Brewster, NY’s McLain Ward made it back-to-back wins with Rothchild in the $100,000 Hickstead FEI World CupTM Grand Prix, Presented by Hudson’s Bay, tonight, at the CSI4*-W Toronto, the Royal Horse Show. (BenRadvanyi.com) Toronto, Ontario - McLain Ward (Brewster, NY) considers The Royal Horse Show a “great home away from home” and it’s no wonder, as he has become more than comfortable in the winner’s circle here year after year. The Olympic double gold-medalist won the...

McLain Ward (Brewster, NY) took top honours in tonight's $34,000 Jolera International Jumper class at the CSI4*-W Toronto, The Royal Horse Show, with Double H Farm's HH Carlos Z. (BenRadvanyi.com) Toronto, Ontario - Often, equestrian sport is decided in mere fractions. Tenths, or even hundredths of seconds are not unusal deciding factors at the uppermost levels. Tonight, McLain Ward won the $34,000 Jolera International Jumper class by more than four seconds over his closest rival, Jessica...

Seventeen-year-old Spencer Smith headed into the 2014 fall season looking to produce strong results in the U.S.’s most prestigious equitation finals. The Wellington, Fla., native did just that as he earned the 2014 Pessoa/US Hunter Seat Medal Finals victory at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show and finished fifth in the ASPCA Maclay Final at the National Horse Show to earn the Wilson Dennehy Equitation Trophy. Additionally, he competed in the finals at the Platinum Performance/USEF Show...

Lexington, Ky. - Intense head-to-head dressage competition across 30 championship divisions concluded on Sunday at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington for the US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®. Surrounded by friends and family, emotions ran high for competitors as they rode their way into history and celebrated their success with joyous victory laps before packing for their long journeys back to homes across the country. The appropriately-named Dutch Warmblood Eye Candy (Weltmeyer x...

John Bragg and Social Hour (ESI Photography) Thermal, Calif. - The Hunter Rings at HITS Desert Horse Park took center stage Friday afternoon during Week II of the National Sunshine Series. A fun and relaxed setting was ideal for those waiting to take flight in the $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix. Twenty-seven glided quietly over the course as competitors basked in the sun, enjoying moments of camaraderie about the trip they just finished. The course was set with intentions of giving riders a...

John French and Sochi on their way to a blue ribbon and the Scott Wilson Perpetual Trophy in the $2,500 Pre-Green Hunter Championship 3' (ESI Photography) Thermal, Calif. - Over the past two weeks, the National Sunshine Series Hunter Rings have seen amazing competition. Friday afternoon’s Pre-Green Hunter Championships established a pleasant atmosphere that continued throughout the weekend. Familiar faces topped the leaderboards, albeit many of them aboard new horses. Alex Wilson is new...

Lexington, Ky. - Kentucky women seemed to claim home field advantage as they swept the top spots in the Satuday evening's Intermediate I Open Freestyle Championship. Angela Jackson earned her second national title of the day, this time aboard Kerrin Dunn's lovely Dutch Warmblood Allure S. Even though the mare wasn't feeling quite like her normal self on Thursday, when she entered the arena as the first combination down centerline for the class, "she rebounded and put her game face...

Lexington, Ky. - Perhaps no competitor had more fun with her performance than the Second Level Open Freestyle Champion Morgan Barrows (Monroe, Wash., Region 6) riding Janice Davis' Oldenburg gelding San Corazon. Their Billy Idol-themed freestyle was rewarded with a top score of 74.678%. "I had a blast! I want to go out there again," said Barrows, who has been partnered with her mount for less than a year. "I originally saw him at a friend's farm in Sweden when he was three. Later when...

Lexington, Ky. - Despite being only seven years old, the talented Oldenburg mare Elfenfeuer carried owner/rider Alice Tarjan of Frenchtown, N.J. (Region 8) to victory in the Grand Prix Adult Amateur Championship with 68.133% "We still have a lot to learn, but I think this level suits her and she's a good girl and tries hard," said Tarjan. "I haven't been here at the Horse Park since coming for a Pony Club event about 20 years ago, and it's absolutely gorgeous. These Finals are such...

Lexington, Ky. - Patti Blackmore (Louisiana, Mo., Region 4) placed third at last year's Finals in the First Level Adult Amateur division, and this year she improved upon that performance to claim the Second Level Adult Amateur Championship aboard her own Hanoverian gelding Rubico (by Rotspon). As the only combination to break seventy percent, they earned a decisive win with a total score of 71.905%. "I breathed a sigh of relief after our counter canter portion of the test," laughed...