Ali Wolff and Caya on their way to a $34,600 Saugerties Jumper Classic win. (ESI Photography) Saugerties, N.Y. - The most prestigious week of the season at HITS-on-the-Hudson, The HITS Championship, commenced on Wednesday with the $34,600 FEI Saugerties Jumper Classic. Riders and horses from half a dozen nations descended on the Grand Prix Ring at HITS Saugerties to contend for the first big victory of the jam-packed week. Many talented names filled the order of go, including 2016 Olympic...

Dear All, I have writers block and am not able to let my fingers dance upon the keyboard and compose a literary repartee of what has happened over the last few days. So, bing bong here you go in bullet and pictorial format: • Left Rio • Arrived in New Jersey • Gas (Petrol) tank on empty • In tray akin to Kangchenjunga but could have been K2 or, heaven forbid, The Big E. • In tray ignored • Spent weekend planting shrubs on 80 degree bank at back of house (could be...

Dear USEF Members, The Olympic Games is the greatest sporting event in the world, and we are all very proud of the spectacular accomplishments of our equestrian teams at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Team USA Equestrian finished the Games as one of only two countries to win medals in all three Olympic disciplines of dressage, eventing, and show jumping, with Germany being the other. I know you all join me in offering congratulations to all our teams on their outstanding results at...

Lexington, Ky. - Aug. 20, 2016 - A hush fell over the Kentucky Horse Park’s Rolex Stadium as the final two riders prepared to take the stage in the 2016 USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship. As Jennifer Alfano and the SBS Farms team looked on anxiously from the sidelines, Kristy Herrera entered the ring with Miss Lucy and laid down the trip of a lifetime to secure the sweetest victory, bringing a true fairytale ending to life for the SBS Farms team during the Bluegrass Festival...

Shane Sweetnam and Cobolt (Lauren Baker/Phelps Media Group) Lexington, Ky. - After winning the $50,000 Rood & Riddle Kentucky Grand Prix last Saturday, Shane Sweetnam and the Blue Buckle Group LLC's Cobolt returned one week later to pick up another victory under the lights, this time in the $50,000 Kentucky Summer Grand Prix, sponsored by GGT Footings. Forty-seven horse-and-rider combinations attempted Marina Azevedo's first-round track, with only four eventually advancing to the...

Leslie Howard and Quadam (Spruce Meadows Media Services) Calgary, AB, Canada –The Spruce Meadows ‘Pan American’ Tournament CSI 5*, presented by Rolex, continued on Friday featuring the Duncan Ross Cup 1.50m, as well as the WestJet Cup 1.45m in the Meadows on the Green. USA’s Leslie Howard jumped to an exciting win in the evening’s 1.50m aboard a brand new mount in the young stallion Quadam. Mexico’s Patricio Pasquel got the win in the 1.45m earlier in the day...

Natascha Gates and Quickie (Sportfot) Parker, Colo. - Colorado local and German native, Natascha Gates of Elizabeth, CO, and Quickie soared to a win in the $40,000 Holiday Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Super 8 Grand Prix presented by Trapper's Chop House on Saturday, June 18, at The Colorado Horse Park (CHP), during week two of the Summer in the Rockies Series (SIR). Quickie lived up to his name, showcasing his speed in the biggest class of the week, and finished the short course in 41.25...

Skyhawk and Alexis Taylor Silvernale (McCool) San Juan Capistrano, Calif. - The $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby kicked off a grand Saturday morning at the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park at San Juan Capistrano. After topping the first round, Alexis Taylor Silvernale and Skyhawk, owned by Aleron, LLC, continued to impress both judging panels in the Handy Round for the win in a challenging class. The honorable Bill Ellis and Christina Schlusemeyer judged as Panel One, and Scott...

Jack Hardin Towell and New York (Spruce Meadows Media Services) Calgary, AB, Canada - Jack Hardin Towell didn’t plan to even compete in the McDaniel & Associates Cup 1.45m, but when his barn manager Chris Howard entered New York and told him he was first in the ring, he gave it a go. A good go, in fact, as he was the first clear in round one and the first to return in the jump-off. They set down an unbeatable time of 40.80 seconds to win a wire-to-wire victory. Coming close behind in...

McLain Ward and Best Buy on their way to a $15,000 KindredBio Jumper Prix win. (ESI Photography) Saugerties, N.Y. - Horses and riders descended upon Grand Prix Stadium at HITS-on-the-Hudson III to compete in Saturday’s $15,000 KindredBio Jumper Prix. McLain Ward, ranked the world’s number one rider in show jumping, returned to HITS-on-the-Hudson for the first time since his third-place finish in the 2015 Canadian Pacific $1 Million Grand Prix FEI CSI-5*, presented by Wells Fargo,...