Dressage event at Las Colinas Equestrian Center | Irving Blog

Dressage competition at 2012 Olympics (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Although somewhat hidden behind North Hills School, the Las Colinas Equestrian Center stays busy with polo matches, training sessions and more. On Saturday and Sunday, the facility will host the Dallas Dressage Club Spring Shows I and II.

So, you ask, what is dressage? It was developed centuries ago as a system of training horses. It is considered the highest expression of horse training. It?s even an Olympic sport.

The show will be presented by Cindy Francheck, the owner of Francheck Dressage at 8787 Park Lane in Dallas. She is bringing her students to the center for the competition which will qualify students for several championship events.

For details of the schedule, visit dallasdressage.org/spring_shows.html.

This entry was posted in Animals, Irving and tagged Francheck Dressage, Irving, Las Colinas Equestrian Center by Deborah Fleck / News Assistant. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://irvingblog.dallasnews.com/2013/05/dressage-event-at-las-colinas-equestrian-center.html/

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Parity abounds so far in NBA conference semifinals

Parity has struck the NBA playoffs, where the conference semifinals are all fit to be tied.

The four current series are all knotted at one game apiece ? the first time that's happened in the second round of the NBA playoffs since the league went to its current format more than a quarter-century ago. For favorites like Miami, New York, San Antonio and Oklahoma City, home-court advantage has disappeared, and now it's the underdogs who can control their own fates simply by taking care of business on their home floors.

A wild weekend is ahead, without question.

The Heat, Knicks, Spurs and Thunder are four of the league's top five winningest road teams this season. That probably isn't being received as great news for Chicago, Indiana, Golden State and Memphis, the lower-seeded clubs who will be hosting pivotal Game 3's when NBA playoff action resumes on Friday and Saturday.

"Pretty cool. The NBA's loving it," Heat forward LeBron James said. "When it comes to the playoffs, I always continue to say no matter how many games you win or lose in the regular season, once you get to the playoffs everybody's record is 0-0. So I think it's great. I think it's great for our fans, I think it's great for the competition that every series is tied 1-1."

After a first round with only two sweeps ? by Miami and San Antonio, probably the favorites in the Eastern and Western Conferences, especially after Oklahoma City lost Russell Westbrook to a knee injury ? the tone for the second round was set pretty quickly around the league. Miami lost Game 1 at home to a wounded and weary team from Chicago. San Antonio needed a huge comeback to beat Golden State in Game 1 of their series, then saw the Warriors simply come back and take Game 2.

The Knicks lost Game 1 to Indiana before evening up their matchup, and the Thunder are likely feeling lucky that they're not in an 0-2 hole after Memphis had plenty of chances to take the opening game of their series.

"When you get this deep into the playoffs, they're all good teams, they're all very good teams more than capable of winning at home or on the road," Golden State coach Mark Jackson said. "So I'm not surprised at all. Good coaching, good playing, you make adjustments and win games. They've all been great games."

Big fourth-quarter comebacks, first by Oklahoma City and then by Memphis, decided the outcomes of the first two games of that series, where the cumulative score right now is Grizzlies 190, Thunder 186. The first two Spurs-Warriors games were pure theater, with San Antonio winning a double-overtime thriller in Game 1 after rallying from 16 points down late in regulation.

Road teams took Game 1's in the East semifinals, with Indiana and Chicago both winning by seven. And the home teams imposed their wills in Game 2 of both matchups, New York using a huge late run to beat the Pacers by 26, and the Heat outscoring the Bulls by an unbelievable 62-20 margin over a 19-minute stretch on the way to evening that matchup with a 115-78 romp.

"Anybody can beat you on a given night and playoff basketball is no different," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "I mean, everybody at this particular time is hungry even more. Nobody wants to go home so it becomes crazy basketball. Everybody is pumped up and ready to play."

Then again, if you checked out how these teams fared against each other in the regular season, maybe you could have seen something as uncanny as this coming.

There wasn't any real separation between the clubs then, either.

