Besides delighting my readers with scintillating stories (we writers like to use words like "scintillating" because we think it makes us sound writerly), my main purpose for being at Sport Horse Nationals here in beautiful, damp Kentucky is to help out (in other words, provide slave labor for) my good friend and mentor, Patience Prine-Carr. This means that I get a lot of mane pulling and braiding practice every day. While it's good for me to get the practice, it's frustrating because...

Perfect Qredit Claims Young Horse Championship on Day One Dressage at Devon, one of the most prestigious dressage and sport horse breeding shows in North America, kicked off its opening day with an impressive roster of some of the continent's best sport horses. Topping the select group of youngsters was Perfect Qredit, a yearling stallion by Quaterback, who claimed the Young Horse Championship and the Colt Championship, as well as the Yearling Colts and Geldings class. The trip to Dressage at...

The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation is pleased to announce a partnership with Town&Country magazine. A special advertising section in the February 2010 issue of Town&Country magazine is being created for the USET Foundation in which the non-profit can raise funds by selling full-page color advertisements. By advertising or taking a full page, individuals and companies can reach a coveted audience and help support the U.S. Equestrian Team as they prepare for and participate in...

The Capital Challenge Horse Show, held this year from September 26-October 4 at the Prince George's Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD, brings together the best equitation riders from across the country for two national medal finals. A panel of judges will score the nation's best riders as they are tested over courses designed by Michael Rheinheimer of Willoughby, OH. The Taylor Harris Insurance Services (THIS) National Children's Medal Finals is the first on the schedule, which will take...

Succeed® and Wellington Classic Dressage will be hosting an exciting Holiday Gala Fundraiser, December 11-12, 2009, to benefit the United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation. The gala will feature some of the biggest names in the equestrian world from a unique combination of disciplines, all coming together for a good cause and some holiday fun. In addition to raising money for the USET Foundation and supporting the future of equestrian sport, the Holiday Gala will also help families in...

On Friday, September 18, Margie Engle of Wellington, FL, received a check of $50,000 for earning the most points in the 2009 Hagyard Challenge Series. The Hagyard Challenge Series is a show jumping competition that is held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, throughout the summer months. Composed of seven grand prix events, the Hagyard Challenge Series concluded on September 18 with the $50,000 CSI-W Lexington Grand Prix. Engle's second-place finish in the prix secured her the $50,000...

All 16 Events Are Qualifiers for the 2010 $1-Million United States Grand Prix League Grand Prix HITS, Inc. is pleased to announce its grand prix schedule for the 2010 HITS Desert Circuit in Thermal, CA. This year's schedule features 16 grand prix classes held over six weeks of competition, and $800,000 in total prize money will be awarded. There will be four FEI World Cup qualifying classes, and the grand finale is a $300,000 grand prix on Sunday, March 14. The 2010 HITS Desert Circuit Dates...

The Kentucky National Horse Show was held September 16-20 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. Lucille Oken Wins Grand Slam with Land's End Mad Hatter Lucille Oken and Land's End Mad Hatter were unstoppable at this year's Kentucky National Indoor Horse Show. The pair completed a clean sweep of the Large Pony Hunter division, taking home each of the blue ribbons and the championship award. Oken rides at her family's Hi Hopes Farm in Charlotte, NC, with trainers Steve Heinecke and Jeff...

One of the great things about any national show is that you get to meet people from all over the country. You get to see friends you only see once a year, or perhaps friends you've talked to online but never met in person. I'm facebook friends with all kinds of people I don't know at all, simply because we have mutual friends and interests. Some of them are pretty well known, so I always wonder if they think I'm some sort of weird Internet stalker. I'm not! I swear! Can I...

I'm here at the beautiful Kentucky Horse Park (KHP) in Lexington, Kentucky, for my third Arabian Sporthorse National (affectionately known as SHN)--although it is the seventh anniversary of the event splitting off from US Nationals to give sport horses a chance to shine all on their own. This year is the first that SHN has been held at the KHP, and boy are the gums flapping about the facility! Walking around the park, you'll pass one group oohing and aahing about how beautiful it is and...