The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) announced that the USDF/United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Young Rider Graduate Program will be held at the Hilton Palm Beach Airport Hotel in West Palm Beach, FL, January 18-20, 2008. The USDF/USEF Young Rider Graduate program, with funding support provided by The Dressage Foundation, is designed to bridge the gap between young rider status and the professional world of international competition, teaching, training and equine business...

FEI Official International Judge Rogier Van Iersel (NED) has resigned from his position as president of the ground jury for jumping for the 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong. The decision of Van Iersel is based on the fact that he is also team manager of the Saudi Arabian Jumping Team, which may have resulted in a potential conflict of interest should the two functions be performed concurrently. The FEI wishes to thank Van Iersel for his fair play decision, which is entirely in line with its Code...

The deadline for the first phase of ticket sales for the Beijing Olympics is approaching. Those interested in attending the Olympic Games can request tickets by JUne 30, 2007. Tickets will be available for purchase on a “live” basis later this year (currently an October launch of the Live Sales phase is anticipated). Additionally, hospitality packages (which include guaranteed tickets) and accommodations packages are currently being sold and will continue to be sold on a live first-come,...

The United States Pony Clubs (USPC), Inc., will continue with its half-a-century tradition of educating young people in horsemanship at the Ninth Triennial Festival to take place July 24-31, 2007, in Lexington, KY. Held at the Kentucky Horse Park, the USPC Festival is the culmination of years of training and qualifying competitions for about 4,000 lucky members, and is the most popular and best-attended Pony Club activity. As well as national championships in eventing, dressage, show jumping,...

Attention all junior pony riders interested in competing at the 2008 Adequan/USEF National Pony Jumper Championships held during the 2008 USEF Pony Finals: please review the 2008 criteria and qualifying period for your zone or United States Pony Club (USPC) at www.usef.org/documents/disciplines/jumper-nat/PdSCriteria2008.pdf . Please direct questions to Jennifer Haydon, Director of Show Jumping, National Programs, at [email protected] or (859) 225-6911.

Production East Video, along with leading online broadcaster MediaZone, announced they will be presenting live webcasts of the Lake Placid Horse Shows, including the Lake Placid Horse Show, to be held June 26-July 1, as well as the I Love New York Horse Show, to be held July 3-8. Live from the beautiful Adirondack Mountains, these webcasts are produced by Productions East Video and will be available by logging on to www.ProductionsEast.com or www.MediaZone.com/Channel/Equestrian/index.jsp . The...

A barn fire killed 25 American Saddlebreds and one half-Saddlebred at 3-T Stables, owned by the Tabor family in Scottsville, KY, on the morning of Tuesday, June 19. By the time the fire was noticed just before 7 a.m. at 3-T’s broodmare barn, it had become a “raging inferno,” according to 3-T Stables’ Paige Tabor. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined. Eight new foals, along with one broodmare still in foal, perished in the fire. Among them were Callaway’s Alice Blue Gown and unborn...

American Saddlebred trainer and breeder Charles E. “Chuck” Hamlet, age 67, died Friday, June 8, 2007. Friends were received Wednesday, June 13, at the Davis Funeral Home in Harriman, TN. Hamlet’s career as a trainer began nearly 50 years ago, in the early 60's. During his career, Hamlet worked with Dewey Henderson, Royce Cates, Carter Cox, Lewis Eckerd and Bob Vesel, as well as for William Shatner and Donna Moore in the breeding operation at Belle Reve. He eventually began his own breeding...

Georgie Green, member of the Board of Directors for The American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) for 27 years, was honored with the National Pedigree Livestock council’s Distinguished Service Award at the annual meeting of the National Pedigreed Livestock Council (NPLC) in Fort Worth, TX, on May 9, 2007. The NPLC offers executive officers of the various non-profit breed associations of dairy, horse and pony, sheep, goat, swine and beef species the opportunity to interchange ideas and learn from...

The Nigerian internet fraud, which has pounded U.S. e-mail accounts touting to make large money transfers in exchange for fees, has taken on a new spin with internet horse trailer sales. The increasing growth of equestrian websites offering free classified ads has provided an effective catalyst for the Nigerian scam artists to test their new scheme. Horse trailers have been targeted because they are high-ticket items. “We discovered it through first-hand experience,” stated Tom Scheve, CEO of...