FEI-level rider Luis Denizard is asking his peers, friends, acquaintances and other dressage enthusiasts to come together during 2008 to support the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association's (NARHA) Horses for Heroes, a program that helps wounded veterans through equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAAT). Many of the Horses for Heroes participants have lost limbs fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Riding horses helps improve their strength and balance. Working with the horses...

The eyes of the horse world may be focused on the Olympics in Hong Kong, but the pony hunter world is excited about a large Welsh pony appropriately named Newsworthy who is making headlines of his own. For a string of lucky junior riders, Newsworthy has been their ticket to the top. And now, the stellar grey pony is being honored by Breyer Animal Creations® as its newest equine sculpture. Breyer’s Newsworthy model, sculpted by Susan Carlton Sifton, shows the champion equine in a perfect jumping...

The American Youth Horse Council (AYHC) cordially invites individuals to submit proposals to speak at the 2009 National Youth Horse Leaders Symposium in Lincoln, NE, on March 27–29, 2009. The deadline for presentation proposals is September 15, 2008. This annual event, now in its 32nd year, presents an opportunity for leaders in the youth horse industry to come together to learn, network, share ideas and grow as an industry. The American Youth Horse Council is a network of academic, breed,...

Grand prix dressage rider Suzanne Dansby Bollman has returned to the FEI arena with her equine partner Cooper with great success. Bollman is a top international competitor that has been long- or short-listed with the USET for seven consecutive years. Cooper and Bollman have accumulated many impressive wins in their six years together. Two years ago, the pair was the U.S. team alternate at the FEI World Equestrian Games in Germany. This summer, Bollman and Cooper competed for the first time in...

Lexington, KY— Last year, eleven-year-old Lillie Keenan made history by being the first young rider to sweep the small, medium and large divisions of the 2007 Wild Horsefeathers/United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) National Pony Hunter Finals. Keenan almost repeated history again this year by winning the Medium and Large Pony divisions, securing her the Champion and Reserve title. Keenan bested 292 competitors with a top score of 1077 aboard Dogwood Hill’s German Warmblood gelding...

Hong Kong, China - The US show jumpers were all business when they returned to the main arena at Sha Tin tonight for the first round of the Nations Cup, the US riders finished on 12 faults, tied with Switzerland for the lead. Sapphire was Perfect for McLain Ward (Shannon Brinkman) Bookended by two members of the 2004 Gold medal winning team, Team USA’s performance was impressive, although somewhat unpredictable. McLain Ward and Sapphire started it off for the US but they had plenty of...

Steffen Peters and Ravel (Shannon Brinkman) Hong Kong, China – The dressage riders temporarily reclaimed the ring from the show jumpers tonight at Sha Tin and although Germany continued to rule… the Americans put in an impressive showing. Two US riders were in the fold and Steffen Peters and Ravel (who is owned by Aikiko Yamazaki) were first of the pair in the ring. Their test was brilliant, with no mistakes, Peters did a masterful job in the piaffe and passage and guided the...

Lexington, KY— The third day of the United States Equestrian Federation’s (USEF) 2008 National Pony Finals was an all day affair, starting with the pony hunters throughout the day then transitioning into pony jumpers in the evening. In true form, the pony jumpers added to the excitement of the day with the evening’s championship ending with Zone 7 on top with a total of 4 faults and the fastest team time of 188.037, winning the 2008 Adequan/USEF National Pony Jumper Team...

Lexington, KY— For the second year in a row, Lillie Keenan swept a championship at the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) 2008 Pony Finals. Last year it was the 2007 Wild Horsefeathers/USEF Pony Hunter Finals— this year, Keenan makes history once again with the top score in the small, medium and large Green Hunter Pony divisions and claimed the Grand Champion title of the 2008 Wild Horsefeathers/USEF Green Hunter Pony Finals. With perfect weather and temperatures in the low 80s, today’s...

Hong Kong, China – Steffen Peters, the anchor rider for the US Team, did everything he could to coax a brilliant performance out of Ravel to secure the team bronze medal. Courtney King-Dye and Mythilus (Shannon Brinkman) Peters really went for broke and finished the first Individual Qualifier in 10th place individually on a 70.00%, which wasn’t quite good enough for a team medal after teammate Debbie McDonald had a completely uncharacteristic performance on Brentina. Ravel, who is...