PF Chief Runnin Bear and Paint racing sensation Got Country Grip were named the American Paint Horse Association’s (APHA) Running World Champions for 2009. The Regular Registry and Solid Paint-Bred world champions, respectively, and 16 other Running Champions were announced January 16 at the Heritage Place sale in Oklahoma City. Running Champion awards, presented annually, are given to Paint Horses that demonstrate outstanding athleticism on the racetrack. Selection is based on their level of...

2009 NAJYRC Reining Team Gold Medalists for Team North Central, from left: Ian Barnard, Alex Bauwens (Waltenberry) Denver, CO - Attention Reining Young Riders! The Adequan© USEF Youth Reining National Championship will once again take place at the NRHA Futurity, in Oklahoma City on June 26th, 2010. Reining young athletes who wish to compete for the prestigious national title must have earned points in any of the qualifying shows held since May 18, 2009, and rank in the top-twenty in their...

Hickstead, winner of the Individual Gold and Team Silver Medals at the 2008 Olympic Games under Canada’s Eric Lamaze, is now available for breeding in North America. Hickstead is a 1996 brown Dutch Warmblood stallion standing 16 hands. Sired by Hamlet, his dam is Jomara, by the well-known and recently deceased stallion, Ekstein. Hickstead’s bloodlines also feature such prominent show jumping names as Nimmerdor, Notaris, Ulft, Le Mexico and Joost. Based on his performance record, Hickstead was...

Breeder Ken Borden, Jr., has characterized his Little Bit Farm, Inc., as “small but mighty.” They have had growing success and many year-end awards for both farm and horses, but this past year was a banner one. For 2009, Little Bit Farm is the leading dressage breeder for both the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and the United States Dressage Federation (USDF), with five USDF Horse of the Year winners and two of their four approved stallions entering the record books. Masterpiece...

Watching a well-trained Lusitano float through intricate dressage movements reminds one of Pegasus, the horse whose wings protrude from his muscular shoulders. But unlike this mythical winged equine, the Brazilian horses from The 2010 Lusitano Collection™ International Horse Auction need assistance to travel the 4,000 air miles to Florida. Now in its third year, the Collection relies on Worldwide Livestock Services (WLS) and Lazcar International, both family-owned businesses, to ensure a safe...

Photo Courtesy HITS (The beautiful Grand Prix arena at the HITS-on-the-Hudson show grounds in Saugerties, NY.) As riders gear up for the 2010 grand prix season, qualifying for the Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix on September 12 in Saugerties, NY, is topping the list of priorities. Kent Farrington, Jimmy Torano, and McLain Ward were among those announcing intentions to become one of only 46 potential riders to vie for a top prize of $350,000 in September. With a limited number of spots available on...

The FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) is pleased to announce that tickets are available for this year's Exquis World Dressage Masters, which will be held on February 4-6, 2010, at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. The Exquis World Dressage Masters is a CDI***** dressage competition that will offer $150,000 in prize money. Classes will include Grand Prix on Thursday, February 4, at 1 p.m.; Grand Prix Special on Saturday afternoon, February 6; and Musical Freestyle on Saturday,...

In response to the horrific damage caused by the recent earthquake in Haiti, Equestrian Sport Productions in Wellington, FL, has created a drop-off site for emergency aid donations. The Step by Step Foundation, a non-for-profit organization that provides funding and supplies to Haiti, will be working with ESP and the Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Program to secure both monetary as well as other donations to send to Haiti. A trailer will be located at the exhibitor entrance guard house and...

Photo by Randi Muster (Farewell and Rachel Koggan capture the Amateur-Owner Hunter 18-35 Championship at the 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. ) The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival had a very successful opening week of competition. New faces from across the country and around the world came to show at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, and close to 1,600 horses showed in the first week of the circuit. That is a 21% increase in horses that showed during the same week at last...

Steffen Peters, Jessica Ransehousen, Maxance McManamy (Geoff Oliver Bugbee) Louisville, KY – In January of 2009 Steffen Peters was honored with the USEF’s Equestrian of the Year Award for his uncanny sportsmanship and his achievements on the field of play throughout 2008. In 2010, at the USEF Pegasus Awards dinner he was bestowed the title again – this time for simply blowing the doors off the dressage world in 2009. Made even sweeter by the fact that the beloved horse who made it all possible...