Exploding wine bottle, flooding hotel, horse inspection, surprise substitutions, interesting team running orders, lost & found luggage, and a Brazilian party in the Maracanã Stadium. Quite a couple of days. So where to start; perhaps with the job in hand. All the U.S. horses looked fit, well and beautifully turned out by the grooms and the horse inspection went without a hitch for the U.S. Running order declared (Boyd, Clark, Lauren & Philip) and the dressage horses having been...

Boyd Martin and Blackfoot Mystery (Shannon Brinkman Photo) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - The eventing horse inspection officially kicked off equestrian competition at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday. Over the next 14 days, 204 athlete-and-horse combinations in the three equestrian disciplines of eventing, dressage, and show jumping will compete for coveted Team and Individual medals at Rio’s Deodoro Olympic Equestrian Center. The U.S. Olympic Eventing Team of Phillip...

In the lead-up to the 2016 SVAG FEI World Reining Championships, the United States Equestrian Federation will feature a four-part series that highlights the athletes, horses, and their owners that make up the U.S. Team. The following is part four. Read parts one , two , and three . Nick Valentine considers Dun It At Dawn or “Dan” his once-in-a-lifetime horse. The most memorable rides occurred on the Quarter Horse stallion. For Valentine, Dan was incredibly easy to work alongside; he...

Sophie Michaels and Balouba (Kendal Bierer/PhelpsSports.com) Traverse City, Mich. - The first portion of the 2016 Great Lakes Equestrian Festival has drawn to a close and from those that came to compete in beautiful Traverse City, Michigan, the reviews are overwhelmingly positive for Morrissey Management Group's (MMG) second-year production. From excellent reviews for the upgraded footing to the wonderful hospitality and fabulous food in the VIP Tent, those that made the trip to the Upper...

Laura Chapot and ISHD Dual Star on their way to a $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix win. (ESI Photography) Saugerties, N.Y. - Thirty-one riders and horses descended on the Grand Prix ring at HITS-on-the-Hudson for the fifth $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix of the season. The order-of-go was stacked with talent, including the likes of Kevin Babington and Manuel Torres ,but Neshanic Station, New Jersey equestrian Laura Chapot once again swooped in to steal away with not only the victory, but with second and...

Part I We have a green light and Mission Control has pressed the big red, white and blue button. Afterburners have been ignited and phase one of the move to Rio is under way. Ok, so a bunch of Team clothing arrived after we had left, we do not know how we are going to get some 60 bags from USOC Team Processing in Houston to Rio, we are not entirely sure where our containers are in Rio, and the delivery of Coca Cola product to the Venue in Rio didn't go quite as smoothly as we had hoped....

Harold Chopping and Basje on their way to $25,000 Brook Ledge Grand Prix win. (ESI Photography) Culpeper, Va. - Riders and horses turned out for Friday’s $25,000 Brook Ledge Grand Prix as a weekend of excitement kicked off at the Cavalier Classic, the third week of HITS Culpeper. Coming home with the victory was Southern Pines, North Carolina equestrian Harold Chopping aboard Basje, owned by Kendra Bullington. This win makes Chopping and Basje’s third blue ribbon in the Grand Prix...

Nick Haness (McCool) After a month full of hunter highlights, Blenheim EquiSports congratulates the Leading Hunter Riders from the 2016 Blenheim June Series, with awards presented by Romfh Equestrian Apparel. With some of the best West Coast hunter professional riders competing during June in San Juan Capistrano, and after having earned a tri-color in the First Year Green Hunters on Lindsay Maxwell's Technicolor at Devon this year, Nick Haness earned the Romfh Leading Professional Hunter...

Her Majesty The Queen joins The Duchess as Her Royal Highness hosts a horsemanship demonstration by Brooke Ambassador Monty Roberts at the Royal Mews. (IJP Event Photos) Lexington, Ky. - Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall has today officially extended her Presidency for Brooke - Action For Working Horses And Donkeys, celebrating 10 years of being president of the UK-based charity. Brooke helps to improve the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules in developing countries. In her time...

Michael Hughes and Sans Soucis Z on their way to a $75,000 Horseware Ireland Grand Prix win. (ESI Photography) Saugerties, N.Y. - The $75,000 Horseware Ireland Grand Prix served as the grand finale of HITS-on-the-Hudson II, closing out the weekend with an exciting opportunity for riders to snag a piece of the week’s largest prize purse. Michael Hughes of Allendale, New Jersey, and Sans Soucis Z, owned by Caroline Lloyd, proved to be the team to beat. HITS has witnessed Hughes develop from...