Gladstone, NJ - The prestigious 2012 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals East got underway Saturday with the flat phase and gymnastics phase. Held at the beautiful USET Foundation Headquarters in Gladstone, New Jersey, 92 competitors competed in the first two phases of the event, vying for the coveted winning title. Seventeen-year-old Jacob Pope of Columbia, MD, is currently atop the leader board after winning today's gymnastics phase with a score 95.5, and also...

Winner of Hanovarian class Age 2 and under Francheska AH (Project Marketing) Devon, PA - Dressage at Devon attendees were treated to an amazing array of individual breed classes in the world’s largest open Breed Show. From Andulusians to Gypsy Vanners, and Hanovarians to Knabstruppers, each breed had the opportunity to show off its unique qualities. In the Hanovarian – Age 2 and under, Francheska AH (Fielding/SPS Malena), bred and owned by Kate Palmquist, took home the blue. In the...

Woodside, CA - Derek di Grazia has done a substantial redesign of his cross-country course for the Woodside International Horse Trials, which will take place on Oct. 5-7, presented by Professional’s Choice and Equine Insurance of California. Di Grazia says he’s changed five combinations on the course for the featured CIC3* division, and he’s also made numerous alterations for the CIC2* and CIC1* divisions. “Because we did quite a bit last year, when Woodside became an...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased to announce the new Dressage Rider Tests Program for the 2013 competition year. Designed and drafted by a joint working group from the USEF Dressage Committee and appointees from the United States Dressage Federation (USDF), these tests are available for use by riders at Training, First, and Seconds Levels. While neither these tests nor their subsequent scores are a requirement to progress through the levels, they are...

Major equestrian competitions attended by U.S. athletes, both domestic and overseas, are listed in this weekly preview. Please look below to find competition listings by discipline* and breed. We hope you will follow the competitions that most interest you, but check Equestrian Weekly on Monday for a report of any top finishes by U.S. Equestrians. *lists of competitions in all international disciplines will include only FEI competitions or USEF Championships within the USA and international FEI...

Stamford, UK - The Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team showed that the future is bright claiming two spots within the top ten at The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials. Sunday proved to be an influential day of Show Jumping as the leaderboard saw a huge shake-up from top to bottom. Sinead Halpin and Allison Springer put a summer’s worth of training in England, thanks to Land Rover Competition and Training Grants, to the test producing classy efforts throughout the week to claim second and sixth...

Bridgehampton, NY - Irish rider Ronan McGuigan scored a narrow victory on Capall Zidane in Wednesday morning’s $7,500 Wolffer Estate 1.4m Open Jumper class, but McLain Ward, a two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist, galloped to victory on Lucky Lord 20 in the afternoon’s $7,500 Equinimity 1.45m Open Jumper class, presented by Ariat. McGuigan, 38, now lives in Far Hills, N.J., and with a time of 55.46 seconds, he topped an Irish sweep, as Shane Sweetnam took second on Elastique (56.50)...

The tenth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder The development of Western Dressage as a discipline is very exciting to riders, trainers, breeders and exhibitors alike. North American Western Dressage is dedicated to finding common ground between the two disciplines, educating riders from all backgrounds, and to making dressage concepts accessible to western riders without minimizing the importance of the training pyramid nor sacrificing the principles that are fundamental to...

Steffen Peters & Ravel (Shannon Brinkman) Greenwich, UK - The equestrian competition at the 2012 Olympic Games ended today and the U.S. medal drought continued. Steffen Peters and Ravel carried the weight of a nation into main arena for the Freestyle, which would determine the Individual medals, and the most consistently clutch combination in U.S. Dressage history didn't have the day they were hoping for. Great Britain did. Charlotte Dujardin scored a historic 90.089% on Valegro to win...

Laura Chapot and Umberto on course in the $75,000 Chartis Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health. (ESI Photography) Saugerties, NY – HITS-on-the-Hudson has been dubbed The Chapot Show as Laura Chapot of Neshanic Station, New Jersey won her third Grand Prix in a row when she produced the only double-clear ride in Sunday’s $75,000 Chartis Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health. Last Sunday during HITS-on-the-Hudson IV, Chapot won the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by...