Courtesy IEA (Fountain Valley School of Pueblo, CO, won the hunt seat upper school national championship.) Eighth Annual National IEA Equestrian Finals Announce Scholastic Champions Fountain Valley School of Colorado Springs, CO, won the hunt seat upper school national championship at the eighth annual Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) National Finals, sponsored by Dover Saddlery and Smith Brothers, held April 22-25, 2010 at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers, GA. Sylvan...

Hillary Dobbs and Quincy B (Shannon Brinkman) Lexington, KY - The following horse/rider combinations have been named to represent the US in the Nations Cup at CSIO La Baule in France on Friday May 14. Mario Deslauriers on Jane Clark’s Urico Hillary Dobbs on the Dobbs Group’s Quincy B Richard Spooner on Show Jumping Syndications’ Cristallo McLain Ward on Blue Chip Bloodstock and his own Sapphire These four riders will take on the nine other teams in the first Nations Cup of the first leg of the...

Photo by Lili Weik (Darragh Kerins aboard Night Train in the 2009 $125,000 Purina Mills Grand Prix.) The 2010 HITS Saugerties Spring and Summer Series is just around the corner and HITS is preparing to welcome exhibitors, spectators and sponsors to the fabulously renovated venue in Saugerties, NY. The Spring Series of horse shows at HITS-on-the-Hudson begins on Wednesday, May 26, with HITS-on-the-Hudson I and continues for three consecutive, action-packed weeks until Sunday, June 13. Each year...

Photo by James Leslie Parker (Kelsey Thatcher and Milous De Fontaine.) Kelsey Thatcher had a fantastic weekend competing in Valencia, Spain, with Pony Lane Farm stallions Klotaire Du Moulin and Milous De Fontaine. Traveling through Europe along with the Global Champions Tour, Thatcher showed three days at the Gran Premio de Espana CSI** in Valencia on May 7-9, 2010. This was Thatcher's first time competing overseas, and she rode both of her horses to top finishes throughout the weekend. On...

The Kentucky Spring Horse Show got underway on May 12 at the picturesque Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. A brief thunderstorm rolled through during the day's competition, but in the afternoon the sun started to appear and riders had the opportunity to compete for top prizes in the Main Stadium. Pablo Barrios of Venezuala took home two blue ribbons after winning the $5,000 Open Jumper 1.40m class with G & C LaGran, and capturing the $5,000 Open Jumper 1.45m victory aboard G & C Quick Star....

The Polish team, complete newcomers to the top-level of nations cup jumping, are drawn first to go in the 2010 Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ series which kicks off at La Baule in France tomorrow afternoon. And with four of the 10 competing countries due to be relegated at the end of this season all the Chefs d'Equipe were in complete agreement about one thing during this afternoon's draw press conference - this is going to be a very tough season indeed. The order of go for tomorrow's first leg is as...

Photo Courtesy Classic Communications (Some of the trophies up for grabs at the Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows.) The 2010 Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows began their two week run at Old Salem Farm in North Salem, NY. The two-week long horse show features superlative hunter-jumper competition at one of the country's most beautiful equestrian training centers. As the saying goes, "Neither rain...", nothing could deter the over 800 horses and their humans from arriving at the rings at Old...

Photo by Team Cardi, LLC (North Fork Cardi and Jessica Wisdom receive the Championship award for I1 Freestyle at Rancho Murieta. ) Welsh Cob stallion North Forks Cardi and rider/trainer/co-owner Jessica Wisdom broke a barrier, a glass ceiling if you will, for Welsh Cobs and large ponies. They won their FEI Intermediaire I Musical Freestyle class at a Concours Dressage Internationale (CDI) at Rancho Murieta, CA, with an impressive 68.5%. The CDI included four Olympic-qualified judges and one...

On Tuesday, the international show jumping community lost an icon when legendary jumping rider Tim Grubb passed away. Grubb, who was 55, suffered from congestive heart failure and passed surrounded by his family in Illinois. It is a sad end to the life of a celebrated equestrian who represented both Great Britain and then the United States in multiple Olympic Games, World Equestrian Games and countless international grand prix. Grubb, a native of Leicestershire, England, helped Britain win the...

CCI3* Winners Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister (Stockimageservices.com) Eventing It was a smooth weekend at the Jersey Fresh CCI3*, CCI2* and CIC3* all held concurrently at the Horse Park of New Jersey. Tiana Coudray guided her distinctive grey gelding Ringwood Magister to a convincing win in the CCI3* with a final score of 45.6. Coudray led after dressage by a huge margin of 16.8 points. She then rode carefully on the cross country and picked up just 4.8 time penalties, meaning she went...