Kansas
Kansas City equine show shines spotlight on horsemanship, mental health
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Dozens gathered in Kansas City’s Hale Arena to shine a spotlight on horsemanship as well as mental health in rural America.
Jeff Winton, the founder of Rural Minds, has spent a lifetime around horses. But moreover, he has spent a lifetime around heartache.
In 2012, Jeff’s 28-year-old nephew, Brooks, died of suicide in rural America.
“When that happened it became very apparent that no one wanted to talk about it because there’s an embarrassment factor,” Jeff said. “We even had the pastor tell us that some of the people in our small town of 500 farming people, that we should make up an excuse for his death – we should have said he died in a farming accident or something.”
Jeff said his mother courageously ignored the advice of those around her.
“My mother said, ‘Now this nonsense is going to stop with my family, we’ve been hiding this for too long, too many young people have been dying’,” Jeff continued.
According to research done by Rural Minds, those who live in rural areas have much higher rates of depression and suicide than those who live in urban areas, a nearly 68% difference, however, they are less likely to access mental healthcare. Meanwhile, farmers are twice as likely to die by suicide than those in any other occupation.
“Believe it or not, 65% of the counties in the United States that are rural, have no psychiatrists,” Jeff noted. “Sixty-five, that’s huge.”
With that in mind, Jeff set out to make a change for the 46 million of us living in America’s heartland. In 2021, he founded Rural Minds to help empower those who live in rural areas with information, resources and training.
However, the story is not one that is unique to mankind as mental illness stretches far and wide in the animal kingdom. A few years after Jeff joined Linden Hill Stables a trailer on the way to another competition contained Jeff’s horse Duke and Jim Modica’s poney Java Joe. While en route, the trailer became detached from the vehicle and slid on its side.
While Java Joe did not make it out of the crash alive, Jeff said Duke is the reason that five other equines were able to escape it. After first responders had arrived, they started to hear a great rumble from inside the trailer, within seconds, Duke emerged, bloody and victorious as he burst through the gate and righted the trailer.
Before the collision, Jeff said Duke had been a nationally renowned champion in Western-style shows. But ever since the crash, something has changed, Duke no longer wins many ribbons.
“You can see he’s got a white scar on his inner left front leg,” Jeff said. “The vet said they tried but it just never went away, but I’m glad he’s got it. It reminds me every day of how strong he is.”
Lisa Hillmer, owner, trainer and instructor at Linden Hill Stables, also chairs the KC Summer Kick-off Horse Show, one of the season’s first shows. Each year she said the event partners with a charity to foster community involvement. In 2024, the show deemed Rural Minds the beneficiary.
“My family started the organization in Nebraska before I decided to move it to Kansas City,” Hillmer said. “It’s something that’s important to me to keep it going.”
The show, which is free and began on Thursday, May 30, runs through the weekend. It is set to feature a full slate of classes for Saddlebreds, Morgans, Hackney Poneys, Road Horses and Equitation riders.
The event kicked off Western and English classes on Thursday. Linden Hill started strong with a third-place ribbon for Jeff and his horse Catherine in the English-style class. In this style, judges search for horses that look more pleasurable to ride. American saddlebred horses were originally bred for plantation riding which required much stamina and an even gate.
Modica, who also rides for Linden Hill, took home one of the team’s first blue ribbons with his Hackney Poney Annie. The pair showed in the speedster cart class in which judges look for both form and speed.
The DJ at the event also takes requests from riders. For $5 they can play a song of their choice while their class is shown, all of which goes back to Rural Minds.
Thursday’s events were drawn together with a dinner and silent auction to benefit the charity.
“It’s so important that families talk openly about depression because there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. But people in rural areas are taught to be very independent, to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, to get over it, because again, it’s not considered an illness. It’s gratifying work – it’s heartbreaking work.” Jeff concluded.
The following are some of the free programs and information provided by Rural Minds:
The horse show ran from Thursday, May 30, through Saturday, June 1, at Hale Arena, 1701 American Royal Ct., in Kansas City, Mo.
Copyright 2024 KCTV. All rights reserved.
Strike a pose and snap a photo at Topeka’s most Instagrammable location.
An organization recently named the Topeka Zoo the eighth most Instagrammable place in Kansas.
Top 10 most Instagrammable places in Kansas
Bonus Finder, a media company based in Denmark, checked the social media hashtags of more than 2,700 landmarks across the United States.
These were found to be the most popular Kansas sites, according to the hashtags.
- No. 1: Flint Hills has the most popular Kansas hashtag with 75,888 posts.
- No. 2: Kansas Speedway has 22,275 posts under its hashtag.
- No. 3: Allen Fieldhouse has 13,353 hash tagged posts.
- No. 4: The Sedgwick County Zoo hashtag has 13,327 posts.
- No. 5: Grinter Sunflower Farms has 10,795 hashtagged posts.
- No. 6: INTRUST Bank Arena has 7,323 posts.
