Exciting news for young reiners! The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) is pleased to be included in a premiere equestrian competition in North America for junior and young riders ages 14-21. For the first time ever, reining has been added to The United States Equestrian Foundation’s (USEF) 2007 North American Young Riders’ Championships (NAYRC). The NAYRC began in 1974 as an eventing challenge between young riders from the United States and Canada. A dressage championship was added in...

The 2006 American Hunter Pony Classic Auction, held during the USEF Pony Finals National Championships, posted major increases in nearly every category. Statistically, the 2006 sale ranks as the best American Hunter Pony Classic ever and possibly the best pony auction ever held in North America. “This was a great auction. The buyers were active from beginning to end,” said Tim Jennings, Marketing Director of Professional Auction Services, Inc. “The catalog included the best group of ponies the...

Mighty, mild and marvelous, the rare Cleveland Bay is Breyer's newest equine sculpture. This British breed is on the critically endangered list of the Rare Breed Survival Trust, along with the Bengal tiger, the snow leopard and the giant panda. Less than 550 Cleveland Bays are thought to exist today, and only 220 are mares of breeding age. Sculpted by artist Karen Gerhardt, the Breyer Cleveland Bay is depicted mid-trot and captures the strength, power and substance of this rare breed....

Glenn Moody, a highly respected hunter course designer and riding instructor, will join the riding program teaching staff at Sweet Briar College for the 2006/2007 academic year. Last August, Moody retired from teaching and coaching at The Barracks, home of the University of Virginia riding team, to focus on course designing and judging. “We were fortunate to have him teach a hugely successful clinic at Sweet Briar last December,” said riding director Shelby French. “We told him then that if he...

The annual convention of the American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) was a resounding success. More than 300 Morgan enthusiasts enjoyed the week-long event held in Lexington, KY, February 15-18. The week was filled with exciting demonstrations and interesting seminars, as well as the AMHA Board of Directors quarterly meeting. The annual stallion service auction, which had more than 70 stallions, brought in nearly $140,000, which will be split between the Association's ten regional shows, the...

Lexington, VA – Chester Weber of Ocala, Florida bested a field of five international drivers to win the CAI-B Oak Hill, October 8-9. Weber was named the USEF National Four-In-Hand Champion for 2005, and won his third consecutive Vanderbilt Trophy from the USET Foundation. Reserve Champion was James Fairclough of Newton, New Jersey. "As someone who thinks you make your own luck, I feel that this third straight championship is clear evidence that team work and a sound plan make the dream...

The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) announced the winners of its Senior Athletic/Academic Achievement Award. The award was established to recognize senior USDF Intercollegiate/Interscholastic Members (IMs) who have a 3.5 or better grade point average (GPA). The 2005 winners are James Marcotte of the University of Kentucky in Lexington, KY, and Ashley Wolfe of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. To be eligible for the Senior Athletic/Academic Achievement Award, senior IMs must have at...

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...

Saugerties, NY – Riding to victory on Christy Russo’s High Cotton (seven-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding), Jack Hardin Towell, Jr., of Camden, SC, went out with the championship title at the fifth annual Show Circuit Magazine/USEF National Junior Hunter Championships—East Coast in Saugerties, NY, August 1-2. The 17-year-old Towell, Jr., received the Show Circuit Magazine perpetual trophy, a crystal trophy that he will be able to display until next year’s championships. The trophy, donated by...

Over 200 top horses in the region are expected to compete in the annual Morven Park Summer Dressage Classic on July 30-31, 2005, at the Morven Park International Equestrian Center in Leesburg, VA. The dramatic highlight of the competition is the exciting Musical Freestyle--the $10,000 Pas de Deux Challenge Cup, which will begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday, July 31. This “dancing horse” musical freestyle matches choreographed movements to the beat of specially selected music, similar to synchronized...