Brazilian Sergio Campos riding Shakira Do Jacare opened fast and kept it in top gear to win Sunday's $25,000 Grand Prix during week two of the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit. Twelve horses mastered Jerry Dougherty's first-round course. Campos and Shakira Do Jacare clocked in with the fastest time by almost three seconds, making them the pair to watch in the jump-off. "She's fast, very fast," says Campos of the eight-year-old chestnut mare he brought over from Brazil last winter. Canadian Olympian...

U.S. Endurance Team at first inspection. (Jan Mansfield ) United Arab Emirates - Two of the six riders representing the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) completed the 100-mile 2005 FEI World Endurance Championship on January 27 at Dubai International City in Dubai, UAE. The highest place finisher was Becky Harris of Medina, OH, who came in 20th place with a ride time of 8:47:03 on GA Tyfa Mynte. Carolyn Hock of Riverside, CA and GT Sando were 56th with a ride time of 11:10:13....

Aaron Vale of Aiken, SC, posted the first victory of the season as the 2005 American Grand Prix Association (AGA) tour got underway in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday, January 23, 2005. The nighttime competition took place at the Paul E. Reinhold Agricultural Center Fairgrounds on State Road 16 in Green Cove Springs, FL. In its 27th year of equestrian excellence, the AGA tour includes 32 events in 22 different equestrian markets and offers over $2.5 million dollars in prize money. Vale’s...

USEF Honors its Stars of 2004 at Athletes’ Luncheon and Pegasus Awards Dinner Louisville, KY —Friday proved to be a day of widespread celebration at the 2005 USEF Annual Meeting as two special events brought audiences to their feet with thunderous applause and accolades for athletes and honorees. During the Friday Recognition Luncheon in honor of Athletes and Owners, the United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation presented the coveted Whitney Stone Memorial Cup to one of the...

Prior to the $25,000 Open Jumper, the evening session opened with the second annual Dressage Night, featuring the Continental Cup--a team Musical Freestyle competition. Riders at Grand Prix, Intermediaire I and First Level made up each of three teams. The riders on the Park Avenue Team won the Gold medal with a total score of 239. The team consisted of Cynthia Payne of Jupiter, FL, aboard Laredo, with a score of 81% in the Grand Prix; Gabriel Armando of Argentina who resides in Flemington, NJ,...

Allyson Blais and Rocca K were the first of four to go clean over a tough, twisting course designed by Pierre Jolicoeur. The pair went on to top of the field of 30 in the $10,000 North American League (NAL) Children’s Jumper Finals, held at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg, PA. “The first course was very difficult. You would think you were turning right and you would have to turn left,” explained Blais, 16, who went third in the order and was followed by numerous knockdowns,...

We’ve all heard the old adage, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." It's one of those time-tested pearls of wisdom that never fails, right? Well think again, because people like Sally Yacka, Business Manager of Derby Down, Inc., will tell you there are exceptions. Big exceptions. When Sally first saw the flyer from the United States Equestrian Federation’s (USEF) purchasing program, detailing how she could get big discounts on products the farm already used, she thought she might...

Burbank, CA – With a weekend of competition to prove themselves, a ring full of young riders set out to convince judges they have what it takes to become tomorrow’s equestrian stars. Emerging at the top of the list from the BET/USEF West Coast Show Jumping Talent Search Finals is 17-year-old Kasey Ament (Reche Canyon, CA), who took home the Denali Trophy atop San Francisco. Riding her own horse first and then starting the rotations that are characteristic of these tests, Ament...

One step out of the ring, internationally renowned equestrian Lynn Seidemann and Phoenix B knew they had put on a good show. Slated to ride second to last in the line-up, the pair pulled out all the stops to wow the judges with a spectacular performance Thursday. Make that a Silver medal-winning performance that surprised even Lynn. “It was a good day,” Lynn said modestly after the news started to filter back through the time zones into the States. With a Silver medal in tow and a...

A great second-round recovery by the home team, with particularly brilliant performances from Athens-bound Nick Skelton and Robert Smith, saw the British win the sixth leg of the 2004 Samsung Super League Nations Cup series in Hickstead on Friday, July 23, 2004. Lying equal-third with 16 faults along with the strong favorites from France, the USA and Belgium at the halfway stage added just a single time fault to complete with 17, while the French slotted into the runner-up spot with 20 ahead of...