- No. 7: Monuments Rocks Natural Landmark has 7,111 posts hashtagged.
- No. 8: Topeka Zoo had 5,865 hashtagged posts.
- No. 9: Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve has 5,116 hashtagged posts.
- No. 10: The Wichita Gardens have 3,371 posts hashtagged.
Topeka Zoo employees and other reaction to the ranking
The Topeka Zoo has nearly 30,000 followers on Instagram. The zoo also has a TikTok account with more than 35,000 followers and 1.3 million likes. On Facebook, the zoo has more than 55,000 followers and more than 44,000 likes.
“That’s very exciting,” guest engagement supervisor Brea Schmidt said. “I’m very happy to hear that. We definitely work hard every day to make sure we are sharing what we think guests want to see. So, to hear we were found eighth most Instagrammable is pretty exciting.”
Jen Goetz, creative and strategy director for the zoo, said the magic is in finding balance between what people want to see and following the zoo’s mission of conservation and education.
When asked what other Topeka sites they would have liked to see on the list, Schmidt and Goetz gave a shout-out to their neighbor, the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center.
“I’m not surprised our incredible, growing Topeka Zoo made the list! From special displays like Zoo Lights to the furry faces that greet you, the Topeka Zoo is a must-visit attraction here,” president of Visit Topeka Sean Dixon said in a written statement. “The zoo is located in our beautiful Gage Park, which is where you’ll find more photogenic fun like the carousel and mini train.”
Here are some more Instagrammable sites in Topeka
Dixon said while the list didn’t include them, there are plenty of Instagrammable places across the city.
“And there are several other Instagrammable spots across Topeka that would have made our list,” Dixon said. “Don’t miss the rainbow-painted Equality House, the stunning Kansas Capitol, NOTO and its many murals, the Governor’s Mansion trails, and more.
“There is no shortage of photo ops when you know where to look.”
The Kansas City Chiefs are bringing together what the holidays are all about: football and Hallmark movies.
The NFL team has partnered with Hallmark to create an original holiday film centered around its back-to-back Super Bowl champions.
The movie, called “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story,” will begin production next month, filming entirely in Kansas City, Missouri. Fans will watch scenes at the GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, the first time a movie has been shot in the venue.
“This partnership unites two passionate fanbases and gives us an opportunity to show Chiefs Kingdom’s energy and tradition on one of the most-watched channels during the holiday season,” Chiefs President Mark Donovan said in a news release.
To honor the project between the two Kansas City-based organizations, the city lit up its downtown skyline purple and red on Wednesday night, the news release shared.
Who will be in ‘Holiday Touchdown’?
While no Chiefs players have been announced to be in the movie, the team revealed its three leads.
The film will star “Shifting Gears” actor Tyler Hynes, “Two Scoops Of Italy” actor Hunter King, and “Better Call Saul” actor Ed Begley Jr. in the sports holiday romantic comedy.
What is ‘Holiday Touchdown’ about?
“Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story” will follow Chiefs super fan Alana Higman (King), who’s determined to win the team’s Fan of the Year contest, and fan engagement director Derrick (Hynes). The two begin to feel romantic tension as Derrick evaluates whether Alana’s family deserves to the win the contest.
But when Alana’s grandfather (Begley Jr.) loses his vintage Chiefs winter hat, she begins to question her future with Derrick unless “a little Christmas magic can throw a Hail Mary.”
50% of Hallmark viewers watch sports during the holidays
While the collaboration may seem odd, the Chiefs and Hallmark are assured that the movie makes the perfect holiday crossover.
More than half of Hallmark Channel viewers also watched sports during the channel’s Countdown to Christmas aired last year in 2023, according to the news release.
“With Hallmark and the Kansas City Chiefs both homegrown, rooted in values, tradition and community, there is a special alchemy between these two iconic organizations,” Hallmark Chief Brand Officer Darren Abbott said in a statement. “By blending the warmth of Hallmark storytelling with the excitement of professional football, we are thrilled to give audiences a front-row seat to this community’s spirit, rich traditions and passionate fans.”
TOPEKA, Kan. (KCTV) – In an effort to be more transparent, the Kansas court system is changing its domain from .org to .gov this summer.
On July 1, the domain will change to .gov on the judicial branch website, the online attorney registration portal, and an online attorney directory.
Email addresses for the court system’s 290 justices and judges and roughly 1,700 employees will also change in late July.
Chief Justice Marla Luckert said changing things from .org to .gov will clearly communicate to anyone who uses the services they are communicating with a government entity.
“We researched the benefits of making this change last summer, but we were working on other time-sensitive projects at that time,” Luckert said. “The Legislature’s action this spring to make it a requirement emphasized that now is the best time to make this change.”
The Kansas Judicial Branch said moving to a .gov domain also requires them to follow certain rules which contribute to a more secure environment for all government.
Copyright 2024 KCTV. All rights reserved.
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