The feature classes of the week at the Kentucky Summer Horse Show were the $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic, the ASG Software Solutions United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) International Hunter Derby, and the $40,000 Kentucky Summer Grand Prix. Top honors in both grand prix events went to Debbie Stephens. Aaron Vale won the International Hunter Derby by just one point. The Kentucky Summer Horse Show started with an exciting opening day at the Kentucky Horse Park. The Walnut Arena...

When show jumping returns to HITS Culpeper for two consecutive weeks in late August, all eyes will be on the third annual United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) Tad Coffin Zone III Junior Equitation Finals that will take place on August 23 during the Winston National. Following a ringside dinner reception hosted by Bridgewater College, around 35 talented exhibitors will take aim at the course set in the majestic grand prix ring at HITS Commonwealth Park in Culpeper, VA. “HITS has taken...

Jimmy Torano could not have been happier with his winning performance in the $10,000 Escada/Theory Open Welcome Stake, Presented by Manchester Designer Outlets, on Friday, August 1, at the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT. Magic Cruise, an eight-year-old Belgian-bred mare owned by SCNC Investments, Inc., has been knocking on the door of the “big” classes for some time now. According to Torano, Friday’s win marked a highlight for this special mare. “She is a very straightforward horse....

Tickets are now selling for the annual Saddlebred Raffle, with winners to be drawn at random during the Kentucky State Fair World’s Championship Horse Show. According to Brenda Newell, Senior Program Administrator for the American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA), the raffle is one of the ASHA’s most important fundraisers. Only 400 tickets are sold worldwide, at $100 each, for gross proceeds of $40,000. Of that, $20,000 goes into the Saddlebred Futures Fund, and $20,000 of it is returned to...

The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) announced the start of its “Going Green” Campaign. The campaign was developed to manage costs in a tough economy and support worldwide environmental efforts while continuing to provide the best in member benefits and services. The first major step in the effort was the launch of the USDF website last fall, which has allowed USDF to provide extensive information and services to its members online, reducing paper usage, shipping costs, and staff...

Twenty-one National Walking Horse Association (NWHA) youth members from across the country attended the First NWHA Youth Leadership Conference held at the Kentucky Horse Park. July 14-16. "The conference was everything we had hoped it would be for the youth and more," stated Tami Steinbrecher, Chair of the Youth Committee. The conference offered workshops on developing leadership skills, effective public speaking, equine first aid and horse judging and included two interactive clinics on...

The American Hackney Horse Society (AHHS) has announced a change in location for their Annual General Membership Meeting during the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville, August 17-23. Due to ongoing renovations at the Executive West Hotel the meeting will be held in South Wing C, Room 105, of the Kentucky Expo center. The meeting will be on Thursday, August 21, and will begin at 1:30 p.m. The meeting is not mandatory, however participation is highly recommended as it is the only opportunity during...

For the past several years, the American Saddlebred International Youth Program (ASIYP) has conducted their annual competition in conjunction with the United Professional Horsemen’s Association (UPHA) Chapter 10 Saddlebred Fall Horse Show. Competitors must ride in their age group equitation class, participate in junior judging and showmanship at halter, ride in a pattern class, plus complete a written test and hippology stations. Separate ribbons are awarded in each of these classes and there...

A lifetime horseman and trainer, Carl Knee, passed away at age 76 on July 22, 2008. He trained many outstanding riders and horses, but it was a team effort that gave Knee his greatest joy. He coached the Canadian Equestrian Team for the 1976 Summer Olympic Games. Michel Vaillancourt won the Silver medal in the individual jumping event. Among the riders he trained were Anthony D’Ambrosio who set the National Horse Show’s record for jumpers of seven feet, four inches aboard Sympatico in 1973;...

The “southwest edition” of the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo spreads out this September 19-21, stretching into every corner of the 20-acre Sky Ute Event Center in Ignacio, CO. So many clinicians are in the line-up, the event has added extra venues, and family fun has its very own “Junior Rodeo” arena. Shopping spills out from the indoor arena to a pleasant grassy area, complete with picnic tables. Horses for private treaty sales, breed presentations and stallion and mare demonstrations are stabled...