Challenge. Westfall will make history as she meets well-known cowboys Craig Cameron, Van Hargis, and Martin Black to start, ride, and compete on previously untouched horses in Murfreesboro, Tenn., February 25-26, 2006.

Westfall, from Mt. Gilead, Ohio, is no stranger to the competition arena - or to being the mysterious challenger. She's known for her "mystery-rider" routine at horse shows across the U.S. Dressed in a dark trenchcoat, hat and bandana to cover her face, Westfall has asked her horse to perform sliding stops and fast spins without reins and with musical accompaniment. Westfall is excited to be the mystery contestant, the first woman in the event, and the youngest trainer in the ring at this year's Road to the Horse.

"I was so excited when I was selected, but I wasn't allowed to tell anyone!" Westfall says. "I have won at big events, but I consider the chance to compete at Road to the Horse to be an even bigger opportunity."

Each year, Road to the Horse fans pack into the Tennessee Miller Coliseum to watch and learn horse training secrets from top pros. The event sells out annually and has been featured on RFD-TV and in magazines such as Horse & Rider, Trail Rider, Horsetrader and many more. Bland says she chose Westfall from a pool of more than 15 clinicians. Stellar horsemanship and a drive to teach and entertain made her the perfect fourth contestant.

"Road to the Horse brings together the 'creme de la creme'of clinicians the horse industry has to offer," Bland says. "And this year it just so happened that one of those clinicians was a woman. Making history and being the first woman invited to Road to the Horse may carry some challenges that the gentleman will not encounter. Our hats are off to Stacy for embracing this opportunity and meeting the challenge. In turn, she will single-handily represent women all over the world in her first challenge."

Westfall says she's excited and honored to be in ranks with Cameron, Hargis and Black. "I'm curious to see how I'm received," she says. "There's the surprise that the fourth person is a woman and a newcomer to the clinic scene."

Westfall relies on natural training methods to start her young horses. Her video and accompanying booklet, "How Does She Do That? Bridleless with Stacy Westfall and Can Can Lena" is available at http://www.westfallhorsemanship.com.

For more press releases, photos, tickets and other information about Road to the Horse, visit http://www.roadtothehorse.com, or call 325-736-5000. Tickets are buy-one-get-one-free through December 1, 2005. Sponsored by Horse & Rider, HiQual, Purina Mills, LLC, John Deere, Horsetrader and Samson.

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Embarks On A Study Of Business Efforts To Stop Destruction of Nature In The Galapagos

(PRWEB) November 10, 2005 -- Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a marine wildlife conservation organization, has announced that it will be preparing a study to help determine what businesses contribute to the protection of the National Park and what businesses are a part of the problem in Galapagos.

The study was prompted by recent discoveries of tourism-related illegal fishing activity in the Galapagos Islands. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society endorses tourism in the Galapagos as long as efforts are taken to preserve the ecological system as much as possible. In order to do so, it is imperative that tour boat operators and guides adhere to strict observation of the National Park laws where objective is to protect the unique flora and fauna on the islands and in the waters of the Galapagos.

Captain Paul Watson, the Founder and President of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a man with over thirty years experience as an environmental conservationist, believes that for the most part the tour boat and dive boat operators are responsible businessmen who recognize the value of tourism in protecting these islands.

Captain Watson admits, "Sure, we would like to see the Galapagos uninhabited and left to the creatures of the wild, but the reality is that some 25,000 people are living here and more and more people are coming to the islands every week."

Most agree that fishing can be a destructive industry and tourism is the more positive alternative. Tourism also represents a larger industry in the islands than fishing and provides Ecuadorians employment opportunities that are less ecology damaging than that proffered by a fishing industry. But in reality ecologists like Captain Watson and others are seeking a balance between preserving nature and the human population that is rapidly expanding in the Galapagos Islands.

However, like Captain Watson, the Galapagos Marine Reserve agrees that the tourism industry must be monitored. It is necessary for protection against illegal fishing activities. A recent controversy uncovering illegal fishing activity on a major tourist line, Celebrity Xpedition, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises, has sparked concerns. While the company took prompt action in firing the employees involved, one of their competitors, Linblad Expeditions, says that is not enough, "When someone gets caught with illegal sharks on board, it makes everyone look bad," says Mary Jo Viederman, Lindblad's vicepresident of communications. An even greater concern, as unveiled in recently discovered photos, is suspected illegal activity occurring amongst the smaller operators.

Believing that the majority of the business community wants to address these concerns,Captain Watson and the team at Sea Shepherd Conservation Society are hoping that their new study will reveal valuable information that will help to provide solutions.

About Sea Shepherd Conservation Society:
Established in 1977, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is an International non-profit conservation organization whose mission is to defend, conserve, and protect the world's marine wildlife and ecosystems. Their website, www.seashepherd.org, documents SSCS research, direct action, public education and outreach programs, and illustrates how SSCS has continuously worked for decades to eradicate pirate whaling, poaching, shark finning, sealing, unlawful habitat destruction, and other violations of established laws intended to protect the world's oceans. Captain Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd's founder and President, also co-founder of Greenpeace Foundation, is a Director of Sierra Club USA, and is a renowned, respected leader in environmental issues.

Underwater Digital Video Expands the Role of Filmmaker to Sport Divers Around the World

(PRWEB) October 17, 2005 -- Sport diver Steve Barsky always wanted to be an underwater filmmaker, but until underwater housings were built for digital video cameras, and editing software became readily available, that world was always out of reach. Although Barsky had been a commercial oilfield diver and is a professional underwater still photographer and writer, movie making seemed just too impossible.