The Bulls and Heat split four games against one another, as did the Knicks and Pacers, and Spurs and Warriors. The only exception was Memphis beating Oklahoma City in two of the three games they played this year ? and if they met four times, there would figure to be a chance that it could have been a 2-2 split as well.

"Each team is working hard, trying to get wins," said Memphis guard Tony Allen, who was part of Boston's title-winning team in 2008. "They got the trophy on their mind so I believe that each series is probably going to go all the way to the end. You look at the eight teams that are left, all the teams have a shot."

The Heat entered the playoffs as the overwhelming favorites to win their second straight title, and they remain that way in the eyes of oddsmakers even though they'll need to win one game in Chicago to reclaim the home-court advantage.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra's eyes widened a bit Thursday when told that no second round in the NBA playoffs had ever opened quite this way.

"Is that right? First time ever? Really? Wow," Spoelstra said. "Makes for great theater. I know I'm enjoying the other games, probably like other fans are enjoying ours. It shows how much parity there is and how little margin for error with the teams that are left. ... We had always felt there was up to six or seven legitimate, title-contending teams."

The way things look, maybe there's eight now.

"It looks like it's the best eight teams in the NBA right now," James said. "So we'll see what happens."

___

AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney in New York, and AP Sports Writers Antonio Gonzalez in Oakland, Calif., and Teresa M. Walker in Memphis, Tenn., contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/parity-abounds-far-nba-conference-semifinals-220134102.html

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Canadian Tire Corp reveals plan to launch $3.5-billion REIT this ...

TORONTO ? Canadian Tire Corp. is the latest retailer to mine its land holdings for value, announcing Thursday plans to create a $3.5-billion real estate investment trust even as its chief executive admitted he is still not happy with the performance at its 490 retail stores.

Loblaw REIT seen as main catalyst for company in 2013

Here is what analysts think the IPO will do for Canada?s biggest grocery chain. Read more

News of the proposed REIT, which includes 18-million square feet consisting mostly of Canadian Tire retail stores, sent shares of the auto parts and sporting goods chain soaring, rising as much as 18% to their highest in nearly six years on the Toronto Stock Exchange before closing at $82.36, a gain of $8.32 or 11.2% on the day.

A white-hot market for retail real estate in Canada has sparked interest among many of the country?s biggest retailers to form similar business structures for their land holdings. Grocery giant Loblaw Cos. intends to launch an IPO for its planned $7-billion REIT in July, and Hudson?s Bay Co., which has numerous coveted urban sites, is contemplating doing the same. Under pressure from activist investors, Tim Hortons said Wednesday that it had considered a REIT, but it did not make sense for its business.

?We have long felt that our real estate was a hidden asset,? chief executive Stephen Wetmore told shareholders and analysts during the company?s annual general meeting in Toronto. ?The market now is in almost perfect condition?I can?t see a better time, from our perspective, to surface the tremendous value of the properties that we have.? He said the company continues to look at making acquisitions of retailers in its key categories and buying back shares.

Jim Smerdon, vice-president and director of retail consulting at Colliers International in Vancouver, said the market will likely compel other land-owning retailers to consider REITs.

?I think you are going to see more of this,? he said. ?HBC saw the value in Zellers being in its real estate rather than in its ability to sell product, and Target agreed.?

The viability of Canadian Tire?s REIT over time depends on its ability to diversify beyond its own stores as a major tenant, Mr. Smerdon added.

A key market complaint about Loblaw?s proposed REIT is that its holdings will largely consist of just one retailer. ?Canadian Tire is a strong company and a key anchor tenant, but if all your eggs are in one basket, the value of that REIT might not be what you would hope,? he said.

Canadian Tire owns the land at 350 of its 490 retail store locations, about 25-million square feet of real estate in total. It is considering about 250 of them for the REIT, the vast bulk of which will be for the land underneath those stores. It has ?a half a dozen? small shopping centres, Mr. Wetmore said, where it has developed the land and subleased to other businesses such as Starbucks and Shoppers Drug Mart. Chief financial officer Dean McCann said in the future, rather than exiting pieces of land Canadian Tire owns when it wants to relocate stores, management may develop the property for other retailers and uses through the REIT.

