Chapter 11: Saying Goodbye to the Pan American Games I am half the man I used to be. No, I have not suddenly gone from “built for the next Ice Age” to “ready for camping in the Lut Desert”, but rather I made a schoolboy error and paid the price. A couple of us decided to escape from the hotel and go for a walk on a local Canadian “trail” – the sun was out and the was a pleasant breeze blowing so the mosquitos were not out to play; the schoolboy error...

Leslie Howard and Lennox Lewis 2 © Spruce Meadows Media Services Calgary, AB, Canada – July 5, 2015 – Spruce Meadows hosted the final day of competition in its ‘North American’ Tournament CSI 5* on Sunday with a win for USA’s Leslie Howard and Lennox Lewis 2 in the $210,000 Cenovus Energy Classic Derby. Earlier in the day, McLain Ward (USA) and HH Carlos Z won the $85,000 Enbridge Cup 1.50m. Howard and 16-year-old Lennox Lewis 2 (an Oldenburg gelding by Loreatus x...

Paul Yanke and Chill Haze win the $20,000 SJHOF High Junior/Amateur-Owner Classic, sponsored by Pony Lane Farm, on the final day of the Spring Spectacular III. (Kendall Bierer/Phelps Media Group) Wayne, IL - June 21, 2015 - It was a thrilling final day of competition today at the Lamplight Equestrian Center as the Showplace Spring Spectacular Series wrapped up with the $20,000 High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic, a Show Jumping Hall of Fame event, sponsored by Pony Lane Farm. It boiled...

Lisa Goldman and Centurion B win the $50,000 Wells Fargo Advisors Grand Prix during the Spring Spectacular III. (Kendall Bierer/Phelps Media Group) Wayne, IL - June 20, 2015 - Lisa Goldman retraced familiar steps today during the highlight event of the Showplace Spring Spectacular III, finding her spot at the top of the $50,000 Wells Fargo Advisors Grand Prix leaderboard with longtime partner Centurion B. They tripped the timers in 39.048 seconds, only 2/10ths of a second ahead of second place...

Calgary, AB, Canada – June 6, 2015 – Saturday at Spruce Meadows was packed with excitement and a full house of spectators as two of the highlight events of the 2015 ‘National’ Tournament, presented by Rolex, were held. Continuing a fantastic winning streak, Kent Farrington (USA) raced to victory on top horse Voyeur to win the $400,000 RBC Grand Prix, presented by Rolex. Reed Kessler (USA) finished second with Cylana and Jaime Azcarraga (MEX) placed third aboard Anton....

USA Team (Left to right )Sydney Collier, Annie Peavy, Rebecca Hart, U.S. Chef D' Equipe Kai Handt, and Roxanne Trunnell. (Lindsay Y. McCall) Wellington, Fla. - Thirteen Para-Dressage horse and rider combinations made their way to Wellington, Florida, this January for the first CPEDI3* of the 2015 show season. Para-Equestrians from Canada and the United States in Grades Ia, Ib, II, III, and IV, competed at the spectacular Global Dressage venue in the Van Kampen Arena. FEI Ground Jury members Mr....

Sean Leckie (AnLi Kelly-Durham/Phelps Media Group) Parker, Colo. - All eyes were on the equitation riders Friday in the Olsen Family Main Hunter Ring. The beautiful Fourth of July weather made for ideal conditions for juniors as they vied for points towards several of the prestigious national medal finals. Sean Leckie claimed the blue in the WIHS Equitation Hunter Phase, while Kelli Cruciotti took the win in the Jumper Phase. Courtnay Edwards finished on top in the ASPCA Maclay, and Asha Jain...

Hannah Holik and Dahlila (Mary Adelaide Brakenridge for Phelps Media Group, Inc. ) Parker, CO - Hannah Holik is moving up the ranks in the jumpers and showing that she is capable of dominant performances in the hunter ring as well. She and Czech Mate LLC's Dahlila notched two wins on Wednesday and placed well on Thursday to secure the championship in the 3'6" Performance Working Hunters, with Ashley Keeler and Emma Willsky's Simply Said taking the reserve. "She was really good...

Calgary, Alberta – The $35,000 Spectra Energy Cup 1.60m was the highlight of today's schedule at the Spruce Meadows 'National' Tournament. Darragh Kerins (IRL) and E Muze Yek found the key to a clear round and were fastest in the jump-off for Kerins' first victory in the International Ring. McLain Ward won for the second day in a row, this time on Zander in the $33,000 ATCO Pipelines Cup 1.45m. Another first-time International ring win came for Lauren Tisbo and Roundthorn...

A couple of top ranked NCEA teams traveled to Texas this past weekend and didn't escape with out scars on their records. Auburn lost its first match of the weekend to Texas A&M, K-State had a rough couple days, Georgia and South Carolina won big in their final home matches of the season, and Fresno State finally added a few marks to the win column. My quick recap of the weekend that was across the NCEA is below The Texas A&M Aggies looked like a revitalized team against Auburn on...