Friends of Sound Horses (FOSH) has announced the details of the second national conference to focus on ending soring of Tennessee Walking Horses and all gaited horse breeds. The conference is being held March 20-21, 2008, at the Paramount Plaza Hotel in Gainesville, FL. Soring is a cruel and illegal practice used to create a winning gait for the show ring. The purpose of the conference is to bring together a wide complement of experts, research and resources to address alternatives and...

The latest addition to the Hilltop Farm Guest Stallion Program, Hit Parade (Show Star x Ehrentusch), owned by Savoire Faire Stables, competed at the United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Region 7 Championships & CDS Annual Championships this October and was truly one of the "hits" of the show with his second-level championship win in both the USDF Horse of the Year and the CDS Horse of the Year Championships. The CDS Championship title was awarded based on the averages of Friday and Saturday...

Kentucky Derby winner and Horse of the Year Alysheba stepped off of a horse van on October 31, and into a new life at the Kentucky Horse Park. After spending the last eight years in the royal stables of HM King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Alysheba returned to the state where he was foaled, as a generous gesture from the king. Frank McGovern, general manager of the king’s Janadria Farm, was at the park to turn Alysheba over to the park’s executive director, John Nicholson, who accepted the horse...

The American Saddlebred Registry (ASR) Sweepstakes total payout of over $210,000 in 2008 tops the 15-year high of $199,424 in 2007 and is the most prize money awarded in one year since the Sweepstakes’ all-time high set in 1992. Coupled with its futurities, American Saddlebred Registry prize programs distributed close to half-a-million dollars ($473,744) over the course of approximately three weeks during the Kentucky State Fair (August 17-23) in Louisville and the All American Horse Classic...

Majestic Gaits KWPN Elite Dutch Warmblood mare Torette R (Silvano x Flemmingh) became Grand Champion of the New England Dressage Association (NEDA) Great American United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Breeders Championship Show in Saugerties, NY. Torette R also became the USDF New England series Bred Mare Champion. Kathy Hickerson, the owner of Torette R and Majestic Gaits bought the mare from VDL Stud in Holland after she was #4 National Mare in Holland. Hickerson said, "This was very...

The World Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch/Capgemini estimates that only 0.15% of the world's population have achieved "millionaire" status. In the world of reining, only 11 competitors have crested the millionaire peak—until now. Craig Johnson of Middletown, NY, is unofficially among the elite few National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Million Dollar Riders with $1,000,093.97 in NRHA Lifetime Earnings. Johnson is the 12th NRHA member to become an NRHA Million Dollar Rider. Johnson, an...

For five days during the National Walking Horse Association (NWHA)’s 2008 National Championship Horse Show in Murfreesboro, TN, 339 sound, naturally-gaited Tennessee Walking Horses—more than at any previous NWHA National Show—showcased the versatility, athleticism and natural gaits that distinguish the breed, earning their way into the final day’s championship rounds. More than 1,600 entries competed in 153 classes ranging from rail, driving and dressage, to Western riding, water...

For the second year in a row Friesian horses from all over the United States converged at the very center of the country in beautiful Lake St. Louis, MO. One horse and rider, Bernhard and Christiane Henrichs even traveled all the way from Germany to compete in a variety of classes, winning among others, the Prix St George test in dressage. This year the event was held in honor of International Friesian Show Horse Association (IFSHA) founder and longtime breeder Dr. Genevieve de Montremare who...

The 2009 HSBC FEI World Cup™ Eventing Final has been awarded to the Polish venue of Strzegom and will take place August 21-23, subject to contract. It is the first time since the inception of the series in 2002 that the final will travel to Eastern Europe. Strzegom, which lies in southwestern Poland, has been part of the series since its early stages and has in the past organized several qualifiers. The Toyota Hilux Horse Trials at Strzegom were one of the 16 FEI World Cup ™ Eventing qualifiers...

Hillary Dobbs, last year's Leading Open Jumper Rider, returned to defend her title at the Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) and retained it for the second consecutive year. The 19-year-old equestrian did this by taking the blue ribbon in the $20,000 Gambler's Choice aboard Marengo, her horse that won two classes last year. A rising star in the show jumping world and full time Harvard student, Dobbs of Sussex, NJ, and Palm Beach, FL, is the daughter of CNN reporter Lou Dobbs. Dobbs...