Sarah Tredennick and Vigaro. Jennifer Wood Media, Inc. Washington, D.C. - The 53rd Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) continued today with classes for jumpers. The International Open Jumpers had two classes, and Sarah Tredennick of Denver, CO, rode Vigaro to the win in the $31,000 International Open Jumper Jump-off class. Todd Minikus and Sweetheart wowed the crowd in their Uncle Sam costume and cleared the Georgetown Cupcake Joker fence to win the $20,000 International Open Jumper...

Team USA. Photo: SusanJStickle.com. Four team members and two substitutes have spent the last few days training at Hope Greenfield's Sixteen Hands Farm in New Jersey under the guidance of Technical Advisor Anne Gribbons. Team members Heather Blitz on Paragon, Marisa Festerling on Big Tyme, Cesar Parra and Grandioso, and Steffen Peters on Weltino's Magic along with substitute riders Endel Ots and Toscano and Heather Mason on Warsteiner have been putting the finishing touches...

Sophie Ruiz-Leimer, FEI Commercial Coordinator and John Young, President of the International Ground Jury at the top table with (below) Chefs d'Equipe Rob Hoekstra (GBR), Rob Ehrens (NED), George Morris (USA) and Henk Nooren (FRA) at the draw for the sixth leg of the FEI Nations Cup™ 2011 at Hickstead (GBR) (Photo: FEI/Kit Houghton). Hickstead, Great Britain - The defending champions from France will lead the way as the sixth leg of the FEI Nations Cup™ 2011 kicks off...

Steffen Peters and Weltino's Magic. (Photo by Jennifer M. Keeler.) Burbank, CA - Pan American Games qualifying heats up on the West Coast as the top four riders in today's CDI Intermediaire I test earned scores over 70% from judges Jean Michel Roudier (5* FRA), Cara Whitham (5* CAN) and Jeanne McDonald (4* USA) at the Festival of the Horse CDI-W/Y/J in Burbank, CA. Ultimately, Steffen Peters and Weltino's Magic continued to impress both the judges and the audience, earning the namesake of...

Jan Ebeling riding Rafalca. (Photo by Jennifer M. Keeler.) Burbank, CA - For West Coast riders, there was no joking around this April Fool's Day as a huge field of competitors fought for the blue ribbon in the CDI Prix St. Georges Test at the Festival of the Horse CDI-W/Y/J. Officiating for today's class were FEI judges Linda Zang (5* USA), Cara Whitham (5* CAN), and Eddy de Wolff (4* NED). "The overall quality in the top group of this class was very good," said judge Eddy de Wolff. Emerging...

Mario Deslauriers kicked off CSIO Wellington with a win on Jane Clark’s Vicomte D in the WEF Challenge 8. He will ride Urico on the Nations Cup Team tomorrow but today he topped a big competitive International field, many looking to make sure all the buttons were working for tomorrow night’s $75,000 FEI Nations Cup presented by G&C Farm. I made it just in time to catch most of the class, it feels so nice to get a little sunshine and not constantly looking for my gloves. It was a...

Alida D'Angona, Miss Massachusetts 2011. (Photo courtesy AMHA.) Shelburne, VT — Alida D'Angona, 24, from Bolton, MA, recently was crowned Miss Massachusetts 2011, and will be a presenter at the American Morgan Horse Association's annual awards banquet on Saturday, February 26 in Boston. Born in California, D'Angona traveled with her family as a child across the world to live in Hong Kong before settling in Bolton. With an interest in music as well as the sciences, D'Angona quickly became...

The National Reining Breeders Classic (NRBC) is introducing a new program that it expects will transform the industry. The NRBC Classic Challenge Program, which will be offered for the first time at the 2011 show, is for those horses that have aged out of the existing Derby programs in the reining industry. “The Classic Challenge Program will begin with a horse’s 7-year-old year,” said NRBC President Tom McCutcheon. “It will give horses an extension of their show careers and a chance for FEI...

Canada’s Francois Lamontange riding Anton won the $30,000 Ocala Horse Properties LLC Grand Prix at t (Photo by ESI Photography) Ocala, Florida – The Ocala Jumping Classic will take place December 10-12 in Ocala, FL. The Ocala Jumping Classic features the $25,000 Ocala Horse Properties LLC Grand Prix on December 12. There also will be a $10,000 1.40m Modified Grand Prix and a $7,500 1.40m class as well as various other jumping divisions, beginning at a height of 1m. 2008 Olympic course designer...

I have begun my crash course in combined driving and I must say I’m enjoying it more than I anticipated. So far we have had the carriage presentation and one session of dressage and I’m finding all the technicalities and attention to detail rather interesting. Fun fact: it takes an average of 10 hours to prepare a carriage and harness for presentation. 10 hours! No more complaining about the 10 minute take cleaning job you do once a week. It’s going to be a very intense competition with the...