We own the seasons in Canada, in my opinion, and do extraordinarily well in [seasonal] categories

Mr. Wetmore has spent the past two years actively improving the company?s strengths in automotive and sporting goods in preparation for Target?s arrival in the market, and developing a detailed digital strategy for a relaunch of online sales later this year. But core retail performance at Canadian Tire?s stores across Canada has been lacklustre.

Canadian Tire retail, which has more than twice the revenue of its Mark?s apparel stores and fast-growing FGL Sports unit combined, saw its sales at outlets open for more than a year grow just 0.3% in 2012 and 1.1% in 2011.

On Thursday the retailer said revenue in the first quarter ended March 30 rose 1.7% to $2.48-billion from $2.44-billion, while consolidated retail sales edged up just 0.8%, or $20.4 million, to $2.4-billion.

Performance was solid in gasoline, FGL Sports and the Mark?s apparel divisions, but retail sales at its Canadian Tire stores fell 1.6%, and dropped 2.4% at locations open for more than a year.

The retailer recorded a 3% rise in net income to $73-million, or 90? per share, from $71-million (87?) in the same period a year ago.

?It?s not where I want [sales] to be,? Mr. Wetmore said. ?I believe that we should be getting 3% [same-store sales] growth. I don?t want to come into a quarter saying the weather was bad and so our sales are off.

?We own the seasons in Canada, in my opinion, and do extraordinarily well in [seasonal] categories.?

?In the end the shareholders require performance across the board, and not excuses about weather and other competitors coming in the market. So let?s up our game and let?s start beating them [and] driving top-line sales.?

The company said it is replacing its retail division?s chief operating officer, Marco Marrone, who had been in the role for just over a year, with Allan MacDonald, its senior vice-president of automotive and marketing. Mr. Marrone made valuable changes at the retail level, but is leaving the company after 27 years, Canadian Tire said, because he is unable to make a longer-term commitment to his current role.

?

Source: http://business.financialpost.com/2013/05/09/canadian-tire-reveals-plan-to-launch-3-5-billion-reit-this-year/

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London Zoo seeks female mate for near-extinct fish

This is an undated image made available Friday, May 10, 2013, by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) of a male Mangarahara cichlid. Aquarists at the ZSL, London Zoo, are launching an urgent worldwide appeal to find a female mate for the last remaining males of a critically endangered fish species. The Mangarahara cichlid (Ptychochromis insolitus) is believed to be extinct in the wild, due to the introduction of dams drying up its habitat of the Mangarahara River in Madagascar, and two of the last known individuals are residing in ZSL London Zoo?s aquarium. (AP Photo/ZSL)

This is an undated image made available Friday, May 10, 2013, by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) of a male Mangarahara cichlid. Aquarists at the ZSL, London Zoo, are launching an urgent worldwide appeal to find a female mate for the last remaining males of a critically endangered fish species. The Mangarahara cichlid (Ptychochromis insolitus) is believed to be extinct in the wild, due to the introduction of dams drying up its habitat of the Mangarahara River in Madagascar, and two of the last known individuals are residing in ZSL London Zoo?s aquarium. (AP Photo/ZSL)

An undated image made available by Berlin Zoo of a female Mangarahara cichlid, who is no longer living. Aquarists at ZSL London Zoo are launching an urgent worldwide appeal Friday, May 10, 2013, to find a female mate for the last remaining males of a critically endangered fish species. The Mangarahara cichlid (Ptychochromis insolitus) is believed to be extinct in the wild, due to the introduction of dams drying up its habitat of the Mangarahara River in Madagascar, and two of the last known individuals are residing in the Zoological Society of London's, London Zoo aquarium. (AP Photo/Berlin Zoo)

LONDON (AP) ? The London Zoo is urgently seeking a female mate for the last-known males of a critically endangered fish species.

