Week in Review - U.S. Equestrian

TCE Balastrana+++// with Mercy Burwell.
Photo by Bob Tarr

Half-Arabian Wins Top Honors in AHA High-Point Award; TBR Granite Chief+/ Earns Distance Horse of the Year Award

TCE Balastrana+++// (TC Expression x Brooklynn), owned by Mercy Burwell of Brentwood, MO, ranked as the top horse among a field of more than 3,000 Arabians, Half-Arabians and Anglo-Arabians to become the 2005 Arabian Horse Association (AHA) High-Point Horse. To reach this pinnacle, the mare accumulated 388 points in Horse Achievement Awards (HAA), the association’s premier rewards program for actively competing horses.

The Arabian horse industry is the only breed to honor horses with symbols that become a permanent part of a horse’s name. Achievement Award symbols are immediately recognized throughout the Arabian horse industry as a sign of honor and prestige. Horses earn points for competing and placing in halter, performance, competitive trail, endurance, eventing, Arabian racing, gymkhana and dressage.

For the full story, click here.

Attention USEF/Markel Young Horse Dressage Program Competitors

The United States Equestrian Federation is excited to announce the appointment of Scott Hassler of Colora, MD, as the USEF National Young Horse Dressage Coach. Pursuant to this appointment, USEF will be immediately putting together two young horse training sessions in March--one in Wellington, FL, and another in Burbank, CA. Applications are now being accepted for four-, five-, six-, or seven-year-old young horses for this exciting training opportunity. Application deadline is Friday, March 3, 2006. Please visit this link to our USEF/Markel Young Horse Dressage Program web page for more information and to download an application at www.usef.org/content/equestrianSports/disciplines/international/2004-YH-Program.php.

For the full story, click here.

Attention All Children's Jumper Riders: FEI Children's International Jumping Final Qualifier to be Held at the Florida Classic

The Florida Classic horse show in Wellington will host a qualifier for the 2006 FEI Children’s International Jumping Final this Saturday and Sunday, February 18 and 19.

Please note that, unlike the past two years, the 2006 Children’s Final will NOT be held in the U.S. What this means is that U.S. riders are considered “foreign” and will be invited according to the FEI Children’s International Jumping Competition rules using the worldwide standings listed on the FEI’s web site at www.horsesport.org.

For the full story, click here.

Hay is for Horses: Equine Groups Band Together to Provide Feed for Hurricane-Affected Areas

Five equine organizations joined together this week to provide 6,500 bales of hay to nearly 800 horses in Vermilion Parish, LA, that were affected by Hurricane Rita. The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Foundation and the Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association (LVMA) Equine Committee Foundation combined financial resources to donate approximately $59,000 to the relief effort. The Equine Health Studies Program (EHSP) at the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine and the Blue Devils Horse Platoon (BDHP) at the Walker Army Reserve Center in Grand Rapids, MI, located the hay and coordinated delivery and distribution.

For the full story, click here.

Gulf Coast Winter Series Week One Highlights

The second half of the Sunshine Circuit kicked off last week at its new location, the Escambia Equestrian Center, with three weeks of USEF AA-rated shows. “National and International competitors’ continued support of the Gulf Coast Winter Series is why we are her," commented Co-Chairman Bob Bell on this year’s relocated event. “Tradition still means something to these riders.” Even Mother Nature provided a generous welcome to exhibitors for opening week with plenty of bright sunshine and comfortable riding temperatures around 67 degrees.

For the full story, click here.

The spectators at the $30,000 Ariat Grand Prix in Indio experienced the unusual illusion of d éjà vu. Except it was no illusion, and it is definitely not unusual for Richard Spooner to dominate the grand prix class to secure the top two positions on the championship roster.

This time, the blue ribbon went to one of Spooner’s new grand prix horses, Live Fire, while his other fresh seven-year-old grand prix horse, Cristallo, followed in Live Fire’s hoofprints to finish second. Both impressive wins, especially considering this week’s Ariat Grand Prix marked Cristallo’s first official go in a grand prix ring; on a difficult and lengthy course designed by Anthony D’Ambrosio no less.

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Please remember that the FEI has issued new Junior Tests (Preliminary, Team and Individual) which have been in effect since January 1, 2006. Previous test editions may not be used, and competitions which continue to use outdated versions will be subject to penalty, and competitors’ scores may not count towards qualifications. All FEI score sheets are now available for free download from the FEI website at www.horsesport.org.

The American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC), the national governing body for endurance riding in the United States, will hold its annual convention in Texas for the first time in 2006. The two-day program of seminars, informational meetings and a free trade show is set for February 24-25 at the Crowne Plaza Riverwalk in San Antonio.

For the full story, click here.

If you have news you would like to contribute for the American Breeder News e-newsletter, a monthly news source about sport horse breeding in North America, brought to you by the Performance Horse Registry and the USEF, please review the “Guidelines for Releases” or e-mail press-ready releases to news@usef.org.

American Saddlebred Horse Association and the American Saddlebred Registry Announces Year-End 2005 Results

The American Saddlebred Horse Association (AHSA) and American Saddlebred Registry, which conduct their annual meetings in Lexington, KY, this week, announced results for the year ending December 31, 2005.

Kyle King and Aaron Vale Win Ocala's Largest Grand Prixes of the Week at HITS Ocala

The dirt was flying as Kyle King and Kosta powered through Kenny Krome's jump-off course in Thursday's $25,000 Grand Prix at HITS Ocala. "Kyle was super-aggressive, it almost looked like he was riding a motorcross course. He came out of the turns and hit the gas pedal as hard as he could," commented Course Designer Kenny Krome.

The American Horse Council (AHC) 2006 National Issues Forum (NIF) is right around the corner. It will be held in Washington, DC, April 3-5. The AHC NIF will be held at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capital Hill. To make room reservations, call (800) 228-3360 or (202) 737-1234 and ask for the American Horse Council rate of $219 per night. You can also make reservations online at www.hyattregencywashington.com and enter the internet code G-AHOC to get the AHC rate. The cut-off date for guaranteeing a room at the $219 rate is March 1. Keep checking the AHC website at www.horsecouncil.org for more details on this year’s National Issues Forum.

The vision of USEF is to provide leadership for equestrian sport in the United States of America, promoting the pursuit of excellence from the grass roots to the Olympic Games, based on a foundation of fair, safe competition and the welfare of its horses, and embracing this vision, to be the best national equestrian federation in the world.