An online auction will begin on September 1 and run through September 15 to benefit Jan Michael, grandson of Philadelphia-based racehorse trainer Don White. Jan Michael was born prematurely on February 3 of this year with extensive complications, including a cleft lip and palate leaving him unable to swallow, necessitating stomach tube feeding and constant aspiration to prevent choking to death. Proceeds from the auction will be used to pay for home nursing care and other health care costs not...

Lexington, KY – Craig Schmersal of Menifee, California, and Tim McQuay of Tioga, Texas will represent the United States in the 2005 FEI World Reining Masters Series Final in Manerbio, Italy, September 24. Each, a master, in his own right, Schmersal was a member of the Gold Medal U.S. team at the 2002 FEI World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain, while McQuay is the NRHA’s all-time leading money earner. Schmersal took the Gold medal and Championship title August 27, riding Tidal Wave...

Lexington, KY – Riding Topsail Ma Cee Blair, 13-year-old Jordan Brown of Selma, North Carolina, took home the Championship title and Gold medal in the 13 and under division at the inaugural 2005 USEF Youth Reining Championship, presented by Markel and Hagyard-Davidson-McGee on Sunday, August 28, at the Kentucky Horse Park, with a winning score of 210. “It was exciting!” said Brown. “It’s a big honor to win. It’s something I’ll remember all my life....

Craig Schmersal and Tidal Wave Jack, Winners of the 2005 Adequan/USEF Open Reining Championship (Waltenberry Photography) Lexington, KY – With swift and calculated moves, amazing 360-degree spins and stop-on-a-dime sliding stops that left an unabashed crowd going wild, Craig Schmersal and Tidal Wave Jack claimed their landmark USEF Gold medal and trophy in one fell swoop at the 2005 Adequan/USEF Open Reining Championship on Saturday, August 27, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington....

Aachen, Germany - August 25– Tucker S. Johnson of the United States drove his team of four horses to third place in the dressage musical freestyle on Thursday at the World Equestrian Festival. Johnson, of Hobe Sound, Florida, was enthusiastic about the consistent performance of his team of relatively young horses that also finished third in the regular dressage test Wednesday, the first of five days of four-in-hand driving at Aachen. He is the sole U.S. competitor in the driving competition....

Michael Bowling (Carlswald Prince's Dominoe and Lionel Ferreira) Carlswald Prince's Dominoe, trained and ridden by Lionel Ferreira, defeated 11 others in Wednesday night's Five-Gaited Gelding Stake, a class in which defending Five-Gaited World's Grand Champion CH Boucheron did not place, at the Saddlebred World's Championship Horse Show. Carlswald Prince's Dominoe won the Lexington Junior League Horse Show Five-Gaited Grand Championship in July. CH Boucheron had not shown...

Riders, trainers, auditors and family members are all invited to attend the USEF ParaEquestrian Training Sessions being held in the following locations. All of the trainers have coached teams or individuals to medals at both Disabled World Championships and Paralympic Games. September 9-11 Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center Woodinville, WA Trainer: Jerry Schwartz October 14-16 Victory Farms Flower Mound, TX Trainer: Renee Albrecq October 28-30 USEF Headquarters Gladstone, NJ Trainer: Missy...

Aachen, Germany - The United States dressage team finished in third place behind a history-making Dutch team that beat Germany on Thursday to win the nations’ team competition at the World Equestrian Festival. The U.S. riders, Steffen Peters of San Diego, CA, on Floriano; and George Williams of Delaware, OH, on Rocher, had led the standings in the grand prix after the first of two days of competition. But, the powerful Dutch and German teams, which included Olympic Individual and Team Gold...

Aachen, Germany - Aug. 25 – The United States show jumping team claimed a victory and a fourth place finish Thursday on the eve of the Samsung Super League Nations Cup competition at the World Equestrian Festival. Jeffrey Welles, of Ridgefield, CT, piloted his nine-year-old Holsteiner gelding, Sampras, to victory in the Youngsters Cup, while Laura Kraut of Oconomowoc, WI, finished fourth on the Dutch Warmblood gelding, Anthem, in the Preis von Nordrhein-Westfalen. Welles and Sampras finished in...

The deadly outbreak of equine herpes virus at Churchill Downs this spring threatened to limit movement of horses between racetracks during the Triple Crown series of races. Frequent travel is also common for sport horses and such an outbreak could hamper participation at major shows. A Cornell University virologist says his preliminary research indicates that vaccines containing weakened live viruses, called modified live vaccines (MLV), appear to be more effective in preventing horse herpes...