Steffen Peters and Ravel (Amy McCool) San Juan Capistrano, CA – Day one of the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions was highlighted by the afternoon performances of the 12 best horses in the country competing in the USEF Selection Trials for the 2008 Olympic Team in Dressage. Serving also as the National Grand Prix Dressage Championship, the class featured four Olympic veterans. San Diego rider and Olympic veteran Steffen Peters had plenty of fans on hand to watch him...

Lexington, KY- The first day’s competition at CSIO Rotterdam, The Netherlands got off to a great start for the US riders participating there. For the US, McLain Ward won an unprecedented two classes in one day - the Deloitte/AKD Prixsen van Wijmen Prize on Blue Chip Bloodstock’s Goldika and the Dura Vermeer Groep Prize on Larioso, also owned by Blue Chip Bloodstock. Beezie Madden also had a good day, finishing with good ribbons in all three classes (a 2nd with Abigail Wexner’s Authentic, 4th...

Chicago, IL - Legends define themselves. Mike Plumb defined himself with eight Olympic Games. He defined the sport of Eventing for four decades - but tonight the US Olympic Hall of Fame will define him as a legend - across all sports. The first Equestrian in history will be inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame tonight, June 19, at the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theatre in downtown Chicago. He will stand on the stage with fellow sporting icons: John Morgan, Bruce Baumgarder, Joan Benoit...

Lexington, KY- The 2008 CN North American Junior and Young Rider Championship (NAJYRC), presented by Gotham North, will be held at the Colorado Horse Park in Parker, CO, on July 30-August 3, 2008. Reining has officially been added to the NAJYRC this year. In preparation for the NAJYRC, two up-and-coming young riders are blogging about their experiences. Jackie Hoyt, 15, of Malius, NY is looking to qualify with her horse Anuther Smart Winner a.k.a Tyson. Hoyt and Tyson have been together for...

The upcoming Fairfield County Hunt Club June Benefit Horse Show, June 24-28, 2008, on the grounds of the Fairfield County Hunt Club in Westport, CT, is filled with activities for the entire community to enjoy. The show is open to the public with no admission fees and features more than 700 riders competing in 200 classes over five days. The show benefits The EQUUS Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) grant giving foundation that seeks to raise public awareness of the value of the horse in society...

At the Wachovia Showplace Spring Spectacular II Horse Show, the $10,000 ASG Software Solutions/USJA International Hunter Derby presented by Dietrich Insurance featuring Walsh Harness & Saddlery was won by New Yorker Patricia Griffith on North Country, owned by Laura King-Kaplan. The class of more than forty entries produced flawless performance after flawless performance, but Griffin was the star of the day aboard North Country, an eight-year-old bay Warmblood. The course, designed by Skip...

Lexington, KY - Five USEF National Champions will be crowned after two weekends of dressage competition in San Juan Capistrano, CA June 21-22 and June 27-29. Always an exciting competition Kassandra Barteau and Gabriella (PhelpsPhotos.com) amongst the nation’s best dressage riders, this year the National Grand Prix Dressage Championship is also the USEF Selection Trials for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team in Dressage. The best horses and riders in each division are coming from across the...

International dressage trainer, Oded Shimoni, takes short breaks from his training schedule at Stillpoint Farm in Wellington, FL, to teach clinics throughout the U.S. Last month he was at Amanda Person’s farm in Atlanta teaching Amanda, Jason Canton, and others. This month Shimoni is heading to Pennsylvania to coach three-day eventer Bruce “Buck” Davidson, Jr., in preparation for the 2008 Olympics Hong Kong. Last year U.S. Three-Day Eventing Coach and Chef d’Equipe, Captain Mark Phillips,...

Winner’s of the 2008 Markel Amateur Winter Dressage Championships presented by The Paddock Saddlery were notified this week. The Markel Amateur Winter Dressage Championships recognizes leading amateur’s accomplishments over the winter show season in South Florida. The 2008 awards ceremony will be a virtual presentation. Photographs of winners with their awards will be viewable on The Paddock Saddlery’s website, www.paddocksaddlery.com . The idea for an amateur championship was the brainchild of...

Fair Hill Events, Inc. 501(c)(3) is pleased to announce the inaugural Plantation Field International CIC***, to be held September 19-21, 2008, in Unionville, PA. Already established as a popular venue for horse trials at all levels, this is the first time that Plantation Field will offer an internationally recognized competition. The event will be held on verdant, rolling terrain in the heart of the hunt country of Chester County, PA, on property owned by Mr. and Mrs. Cuyler Walker and Mrs....