As a reminder to all riders and owners of four-, five- and six-year-old dressage horses, scores for the 2006 USEF/Markel Young Horse Dressage Program may be earned at USEF/USDF-licensed dressage competitions. For your convenience, USEF has compiled a list of official "qualifying competitions." These competitions have notified USEF that they will be offering Young Horse Tests in accordance with 2006 USEF/Markel Young Horse Dressage Program Selection Procedures during the qualifying period of...

Aaron Vale and Serval, owned by The Serval Group, led the victory gallop in the $25,000 HITS Ocala Grand Prix on Sunday, January 29, posting the only double-clear round out of a class of 22 horse-and-rider combinations. Course Designer Jerry Dougherty set a first-round course that saw only four riders advance to the jump-off. Derek Petersen opened the jump-off with Heaven Bound, a 10-year-old former dressage horse he brought over from Germany in 2004. Had it not been for an unlucky rail at the...

The 2005 USEF/Markel Young Horse Dressage National Championships turned into a landmark for the ISR-Oldenburg Registry N.A. and its breeders. The prestigious FEI final of the five-year-old dressage horses was dominated by U.S.-bred and even more by ISR-Oldenburg N.A. horses. In the past, most of the horses which made it to the National Finals were imported. For the first time ever in 2005 the majority of the finalists were U.S.-bred horses (eight of 13). "I think I was more excited about the...

Craig Schmersal had four horses to show at the Southwest Reining Horse Association (SWRHA) Futurity and Horse Show in Ardmore, OK, in October. He had Commanders Nic and Im Genuinely Smart for Open and Novice Horse Open competition. He had two three-year-olds for the SWRHA Futurity, Wrangle Whiz and Conquistadors Star. All four horses earned NRHA paychecks. After the show, Schmersal, his wife Ginger and their sons Chris and Nick drove to their new home and training facility in Overbrook, OK,...

Take Zone Four Finals, National Classic Equitation Finals, the $25,000 Barry Lane Memorial Grand Prix, the $25,000 Rio Vista Products Grand Prix and you get the first of two big weeks of showing at the Georgia International Horse Park. The 3rd Annual $25,000 Barry Lane Memorial Grand Prix continued it’s growing success with 98 competitors in the qualifying round on Saturday, November 12, from which a field of 61 moved on to the challenging course designed by Jeff Smiley for championship rounds...

Harrisburg, PA — Making a name for herself amidst a field of some of the nation’s best junior jumpers at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, 17-year-old Brianne Goutal of New York, NY, and her mount Onira, won the individual title and the Gold medal at the 2005 Adequan/USEF National Junior Jumper Championship, October 13-15. Coming in second for Silver was 17-year-old Julie Welles, of West Simsbury, CT, atop Lapeti, followed by the Bronze medal winner, 15-year-old Kels Bonham of...

Gladstone, NJ – Taking a year off from competing doesn’t work for everyone, but it paid off for Scott Monroe of Sharon, CT, who drove his way to his first national championship at the 2005 USEF National Combined Driving Singles Championship, part of the CAI-B Gladstone Driving Event, September 22-25. Driving his 11-year-old Morgan gelding, Bethesda After Dark (Shadow), Monroe bested a field of 12 single horses with a smooth dressage test; a precise, blistering trip through the eight obstacles...

The first two regional qualifying competitions for the ASPCA Maclay National Championship were held this past weekend. Region 2 (East), which includes New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, held their qualifying show at the Long Island Classic Horse Show in Old Westbury, NY. The Region 7 (Northwest) qualifier was held at the NorthWest Autumn Finals in Monroe, WA, and was held for riders from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. The ASPCA Maclay class has been held since 1933,...

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 - 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...