Cincinnati, OH – For the first time ever, the USEF crowned two horses with its highest honor, one from an International Discipline and one from a National Discipline. Neville Bardos and Sjoerd were named 2011 Horses of the Year at tonight’s USEF annual Horse of the Year celebration. Honored for their accomplishments in 2011 their roads through the last 12 months, while both exceptional, have been very different. Videos of all of the Horses of Honor are available here: https://www....

Wellington, FL - Week one of the 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) continued at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, FL, today with more exceptional hunter competition. Showing in the Eugene R. Mische Grand Hunter Ring, the Horseware Products Adult Amateur Hunter 3'3" division presented championship honors. Twenty-three-year-old Allyson Blais, of Delray Beach, FL, guided her nine-year-old Warmblood gelding Camden Yards to the...

Cian O'Connor and Everything Capture First G&C Farm 1.45m Jumper Victory Wellington, FL - The FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) kicked off competition today with hunter/jumper classes in 10 rings. In the International Arena, Olympian Cian O'Connor (IRL) scored the first win of the season with Everything, owned by Abdulla Humaid Al Muhairi, in the G&C Farm 1.45m Jumpers. The first week of the FTI WEF runs through Sunday, January 15, and is sponsored by Surpass....

Alexis Conover. Courtesy of Alexis Conover. Lexington, KY - Sixteen-year-old Alexis Conover (New Port Richey, FL) volunteered more than 1,300 hours to accrue the most time of all participants in the new United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Equestrians in Action volunteer recognition program. USEF Equestrians in Action tracks youth volunteer hours that are aimed at improving the welfare of the horse or positively promoting equestrian sport. Sponsored by The EQUUS Foundation, the program...

Wellington, FL - The Finals for the 2011 Spy Coast Farm Young Horse Show Series will be held this Friday, December 9, at 6:30 p.m. at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, FL. It will be an exciting evening where young horses will show what they are made of through a series of two classes. In addition to the finals classes, a Stallion Show will run on Friday night as well in the International Arena. The first finals class will be Suitability for Sport in Hand for...

Lexington, KY - Isabelle Leibler and her own Watson 108 have arrived safely in Germany and have begun diligently preparing to represent the US at the FEI Young Rider World Cup Dressage Final. Leibler (Greenwich, CT) and the 14-year-old Westphalian gelding arrived early this week in Kronberg im Taunus. They will be based at Schafhof, the renowned training and breeding center of Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff, Klaus Martin Rath, and Matthias Rath, prior to heading to Frankfurt for the competition....

L-R Sharon McCusker on Wrigley, Jenny Van Wieren-Page, Debbie McDonald, Anne Gribbons and Stacey Parvey-Larson with Benidetto (Photo: Richard Malmgren). Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) ran a Developing Dressage Clinic with Debbie McDonald in Chesapeake City, MD at Hassler Dressage at Riveredge right before the Thanksgiving holiday. McDonald, one of the most successful U.S. dressage riders in history, travelled from her Idaho home to this spectacular facility,...

Germany's Matthias Alexander Rath and Totilas will be competing at the 2012 World Dressage Masters Palm Beach presented by International Polo Club Palm Beach. Photo: John Flannagan. Wellington, FL - Totilas, the reigning Dressage World Champion and current world record holder in the Grand Prix Freestyle, is coming to the 2012 World Dressage Masters Palm Beach presented by International Polo Club Palm Beach. His appearance at the prestigious WDM CDI5*'s only event in North America, at the...

The United States Equestrian Federation extends its deepest condolences to all of the connections of the tremendous Canadian show jumping stallion Hickstead – who tragically collapsed and died this weekend while walking out of the ring after completing his round in Verona, Italy. The Mighty Hickstead (Photo: Shannon Brinkman) Ridden and produced by Canada’s Eric Lamaze, Hickstead’s brilliance was easy to notice. His style was exciting and dynamic, and he won fans everywhere he...

Christine McCrea and Romantovich Take One. Photo: Shannon Brinkman. GUADALAJARA, Mexico - In a sport of inches it came down to 7/100ths of a second. Beezie Madden (Cazenovia, NY) had led the 2011 Pan American Games since Wednesday, and when she landed over the last fence in the second round of the day it seemed Individual Gold was secure with her fifth clear round of the Games. Until the clock stopped. She and Coral Reef Via Volo finished with a time of 66.07, just over the time allowed of 66...