HITS, Inc., is pleased to announce a monumental milestone in the world of horse showing—the simultaneous occurrence of a Show Jumping FEI World Cup Qualifier and a Dressage FEI World Cup Qualifier during Week III of the 2010 HITS Desert Circuit, February 9-14, in Thermal, CA. The ability to host one FEI event is impressive in and of itself, but to host two FEI events in the same week for two separate disciplines is a feat that really puts HITS in a class of its own. There are very few...

Competition in the 2010 Cavalor Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series started in January in Florida. With classes in full swing at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington, riders are already earning big points on the series' overall standings. One such rider is Heather Hooker of Wellington, FL. Hooker, who competes in the Series' East Conference Junior division with her mount Perle, won two of the three Cavalor Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series junior...

Ravel Settles for Second (SusanJStickle.com) Wellington, FL – Having convincingly won the Grand Prix at the 2010 Exquis World Dressage Masters on Thursday afternoon, the pressure was on Steffen Peters to continue his winning tear with Ravel. But unfortunately for the US fans, it was a repeat of 2009 and he still couldn’t eclipse Anky van Grunsven and her Olympic champion Salinero. The reigning Gold medalist wowed the fans with a classic fault-free performance and a score of 84.4% for the...

Photo by SusanJStickle.com (Steffen Peters and Ravel) Wellington, FL – Somehow it keeps getting better. After just collecting the United States Equestrian Federation's Horse and Rider of the Year accolades for 2009, US dressage superstars Steffen Peters and Ravel ran their streak to six major wins with a convincing effort at the Grand Prix at the 2010 Exquis World Dressage Masters. Ravel, a 12-year-old KWPN gelding (Contango-Hautain) owned by Akiko Yamazaki’s Four Winds Farm appeared even...

The U.S. Para Equestrian Association (USPEA) is hosting a benefit for U.S. para-equestrians called "Journey to the Games." Cocktails, light fare and musical entertainment with Mack Bailey and Rachel Levy will be provided. The event will take place on Friday, February 12 at 7 p.m. at the Horse Park at Equestrian Estates in Loxahatchee, FL. Hosted by Walter and Mary Ann McPhail, tickets are $35. Donations are also accepted and can be made to the USPEA, c/o Tomlinson Equine, 3940 Verde Vista Dr.,...

Photo by Sport Fot/Thierry Billet (Louis Jacobs on Kachina in the 1.45m.) The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) had a successful third week of competition on January 27-31. The week featured the $75,000 Nespresso Grand Prix, CSI** and the $55,000 Nespresso Battle of the Sexes, along with a full schedule of hunter, jumper, and equitation classes. The week three title sponsor was Nespresso. In order to provide the best coffee to riders at the FTI WEF, Nespresso is the official coffee at...

Photo by Robbi Meisel (Aaron Vale and Platinum) The $25,000 Jacksonville A-Z Grand Prix sponsored by North Florida Hunter Jumper Association on January 30 closed out Week IV of competition with one of the most successful riders in show jumping, Aaron Vale, adding another win to his illustrious career. After a week of observation, course designer Allen Rheinheimer put all he learned about the starting field into a lengthy and technical 13 obstacle-16 effort test with a time allowance of 96 tight...

Photo Courtesy American Driving Society (Jeff Morse) On February 11 at 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. CST, the American Driving Society will offer a free webinar with Jeff Morse, who will share his extensive knowledge of harness and bits with the driving community. Whether you are a beginning driver or an experienced whip, this seminar will provide useful, practical knowledge on the most common equipment used for driving horses. Morse has been a professional horseman for more than 40 years. He currently...

HITS Shows, Inc., is pleased to announce that the HITS Culpeper Spring and Summer Show Series will be home to five grand prix qualifiers for the Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix. One $40,000 qualifier will be held each Sunday of Weeks I-V, giving riders the chance to accumulate the grand prix classes and the prize money they will need in order to try to qualify for the unprecedented Pfizer Million, which will be held in Saugerties, NY on September 12. Beginning in April, the six-week show series...

On Monday, just days before the start of the first leg of the 2010 Exquis World Dressage Masters (WDM) in Palm Beach, the WDM organization announced the signing of a letter of intent to consider staging an event in Brazil in 2011. Camil Smeulders, Managing Director of WDM, announced the signing of the letter of intent with the company Haras Vale da Raposa operated by world renowned Brazilian architect Bennett Nisencwajg and his son, Heitor. WDM said it viewed the discussions as a major step in...