Zoo officials say the Mangarahara cichlid is thought to be extinct in the wild and that two of the last known individuals ? both male ? are in the zoo's aquarium. A third is in the Berlin zoo.

Officials say the species' habitat in Madagascar has dried up due to dam construction.

The zoo on Friday asked aquarium owners and fish collectors to come forward it they know of any living females "so that a vital conservation breeding program can be started."

Officials say a worldwide search of zoo and aquarium organizations has so far proved fruitless.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2013-05-10-EU-Britain-No-Mates/id-60e68f3cc5104a88a645788650436016

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Groton man is Norwich Memorial Day parade marshal

A celebrated veteran and captain of the local Patriot Guard riders will be the grand marshal of the city?s Memorial Day parade later this month.

Jack Casey, of Groton, will lead the annual event that steps off at noon on May 27 from Chelsea Parade.

The announcement was first made last November, when Casey was named Veteran of the Year by Richard E. Hourigan VFW Post 594 in Norwich.

Chris Coutu, founder of Norwich-based American Warrior, said Casey is deserving of the honor.
?I think it?s a great decision. Jack has always been someone who goes out of his way to help veterans in general,? he said. ?It?s just an amazing commitment by him.?

Casey, 66, a Vietnam veteran and road captain for the local Patriot Guard Rider chapter, has become known across the region for scouring local town halls to find names of veterans not listed on plaques, local monuments and other memorials.

Since 2006, when the American Warrior program launched, Casey has worked to collect the discharge papers of veterans so their names could be included on war memorials in Washington, D.C.

?Some people who give a lot like that just like to be behind the scenes,? Coutu said.

In another Memorial Day related event, Otis Public Library will offer a screening of ?Slaughter?s Field: The 26th Connecticut Infantry Regiment and the Siege of Port Hudson,? a 25-minute documentary.

That takes place at 6 p.m. on May 29 and tells the story of the more than 800 men from Eastern Connecticut who fought in the Union Army regiment from November 1862 until August 1863. The story as a narrative poem and uses period photographs and drawings.

Source: http://www.norwichbulletin.com/communities/x522269609/Groton-man-is-Norwich-Memorial-Day-parade-marshal?rssfeed=true

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HTC posts Q1 2013 financial results

Final Q1 results underscore what unaudited figures told us, but there's a more optimistic outlook for Q2

HTC has officially announced its consolidated first-quarter financial results, and the figures confirm what we learned a month ago from its unaudited Q1 figures -- specifically, it was a dismal quarter for the Taiwanese manufacturer. The first three months of 2013 weren't kind to HTC, with the company's new flagship handset, the HTC One, arriving too late to make any difference to its Q1 balance sheet.

Total quarterly revenues stood at NT$42.8 billion ($1.42 billion), with a gross margin of 20.3 percent and a razor-thin operating margin of just $0.1 percent. Net profit was NT$85 million ($2.88 million). Earnings per share (EPS) were NT$0.10 ($0.003).

In today's press release, CEO Peter Chou describes this as a "pivotal quarter" for HTC, as it transitioned to its new flagship smartphone. The HTC boss goes on to list various accolades picked up by the handset since its announcement.

Looking ahead to Q2, the company expects a significant uptick off the back of the HTC One, with predicted second quarter revenues of NT$70 billion ($2.73 billion), a gross profit margin of between 22 and 24 percent, and operating margin of 1 to 3 percent. With HTC One sales just starting to get going in many countries, the manufacturer has every reason to be optimistic. But it'll also have to contend with competitor Samsung's massive launch push for its new flagship, the Galaxy S4.

Source: HTC (PDF)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/9AwPVOCTzHw/story01.htm

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CA-NEWS Summary

Three men charged with undermining Boston bombing probe

BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. authorities on Wednesday charged three men with interfering with the investigation of the Boston Marathon bombing, saying they hid fireworks and a backpack belonging to one of the suspected bombers as a manhunt was under way. The three, two students from Kazakhstan and a U.S. citizen, were described as college friends of surviving bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19. They were not charged with direct involvement in the April 15 marathon bombings, which killed three people and injured 264.

