We are bringing together the resources of Nicker Network, Sagebrush Video Productions, and KTWU, (PBS television station in Topeka, Kansas) to create and distribute nation wide, a television production of the 2008 Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race Endurance Ride.

The Kaw Nation Ride is now a 25 mile ride, sanctioned today by AERC. It will be held in conjunction with the last day of the big ride on September 13, 2008.

Pictured above is Kelly McArthur of Ortho-Flex Saddles with Rob Phillips.




The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race Endurance Ride booth at Equi-Fest in Wichita, Kansas.




Ortho-Flex Saddle and banner, with the Kaw Nation Ride, Council Grove, Kansas banner




NickerNetwork.com is the official television network of the Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race Endurance Ride

The Santa Fe Trail Spring Ride is sanctioned by AERC and AHA.

Rob Phillips was on the radio February 29, 2008 while attending the Kansas EquiFest in Wichita, Kansas. Rob was on the “Johnny Western Show” promoting the Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race Endurance Ride plus the race stops along the Santa Fe Trail. Johnny Western will be one of the performers at the end of the Race Celebration in Council Grove, Kansas on September 13, 2008.

Rob Phillips and Nicole Wasylyshyn visited Council Grove, Kansas for several reasons.
-To further work on the trail for the Spring Ride on April 26, 2008
-To visit with the private land owners our ride will go through
-Rob Phillips was the guest speaker at the Council Grove Rotary Club





-Meet with Kay Hutchinson, Executive Director of the Council Grove/Morris County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, and Linda Wessel, President of the Council Grove/Morris County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism.

There are twelve monuments like this one, throughout the United States, but only one on the Santa Fe Trail. The only one on the Santa Fe Trail is located in Council Grove, Kansas, where this photo was taken. Listed are the locations and dedication dates of the other monuments:

OHIO, Springfield July 4, 1928
WEST VIRGINIA, Wheeling July 7, 1928
KANSAS, Council Grove September 7, 1928
MISSOURI, Lexington September 24, 1928
COLORADO, Lamar September 24, 1928
NEW MEXICO, Albuquerque September 27, 1928
ARIZONA, Springerville September 29, 1928
ILLINOIS, Vandalia October 26, 1928
INDIANA, Richmond October 28, 1928
PENNSLYVANIA, Washington County December 8, 1928
CALIFORNIA, Upland February 1, 1929
MARYLAND, Bethesda week of April 19, 1929

The Kaw Nation Ride is a 50 mile endurance ride that will be conducted northeast of Council Grove, Kansas on Saturday September 13, 2008. The event would be in conjunction with the Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race Endurance Ride, taking place at the same time. This ride will be conducted by the Ride Management Team and Veterinarians of The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race Endurance Ride.

Entry into this ride must be made no later than July 15, 2008. Cost to enter this ride is $55.00 and no refunds. Although, if for some reason a rider is unable to attend, they may sell their entry or use the entry fee as a credit on any ride conducted by The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race Association.

For junior riders 16 years and younger, there is no charge, but they must ride with a sponsor and must be members of AERC or pay the $15.00 non-member day fee.

We have received permission from the Kaw Nation of Kaw City, Oklahoma to refer to our ride as such. This event will be going through lands historically owned by the Kaws prior to the reduction of their reservation. The Kaw Nation has agreed to have a representative of their people present the award to the winner of this event.

Approximately forty people of the Kaw Nation will be in Council Grove the weekend of September 12 & 13, 2008 for the “Voices of the Wind People” pageant.

We have been working for a couple of weeks on an agreement with NickerNetwork.com to become a sponsor of the Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race Endurance Ride. It is with great pleasure that we can announce Nicker will be the “Official Television Network” of the Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race Endurance Ride.

Nicker is the first Internet based, on-demand, multi-channel television network targeted to the horse world and an international equestrian audience. ‘Created by horse people for horse people, Nicker offers a wide selection of television channels each dedicated to a different equestrian theme or subject. Each channel provides a variety of programs and on-going series which will change and expand regularly. Viewers can 1) watch for free – with short embedded sponsor ads, 2) download individual programs to rent or buy, or 3) order customized DVDs for home delivery.’

We encourage everyone to go to www.NickerNetwork.com and see what they have to offer. (You must be on high speed Internet to get the full effect). This network was founded by Sally Lasater of California and was launched on January 15, of this year.