“It was just too expensive to shoot in film,” says Barsky, “and the cost of shooting underwater is even worse.”

When the digital video revolution took place, Barsky saw the chance to make inexpensive films on a shoestring budget. In most cases, the crew was just himself and his marine biologist wife, Kristine. Their first film, California Lobster Diving, was 45 minutes long and is very popular in the sport diving field. Barsky went on to make another 45-minute video for a Swedish manufacturer of dry suits for professional divers, and has completed 3 other projects of similar length.

Realizing that there were many divers who wanted to learn how to make underwater videos, and there are few schools that teach the subject, Barsky teamed with two fellow underwater cameramen and friends to create a book on the subject. Hammerhead Press of Ventura, California recently released underwater Digital Video Made Easy.

Lance Milbrand, the second author on the book was nominated for an EMMY for his work as director of underwater photography for Survivor: Palau 2005. He has also shot the 2003 television special, Island Castaway, for National Geographic Explorer.

Mark Thurlow, the third member of the diving trio, shoots the Behind the Scenes featurettes for Howard Hall’s IMAX films, work on the underwater shots for Titanic with James Cameron, and has been involved with numerous other underwater theatrical productions.

The three authors are both objective and honest about their experiences in underwater filmmaking, teaching the novice based upon their own mistakes and triumphs. The book has information for the person who hopes to do nothing more than make films of their last dive trip, as well as for the person with professional aspirations.

According to Howard Hall, IMAX Director and underwater cinematographer, “Seldom has such an elite group of authors come together to produce a text for the sport diving industry. Besides being an accomplished underwater cameraman, Steve Barsky is a professional writer with numerous books about diving to his credit. I’ve been fortunate to work with both Lance Milbrand and Mark Thurlow on many motion pictures for television and IMAX theaters. Lance has produced video productions for numerous clients, including National Geographic. Mark has directed the underwater videography for all of the “making of” videos for our IMAX productions. These authors bring a wealth of insight and experience to Underwater Digital Video Made Easy. It’s a “must have” for anyone aspiring to produce professional quality underwater video.”

For more information, or to download a free sample chapter of the book, visit Hammerhead Press at www.hammerheadpress.com.

The Ski Chalet Explosion

(PRWEB) October 17, 2005 -- Independently owned and run ski chalets are not new. They have been around for many years. Over the last 5 years, however, there has been an increase in relatively inexperienced people selling up in the UK, and moving to the mountains to run catered ski chalet businesses.

When independent catered ski chalet operators first appeared on the scene, the owners and hosts tended to be passionate skiers who, after living for many years in a resort, had finally found a way to upgrade their situations from “ski bums” to “legitimate business owners”. They worked hard to develop their businesses built around their love of the mountains, their knowledge of the local area and of course their skiing ability.

Given that many of these original “ski chalet pioneers” had cut their teeth working in restaurants and hotels in ski resorts, cuisine was also high on the agenda. Before long, the independent catered chalet holiday became synonymous as a way of staying with hosts who knew the mountains like the back of their hands, could show you the best places to ski, and would serve up top class cuisine after a day on the slopes.

Over recent years a dirge of reality TV programs in the UK have focused on alpine businesses and made them look like attractive business propositions. Under closer inspection, it isn’t difficult to see why such a business could look so attractive to an outsider.

Anyone can buy a large house and run a B&B from somewhere in France. The trouble is it may be hard to quantify how many people visit the area, what the future trends for visiting the area might be, and even how long a season might last. In a ski resort, to some extent you can take away a lot of this uncertainty. The ski seasons are quite well defined, and the ski industry is still a rapidly growing market.

Couple this with many equity-rich property owners in the UK and it becomes obvious why there has been such a rush to jump on the bandwagon and move to the mountains.

All of this means that there are now a number of ski chalet owners that hide behind professional looking websites with no experience of running such a business. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Many, if not most of these new businesses thrive on hard work and enthusiasm and attract repeat customers year on year. But be warned. Just because a couple of accountants were good at their professions in the UK, and just because they spent a million euros on a chalet, doesn’t necessarily mean that they are the sort of people who know how to make a holiday work, or indeed the sort of people whose home you would want to stay in for a week.

A week’s catered chalet skiing holiday is not cheap, especially for a large family, and with so many apparently good, professional chalet businesses around, it can be difficult to know if you are choosing the right one. Two very important things to look for are recommendations/word of mouth and independent chalet reviews.

Firstly, recommendations and word of mouth are both invaluable! If a friend who you trust recommends somewhere to you, then book it. Try and find out where other people have been on holiday, and whether or not they enjoyed it.

Secondly, try a website such as All Mountain Ski Holidays (http://www.allmountainholidays.com) which has a ski chalet review section (http://www.allmountainholidays.com/reviews.php) and see what others think of a place. Sites like All Mountain Holidays (www.allmountainholidays.com) have made it relatively easy for new chalet businesses to get up and running. However, the same medium should also be used to build the reputation of good quality chalets which deserve it.

If you stay somewhere, and you love it, let others know about it and encourage others to do the same for you!

Press Contact: Edward Ockelton
Company Name: All Mountain Holidays
Email: info@allmountainholidays.com
Phone: 0033450738622
Website: http://www.allmountainholidays.com