Katie and Maddie Lichten are twin sisters from South Hamilton, Mass., who traveled over 2,500 miles to Kalispell, Mont., to compete in the Adequan® FEI North American Youth Championships presented by Gotham North, or NAYC or Young Riders for short. The NAYC is taking place this week and weekend at The Event at Rebecca Farm. The championships are a big draw for rising stars in the equestrian discipline of eventing. It is a stepping stone that has often helped launch aspiring athletes to the...

Mill Spring, N.C. – In an important step towards being named to the U.S. Reining Squad for the FEI World Equestrian Games™ (WEG) Tryon 2018, U.S. reining athletes contested the WEG Reining Test Event and USEF Selection Trial this week at the Tryon International Equestrian Center on Thursday, May 10 and Saturday, May 12. Jordan Larson and Arc Gunnabeabigstar (Photo by: Waltenberry) With scores compiled from both evening’s rounds, it was Jordan Larson and Dan Huss leading the...

Lexington, Ky. - The conditions could not have been more perfect for a day of brilliant cross-country action, and the riders and horses did not disappoint. Defending champion Michael Jung of Germany and fisherRocana FST showed the depth of their partnership to take over the top spot after adding only 0.4 penalties to his dressage score to lead with 27.5. Breathing down his neck is Australia's Chris Burton and Nobilis 18 (27.9) and Oliver Townend of Great Britain on Cooley Master Class (28....

Raeford, N.C. – The USEF Advanced Single Horse Combined Driving National Championship continued on Saturday with the marathon phase at the Southern Pines Combined Driving Event (CDE). The athlete-and-horse combinations headed out on the Carolina Horse Park’s grounds to tackle Barry Hunter’s marathon track. Jennifer “Nifty” Hamilton and Makari Design held onto their lead to stay atop the overall leaderboard heading into the final phase on Sunday. Nifty Hamilton and...

During the holiday season, you may be looking for ideas on how to give your horse a special treat to show your appreciation. One idea is treating your horse to a bran mash. We spoke with Dr. Luke Fallon from Hagyard Equine Medical Institute to find out more about bran mashes: why veterinarians recommend them and what ingredients are typically included in them. Bran mashes act as a sort of “comfort food” that horses seem to enjoy when they are feeling under the weather or if it is...

Lexington, Ky. The U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions has been named as the home for all 14 USEF Dressage National Championships in 2018. Hosted at the Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, Ill., from August 21 through 26, the Markel/USEF Young and Developing Horse Dressage National Championships as well as the USEF Young Adult ‘Brentina Cup’ Dressage National Championship presented by Dressage Today will be hosted in conjunction with the other dressage divisions. The U.S. Dressage...

Lexington, Ky. – The United States Equestrian Federation (US Equestrian) is pleased to announce the appointment of Erik Duvander as the new Performance Director for Eventing, effective October 16, 2017. Duvander joins US Equestrian with over 30 years of strategic planning and program development at the high-performance level. Duvander transitioned from a competitive rider into a coaching role after representing Sweden at the World Championship and Olympic level. Since his transition,...

Lexington, Ky. - The future stars of U.S. show jumping will be tested when they meet for the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals. The Finals will take place on both coasts with the West edition taking place September 21- 23 at Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. Two weeks later, the East edition will be held October 6-8 at the United States Equestrian Team Foundation Headquarters in Gladstone, N.J. Peyton Warren, 2016 Platinum Performance/USEF...

Woodstock, England – Several top international combinations competed at the Ssangyong Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials, September 13-17, but it was U.S. eventer Kim Severson and Cooley Cross Border who finished the competition atop the CCI3* leaderboard. The talented duo led a strong U.S. contingent in the CCI3* with four U.S. combinations finishing in the top 25 out of 84 starters. Severson (Charlottesville, Va.) and The Cross Syndicate’s 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse...

Givrins, Switzerland – A talented group of up-and-coming athletes represented the Platinum Performance U.S. Teams at the 2017 SVAG FEI World Reining Championships for Juniors and Young Riders on August 11 and 12. Under the guidance of Chef d’Equipe Jeff Petska, the U.S. combinations put forth determined efforts throughout the championships. The Platinum Performance U.S. Junior Team of Sam Flarida, Emma Lane, and Emilia Reutimann earned the team silver medal on Friday, while the...