Dressage The first weekend of the 2010 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of Champions got underway at the USET Foundation Headquarters in Gladstone, NJ. Along with the National Intermediaire I Championships the first phase of the National Grand Prix competition, which is serving at the USEF Selection Trial for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games also took place. The Prix St. Georges (the first leg of the National Intermediaire I Championships) kicked off the competition on Friday;...

F.A.C.E. Team Vaulters (Photo by Carole Dwinell) Santa Barbara, CA - Cool weather, a facility with more than 50 years of experience hosting championship horse shows, and the top vaulters in the United States came together at the site of the famed Santa Barbara National Horse Show to wow spectators with the classic and historical beauty of equestrian vaulting. Long the basic training for those entering the military cavalries...from early Macedonians to the Romans in the fourth century, to...

Photo by Terri Miller In this economy, businesses are looking for unique ways to reach new markets and expand their presence with their existing customers—all in a very cost-effective manner. For niche industries, like premiere equestrian events, the challenges businesses are facing have resulted in an interesting opportunity. This year Dressage at Devon (DAD), the premiere dressage show in North America, celebrates its 35th anniversary at the Devon Horse Show Grounds. Historically the...

FireandEarthPhoto.com (Caroline Roffman on her five-year-old chestnut Hanoverian gelding Bon Chance.) Wayne, IL - Strong night-time thunderstorms delayed the start of Saturday’s competition at the Lamplight Equestrian Center, giving way eventually to a lovely day that started with eleven junior riders competing for the Gold in the USEF Dressage Medal Seat 13 & Under Final presented by Dressage Today. Anna Campbell aboard her new mount Mai ended up on top, making her trip from Dallas, TX, well...

The 65th Annual Pennsylvania National Horse Show (PNHS) will return to the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Exhibition Center in Harrisburg, PA, October 14-23. As is tradition, the PNHS will open with Junior Weekend. Each year this popular opening weekend attracts the best junior riders (up to age of 18) from across the country as they compete for championship titles in hunter, jumper and equitation divisions. "I love Junior Weekend because the riders bring a great sense of enthusiasm and...

Photo by SusanJStickle.com (Sagacious HF recently earned Crown Predicate honors from the KWPN (Dutch Warmblood) Registry) Al Guden’s 11-year-old Grand Prix KWPN gelding, Sagacious HF, recently earned Crown Predicate honors from the KWPN (Dutch) Registry. This special symbol on his registration papers means he is ranked in the top 200 FEI Dressage Horses in the world. Sagacious HF was actually ranked 56th in the world. Guden’s journey with Sagacious HF started when he purchased the...

Jodie Stowell and Comet, a 13-year-old Appaloosa/Thoroughbred-cross whom she raised from a two-year-old, took home the top honors at the Indiana Eventing Association (IEA) Training Three-Day Event, June 3-6. Finishing on their dressage score of 35.9, the two put in two flawless jumping phases to take home the blue and a bevy of prizes in the most recent event in the SmartPak Equine/United States Eventing Association's (USEA) Classic Series. The win at IEA was the second major milestone within...

The F.A.C.E. Team Wins at the USEF Selection Trial (Carole Dwinell ) The race is on! For the first time this year, the five vaulting teams declared for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games met in competition. While this is the second of the five scheduled trials, it is the first where all the teams were present to compete. Individual numbers were up as well for a day of exciting competition. With an overall final score of 7.589, coach and lead out vaulter, Devon Maitozo of the winning F....

Photo Courtesy Classic Communications (Some of the trophies up for grabs at the Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows.) The 2010 Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows began their two week run at Old Salem Farm in North Salem, NY. The two-week long horse show features superlative hunter-jumper competition at one of the country's most beautiful equestrian training centers. As the saying goes, "Neither rain...", nothing could deter the over 800 horses and their humans from arriving at the rings at Old...

Photo Courtesy Highlife Farms (Jessica Twiggs stands with her new horse Highlife’s Dakarai.) Highlife Farms successful Warmblood auction, held recently at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in West Palm Beach, FL, proved to be a successful night that has many new horse owners rejoicing. The auction was hosted by Highlife Farms, owned by Kenny and Joan Sims, one of the country’s most prominent breeding farms and home to world-class sport horses. The auction gave horse owners a chance to buy...