From Toronto to Dagestan; Canadian jihadi draws parallels with Tsarnaev

UTAMYSH, Dagestan, Russia (Reuters) - A mess of rubble, ash and charred vehicles is all that's left at the desolate farmhouse where a Canadian Muslim convert died fighting his last battle alongside Islamist insurgents in the Russian region of Dagestan. At the time, few people beyond local villagers noticed William Plotnikov's death in a region where skirmishes occur daily. But almost a year on, Plotnikov has emerged into the limelight following the Boston Marathon bombings.

EU considers action, Pope weighs in, after Bangladesh disaster

DHAKA (Reuters) - The European Union is considering trade action against Bangladesh, which has preferential access to EU markets for its garments, to pressure Dhaka to improve safety standards after a building collapse killed more than 400 factory workers. Pope Francis condemned the conditions of workers who died in the disaster as "slave labor", while in Dhaka several thousand workers rallied to mark Labour Day, some calling for capital punishment for those responsible for the tragedy.

Americans want U.S. to keep out of Syria conflict: poll

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most Americans do not want the United States to intervene in Syria's civil war even if the government there uses chemical weapons, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Wednesday, in a clear message to the White House as it considers how to respond to the worsening crisis. Only 10 percent of those surveyed in the online poll said the United States should become involved in the fighting. Sixty-one percent opposed getting involved.

Six ministers to change in Egypt cabinet reshuffle: state paper

CAIRO (Reuters) - A limited cabinet reshuffle will see six ministers replaced in Egypt, state newspaper al-Ahram said on Thursday, citing government sources. The new ministers, who could swear oath on Tuesday, are expected to be those of justice, legal and prosecution affairs, culture, agriculture, planning and international cooperation, and one of the economic portfolio ministries, al-Ahram said, without naming the candidates.

Japan PM's 'stealth' constitution plan raises civil rights fears

TOKYO (Reuters) - Shinzo Abe makes no secret of wanting to revise Japan's constitution, which was drafted by the United States after World War Two, to formalize the country's right to have a military - but critics say his plans go deeper and could return Japan to its socially conservative, authoritarian past. Abe, 58, returned to office in December for a second term as prime minister and is enjoying sky-high support on the back of his "Abenomics" recipe for reviving the economy through hyper-easy monetary policy, big spending and structural reform.

Brazil's Rousseff insists oil royalties should fund education

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said on Wednesday she has sent lawmakers another proposal to earmark all oil royalties collected by the state for public education after Congress shelved an earlier effort. She made the announcement in a televised Labor Day speech in which she said improving education was vital for Brazil's development in a highly competitive world.

Turkey investigates use of chemical weapons in Syria

REYHANLI, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkey is testing blood samples taken from Syrian casualties brought over the border from fighting in recent days to determine whether they were victims of a chemical weapons attack, local government and health officials said on Wednesday. The samples were sent to Turkey's forensic medicine institute after several Syrians with breathing difficulties were brought to a Turkish hospital on Monday in the town of Reyhanli in Hatay province along the Syrian border.

Anti-EU party pressures Britain's PM Cameron in local vote

ASHFORD, England (Reuters) - Britain's ruling Conservatives are set to lose hundreds of seats in local polls on Thursday that will go some way to measuring the threat the surging anti-European Union UK Independence Party (UKIP) poses to their hopes of re-election in 2015. Even in towns like Ashford in southeast England, which has returned a Conservative MP to the national parliament at every election since 1945, surveys suggest UKIP could win up to one fifth of the votes.

At least 22 killed in Iraq attacks

RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - At least 22 people were killed in attacks across Iraq on Wednesday, police and medics said, after weeks of intensifying violence that threatens all-out sectarian conflict. Iraq has become increasingly volatile as the civil war in neighboring Syria strains fragile relations between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims. Tensions are at their highest since U.S. troops pulled out of the country more than a year ago.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-001100750.html

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