Ben Maher and Aristo Z. (PicsofYou.com) Ocala, Fla. - It only took 42.48 fault-free seconds for Ben Maher of Great Britain to prove why he is show jumping’s reigning Olympic Individual Gold medalist as he boldly negotiated Jane Clark’s Aristo Z over Leopoldo Palacio’s eight-fence jump-off and, in front of a full house of spectators at its John Deere stadium, clinched this year’s $50,000 CSI2*W at the 2014 Live Oak International in Ocala, FL. “It was a fantastic...

Capitano and Trapp O'Neal on their way to victory (Shawn McMillen Photography) Katy, Texas. - Saturday night's festivities at the 69th PIn Oak Charity Horse Show featured the $30,000 Hildebrand Fund Grand Prix and Gala. With hospitality the hallmark of the show, it was a enjoyable night for riders and spectators alike. And especially so for Texas professional Trapp O'Neal. The grand prix attracted a field of 18 competitors, who performed before a packed and appreciative audience at the...

Lauren Hough and Böckmanns Lazio (Sportfot) Wellington, Fla. - - Lauren Hough led the victory gallop in an exciting top four finish for the women of USA in Saturday night's $100,000 Engel & Völkers Grand Prix CSI 4* at the 2014 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF). Hough and Böckmanns Lazio topped a six-horse jump-off over Laura Kraut and Nouvelle (2nd), Lucy Davis and Barron (3rd), Lillie Keenan and Pumped Up Kicks (4th), Ben Maher and Urico (5th), and Kent...

Ainsley Vince and Frieda (Sportfot) Wellington, Fla. - The sun rose over Deeridge Farms as trailers and cars rolled through the opened gateway and down the winding path lined with beautifully manicured banyan and royal palm trees. The fog lifted from the grand prix field to reveal the course that would challenge over 50 horses for the $24,950 Wellington Turf Tour Invitational Grand Prix Finale. Saturday, it was Ainsley Vince of Canada who dominated the field, riding to the top of the leader...

Chester Weber (Picsofyou.com) Ocala, Fla. – A warm, sunny morning at Live Oak International set the stage for the USEF National Four-in-Hand Championship sponsored by Ariat. The competitors had a large undertaking guiding their teams of horses through the seven-obstacle marathon course designed by Hartmut Kaufmann of Germany. The Ocala, Fla., venue saw a huge turnout of spectators present to see an exciting day of competition. Chester Weber maintained his lead in the FEI Four-in-Hand...

Ocala, FL - Ocala, Florida horseman Chester Weber makes it look so easy. The 10-time USEF Four-in-Hand National Champion and his KWPN team made one of the most challenging combined driving marathon courses in America look like a walk in the park, rounding the second of the championship’s three phases with an astonishing 81.31-point score overall and establishing a lead after Saturday morning’s competition that will be very tough to catch. Chester Weber and his team on course in...

Manuel Fernandez Hache and Maribel H with (from left to right) Juliet W. Reid, Chester Weber, and Joan Pletcher. (Photo courtesy of PicsofYou.com) Ocala, FL - It wasn’t just the Florida sunshine heating up the John Deere stadium at Live Oak International on Friday as the world’s best show jumping riders and horses faced off for the $5,000 Joan Pletcher Realty Speed Class and $10,000 Waldron Wealth Management Welcome Stake in Ocala. Manuel Fernandez Hache of Miami, FL and riding for...

Eric Lamaze and Zigali P S (Sportfot) Wellington, Fla. - Week eleven of the 2014 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) continued in Wellington, FL, on Thursday with a win for Canadian Olympic Gold Medalist Eric Lamaze with new mount Zigali P S in the $50,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 11. Lamaze beat out Italy's Lorenzo de Luca and Elky van het Indihof and USA's Beezie Madden and Simon to take the top spot in a fifteen-horse jump-off. FTI WEF week eleven,...

Katy, Texas - At age 16, when many show jumpers are slowing down, Happy Z is as speedy as ever. And, once again, she left the field in her dust while clinching the blue ribbon in the $25,000 Moet Hennessy Grand Prix, her 59th grand prix victory with owner/rider Wilhelm Genn. When announcer Brian Lookabill was on his way to Texas, Happy snuck in two more wins, so Genn made a point to correct Happy’s grand prix record, which was announced as 56 wins. “I don’t think he knew about...

Temecula,Calif. - Canadian Olympians Hawley Bennett-Awad and Gin ‘N Juice, winners of the CIC3* at the Galway Downs International Horse Trials in 2013, will be aiming to win two in a row on March 28-30 at the Temecula Downs Event Center. Bennett-Awad, 36, has based her training operations at Kingsway Farm, across the street from Temecula Downs, for a decade. It was there that she met Gin ‘N Juice, who was bred by the Kingsway Farm owners, Terry and Linda Paine. “She caught my...