A little bit about the founder;
Sally Lasater, founder and Managing Director, has been involved in the horse world her entire life - as a competitor in both English and western disciplines, show and event organizer, producer of syndicated television series about horses, equestrian industry consultant to companies such as The New York Times, ConAgra and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (PBS), published author, and a horse owner (presently only two, down from a herd of 100 or so in 1979).

In the mid-80's, Sally founded the successful and well-known Video Schoolhouse, which became the largest domestic distributor of educational and informational videos.
Covering almost 50 different categories, the 6000+ titles were presented in a catalog book published by McGraw-Hill. She was also the founder of the country's largest supplier and distributor of equestrian videos to consumers, retailers, libraries, and schools. In 1994 she created HorseNet, one of the very first Internet portal websites for the equestrian
industry. When it was sold to a public company five years later, it was one of the world's most heavily trafficked equestrian-related websites.

In the early 1970's, as co-producer of the nationally syndicated The American Horse and Horseman television series, starring Dale Robertson, Sally began the 32-year journey of making her dream of creating a television channel just for horse people a reality. As the creator of Horse TV in 2000, she succeeded in developing a successful television distribution system which for the first time enabled equestrian programming to be available in more than 25 million homes throughout the United States. She provided all of the initial horse programming to RFD- TV during its first eight months of operation, and for several years, provided up to 20 hours a week of horse programming to the America One Television Network, a national distributor of television content to independent television stations.

In 2005, Sally's company was acquired and funded by outside investors and restructured with a management team headed primarily with people from the television industry. In the spring of2007, Sally resigned from the company she had helped create, and started work on Nicker Communications.

Jim Manson, Business Director, has more than 25 years of senior level management experience in marketing, finance, education and government, including five and a half years as VP - Marketing, for Citicorp, NA (now part of Citigroup). As founder and CEO of Premier Horse Network in 1994, he is intimately familiar with the critical issues involved in creating and launching a television~ channel targeted to equestrian enthusiasts. As president of an Internet company servicing the legal community (1998 - 2001) he has been able to identify and develop important insights for understanding the rapidly changing prerequisites of establishing an industry-leading website.

Jim has founded two successful service companies (one of his start-ups was sold to Banner Industries, a Fortune 500 company). He was initially the SVP of Marketing for HorseTV Media Group, Inc. until early in 2006, when he was named Executive Director of the HorseTV Industry Council. During the year and a half he headed the Council, he successfully assembled more than 50 leading associations and organizations to be active participants in a wide range of marketing and supporting activities for The HorseTV Channel.

Jim spent the early years of his career in education and government, and for 30 years has served on the boards of several not-for-profit organizations involved in education and child welfare issues. This experience will serve Nicker Communications well in its initial development of the Center for the Preservation of Equestrian Media, as later described.

Jim is the author of "The Only Barter Book You'll Ever Need", published by Bantam Books in 1984. He received an M.B.A. from Columbia University Graduate School of Business and his B.A. from Columbia College.

We are very pleased the Kaw Nation of Kaw City, Oklahoma has given us the go ahead on using the title “Kaw Nation Ride” for a special sanctioned ride on Saturday September 13, 2008. Members of the Kaw Nation will be in Council Grove and have agreed to present the award to the rider with the best time. On this ride we will be going through land once owned by the Kaw Nation. For those who are not aware of this, the state of Kansas was named after the Kanza Indians, who are the Kaw Nation.

Our main contact with the Kaw Nation is Betty Durkee of Kaw City, Oklahoma. We just received original artwork of a Kanza Roach, a colorful headdress, which will be worked into the award for the best time in the Kaw Nation Ride on September 13, 2008 in Council Grove, Kansas. The Roach is used by male members of the Kaw Nation in traditional dance ceremonies. The eagle feather must be earned through some act of bravery. Note the Kaw Nation Seal as part of the Roach. In addition to this, Betty sent a hooded sweatshirt with “Kanza” on the front, as well as a baseball hat, and an embroidered bag. We are very pleased with the relationship we are building with the Kaw Nation.

This ride will be going through land once owned by the Kanza Indians. The Kaw Nation is very proud of their heritage and want it to be known.