Lexington, KY.- The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased to anounce the six horses are up for the 2014 USEF Horses of Year honors. International Horses of Honor Cortes 'C' (SusanJStickle.com) Cortes ‘C’ (Randel Z x Orchidee Van De Tombeele) 2002 Belgian Warmblood gelding Owner: Abigail Wexner Cortes ‘C’ enjoyed a banner year in 2014, cruising to some of the most coveted titles in the sport of show jumping. Abigail Wexner’s scopey Belgian Warmblood...

Wellington, FL - Mark your calendar and make your plans now for the new highlight of the winter social calendar in Wellington, Florida. American Equestrians Got Talent will make its debut in 2015 and promises to be a hit, drawing together equestrians from across the disciplines to showcase their non-horsey talents and compete for a grand prize. Spearheaded by U.S. Dressage Team Chef d'Equipe Robert Dover, American Equestrians Got Talent will serve as the third annual East Coast fundraiser...

Sydney Collier riding Willi Wesley (SusanjStickle.com) Lexington, Ky. - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased to announce Sydney Collier as the 2014 Junior Equestrian of the Year. Seventeen-year-old Collier is a talented Para-Equestrian who competed at the international level in 2014, including the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. A native of Ann Arbor, Mich., she was diagnosed at the age of seven with a rare congenital birth defect called Wyburn-Mason Syndrome. In spite...

Aurora, Colo. - Arabian horses are known for their endurance, their beauty, and their ability to be versatile and strong. The Arabian Distance horse is no different and the Arabian Horse Association’s (AHA) Distance Horse of the Year award recognizes these attributes and the significant accomplishments of an Arabian, Half-Arabian or Anglo-Arabian horse in the distance sports each year. This year, with an impressive field of nominees, only one could be selected and the honor of this...

Alenandra Crown & Basic (twitter.com/acrown) Lexington, Ky. – Talented young American rider Alexandra Crown finished her 2014 show season well, earning a second place finish in the Écuries d'Écaussinnes CSI1* Grand Prix at the Gucci Paris Masters on Sunday. With her own Basic and Zafira, Crown qualified for the jump off round. On Zafira, she had a rail down in 36.62s and finished in 13th place. With Basic, she nearly won it all. Jumping a clear round in only 35.74s,...

Lauren and Royalty des Isles (Photo from Lauren Hough's Facebook page) Lexington, Ky. - A strong contingent of Americans was in Paris, France over the weekend competing at one of December's marquee international show jumping events, the Gucci Paris Masters. None had more success than Lauren Hough. On Saturday night Hough (Wellington, Fla.) was only tenths of a second off the wining pace in the Longines Guerre Des Sexes. With Royalty Des Isles she jumped one of only five clear rounds and her...

Laura Kraut and Cedric (Mancini Photos) Wellington, Fla. - The Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) hosted its $50,000 Holiday & Horses Grand Prix CSI-W 2* on Saturday night with an electrifying winning performance from show jumping stars Laura Kraut (USA) and Cedric. A FEI World Cup qualifying event, the competition saw 55 starters with ten clear rounds to advance over the Catsy Cruz (MEX) designed course. Kraut and Cedric topped Hardin Towell (USA) and Silence and Leslie...

Lexington, Ky. - Nineteen promising dressage athletes took part in USEF Dressage Observation and Strategy Sessions over two weeks in November. As Big and Small Tour combinations worked with USEF Chef d’Equipe/ Technical Advisor Robert Dover at the USET Foundation Headquarters in Gladstone, N.J., November 3-4 and at Epona Farms in Thousand Oaks, Calif., November 12-13. "These back-to-back sessions were a huge boost to my certainty that America is growing infinitely in its depth of top,...

Caroline Martin and Quantum Solace (Mike McNally Photography) Lexington, Ky. - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) hosted 12 up-and-coming riders in the inaugural Eventing 18 Program in 2014. All Participants put the lessons learned in January’s Training Sessions with U.S. Team Coach David O’Connor and respected eventing professionals to the test throughout the year to reach new heights of excellence in competition and all around horsemanship. Caroline Martin (Miami...

Trucks and trailers arriving on Thursday, tires crunching on the gravel, check in and head to assigned stabling and cottage. Hooves on tailgates, whinny of old friends meeting again. Hay, feed, harness, whips, and all associated equipment unloaded while stall doors open and close. These were the sounds of the Fourth Annual Camp Black Prong or "Camp" as it's known. The brainchild of Connie Thoreson and Linda Evans and who do most all of the work themselves. For the driving enthusiast Camp...