Kent Farrington and Top Gun. (ESI Photography.) Ocala, FL - Sunday’s $100,000 DeLuca Toyota Tundra Grand Prix, presented by Great American Insurance Group, was not only the season finale to the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit, but also the 36th Grand Prix of the 2011 HITS Show Season, which marked the virtual mid-way point for the qualifying period for this year’s Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix. Kent Farrington felt the need for speed, when he and Iron Horse Farm’s Top Gun captured the win, to conclude...

Tinne Vilhelmsson Silfven, Steffen Peters and Tina Konyot. (Photo by Susan J. Stickle.) Wellington, FL - The 2011 World Dressage Masters Palm Beach presented by International Polo Club Palm Beach finished in spectacular style on the evening of Friday March 11th, as eight of the world's top dressage pairs performed Grand Prix Freestyles for a sold out audience of 1200 at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in West Palm Beach, FL. The performances got progressively more exciting as the evening...

Mary McCormick, earlier in the week (Photo by Shannon Brinkman for USEF) Lexington, KY - The Alltech Arena was a sell-out house with old and new fans of the equestrian sport of vaulting as the men's and women's freestyle final was contested at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games on Saturday, October 9. The crowd was treated to the world's best vaulters who put on a fantastic show for a vocal and appreciative audience. The top 15 from each division were invited back to compete for a...

Lexington, KY - Week Two of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games is in the books and it has been one for the ages. It was an extremely busy week for competitors and spectators alike as six of the eight disciplines represented held competitions during the second week of the Games, with most days seeing at least two competitions going on at once. DRESSAGE Grand Prix Freestyle Simply put, it was the greatest night of dressage action in the history of the sport on American soil. For the...

F.A.C.E. Vaulters for the U.S. Vaulting Team (Photo by Shannon Brinkman for USEF) Lexington, KY - It was a busy day in the Alltech Arena at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games as the Vaulting World Championships got underway with both the Team Compulsory Test and the Male and Female Individual Compulsory Tests. The Gold Medalist from the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany was back to defend her title today. Megan Benjamin, 22, of Saratoga, CA, performed her individual...

Today’s speed competition course looked a little bit like a Hunter Derby Finals course. I don’t know that they used any of the same jumps, but it really brought me back to Derby Finals. It was a great-looking course and used the entire stadium. The course theme was “The Nature of Kentucky” according to course designer Conrad Homfeld. It included a Kentucky Folk Art fence, a Natural Arch fence, a Kentucky Fence Line (which caused quite a few problems), a Farm Entrance...

The all-time leading sire in national reining horse history, Hollywood Dun It, was humanely put down on March 30. The 22-year-old buckskin stallion had been suffering from severe health problems escalated by his continuing battle with testicular cancer. According to Tim and Colleen McQuay, who owned Hollywood Dun It along with partner Jennifer Easton, the decision to put him down was a difficult one. Tim noted, “He’s been a part of our family, and a part of our lives, for a lot of years. None...

Reed Kessler & Cylana (Karl Heinz Frieler) Munich, Germany - In Munich over the weekend Reed Kessler and Cylana put forward a beautiful double clear effort in the Championat von München at the Munich Indoor CSI3*. With a fault free jump off in 34.78s Reed and Cylana put themselves atop a group of 65 tough international competitors. South Africa’s Oliver Lazarus finished second with Pour Led Poussage. John Whitaker of Great Britain and Argento were third. Full results are...

Kent Farrington and Up Chiqui put in a winning ride at the Evergreen Invitational $75,000 Grand Prix (Rebecca Michuda) Bristol, WI - The Evergreen Invitational had a wet start this year with scattered showers throughout the morning. The $25,000 Junior/Amateur Owner, which kicked off the event, had no jump off, resulting in a five-way tie. But it cleared up for Kent Farrington and Up Chiqui to take first in the $75,000 Grand Prix. The sun burst through the clouds just in time for the victory lap....

Driving The first of two Mandatory Outings for the drivers on the Short List for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games was held over the weekend at the Carolina Horse Park in Southern Pines, NC. Drivers Bill Long, Cindy O'Reilly, Gary Stover, and Casey Zubek worked under the guidance of US Coaches Peter Tischer and Michael Freund in a competition format. International Judge Johan Lange was also on hand to lend his expertise. All teams passed the vet check and proved over the three days that...