Dressage CDI Verden in Germany hosted the 2011 FEI World Breeding Championships and the U.S. was represented in this prestigious event by dressage rider Jennifer Hoffman. Hoffmann and Florentinus V were eighth in the first qualifying competition for 5-year old horses with a score of 8.42, with Ratzinger Z, Hoffmann was tied for eighth in the 1st qualifying competition 6-year old horses with a score of 8.36. Hoffman qualified for the Finals in both the 5-and 6-year-old divisions, which was a...

Final Preparations My horse Verdicci and I have less than one week left to prepare for the 2011 FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships! I can’t wait to represent Region 5 on the Young Rider Dressage team! I have dreamed of being a Young Rider ever since I was twelve years old, so four years later it is great to finally be stepping up to the “big leagues” after competing in the Junior division for the past three years. It is especially great since I thought I...

Oklahoma City, OK - A highlight of Thursday’s competition at the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Derby Show was the inaugural $15,000-added 7 & Up Non Pro Derby, which featured 25 entries aboard their experienced reining horses, age seven and older. Samantha Griffin of De Winton, Alberta, Canada, and Dun Playin Tag dominated the 7 & Up Non Pro Derby by scoring a 225 – 5.5 points ahead of the competition. The seven-year-old gelding, owned by her father Lance Griffin...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) will be represented at the CIC2* Greenwich Park Eventing Invitational (London Test Event) from July 4-6, 2011 by three American eventing riders. This competition will serve as a test event for the 2012 London Olympic Games and is an important part of the preparation for this competition. Dressage, Eventing, Jumping and Para-Equestrian Dressage will all be held at the historic Greenwich Park next summer, the Olympic Games begin on...

Devon, PA - The weather was hot, and so was the competition over the course of the first three days of the 2011 Devon Horse Show and Country Fair. The Dixon Oval and Gold Ring provided an elegant backdrop to the nation's top Junior riders ranging in experience from their first time at Devon to showing here most of their young lives. Some of these incredibly talented individuals will be in the limelight for years to come, while others have chosen to put their passion aside to pursue an...

Mia Bella RCA. Arabians Ltd has certainly brought some exceptional Arabian horses to the Egyptian Event over the years. Even before the appearance of Thee Desperado, Leading Sire at the Egyptian Event for well over a decade, the famous farm’s roster of show horses read like a “Who’s Who” of Egyptian Arabian well-bred royalty. This year their show horse line-up is as impressive as ever, and even more global than usual. “It is possibly the most international group of...

Aaron Vale and Paparazzi. (ESI Photography.) Ocala, FL – Aaron Vale won the $25,000 Ocala Horse Properties, LLC Grand Prix on Saturday, April 9, during the Ocala International held at Sharn Wordley Equestrian in Ocala, FL. Just as Canada’s Francois Lamontagne had done the week before during the Ocala Jumping Classic, Vale won the $10,000 Blue Gate Farm Open Welcome on Thursday, April 7, as well as Saturday’s $25,000 Ocala Horse Properties, LLC Grand Prix during the Ocala International. Having...

Steffen Peters and Weltino's Magic. (Photo by Jennifer M. Keeler) Burbank, CA - In sunny California, the competition for a coveted spot on the U.S. and Canadian Pan American Games teams heated up during the Festival of the Horse CDI-W/Y/J, held March 31-April 3, 2011, at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank. Despite a large and talented group of international competitors, there was no stopping Steffen Peters with what the judges deemed his new "super horse", Weltino's Magic. Peters and...

Rudi Kronsteiner and Finest Copyshot. (Photo courtesy NRHA.) Kreuth, Germany – The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) ended its 2011 NRHA European Futurity & NRHA Show on Saturday, April 3, in Kreuth, Germany. The show is the largest NRHA-approved show to be held outside of the U.S. and welcomes more than 300 horses and 200 riders. NRHA crowned champions in the Level 3 and Level 4 Non Pro Futurity divisions, as well as champions in the Level 3 and Level 4 Open Futurity divisions. Riders...

Kreuth, Germany - The 2011 National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) European Futurity hosted ancillary classes in the $15,000 added Open, $7,500 added Non Pro, $1,000 added Novice Horse Open Level 2 and $1,000 added Novice Horse Non Pro Level 2 this week. The $15,000 added Open Champion is Volker Schmitt (GER) riding Chic Magnetic. The two scored a 228 earning both the NRHA Lawson trophy and $4,653 in prize money. Bernard Fonck (BEL) and Kitas Spark claimed the Reserve Champion title scoring a...