Morton, IL-The American Miniature Horse Registry (AMHR) and the American Shetland Pony Club (ASPC) announced today that their two major horse shows drew record participation. The 2004 AMHR National Horse Show held in September in Tulsa, OK, boasted 5,269 entries, making the show the largest miniature horse show in history and one of the largest all-breed shows of the year. The AMHR National Horse Show is the equivalent of the Super Bowl for Miniature Horses and attracts top Miniature Horses...

Gladstone, NJ – After two days of rigorous testing, topped off with a final-four ride-off, 16-year-old Brianne Goutal surpassed even her own expectations with a well-earned, but nonetheless, surprise victory. “I was never expecting to get into the top four,” Goutal says. “I asked my trainer before the last round what score I would need and she wouldn’t give me an answer. She just said ‘ride well.’” And ride well, she did. Give her a few years, and...

As the door shut behind him, a 13-year-old show jumping stallion named Judgement tried to relax over the dull roar of the engines. This was no mere vacation—this was his shot at the Olympic short list, and carefully stored in style, he settled down for a long FedEx flight to the Olympic Selection Trials in California. While the cost of the departing flight from Newark to Los Angeles might have been worth every penny, Meghan De Garay, office manager at Iron Spring Farm, which owns Judgement,...

Nearly 1,200 of the finest American and international show horses will gather at the recently expanded Farm Show Arena in Harrisburg, PA, for the 59th annual Pennsylvania National Horse Show, October 14-23, 2004. The show draws tens of thousands of horse enthusiasts, who travel from throughout the region and across the U.S. to enjoy the unparalleled competition, special attractions, excellent shopping and the chance to see the stars of equine sports in action. Horses and riders compete for...

The Paso Fino Horse Association’s 32nd Annual Grand National Horse Show was held, September 19-25 at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter in Perry, GA. Employees of the fairgrounds put forth the extra effort to get stalls prepared for those needing to arrive early to escape the wrath of Hurricane Ivan and to remain during Hurricane Jeanne. Though the weather kept a few people away, 822 horses and more than 1,700 entries, ridden by youth and adults, were slated to compete for a...

The American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA) continues to grow in memberships, foal registrations, futurities and horses in the 2004 World's Championship Horse Show as the third quarter results are released for the fiscal period ending September 30, 2004. ASHA now has over 8,000 members for the first time in the association's history. Now with 8,057 members, the ASHA increased membership 8% from the end of the 2003 third quarter total of 7,433 members. Alan F. Balch, ASHA Executive...

Lexington, KY — The top reining horses and riders in the country are set to begin competing in the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) 2004/2005 Reining Qualifying Season as they gear up for the 2005 championship season. The first qualifying reining competition will be hosted in Columbus, Ohio, on October 9th, during the All American Quarter Horse Congress. As one of the largest equestrian events in the world, the Congress typically sees more than a half a million people every year....

Burbank, CA – With a weekend of competition to prove themselves, a ring full of young riders set out to convince judges they have what it takes to become tomorrow’s equestrian stars. Emerging at the top of the list from the BET/USEF West Coast Show Jumping Talent Search Finals is 17-year-old Kasey Ament (Reche Canyon, CA), who took home the Denali Trophy atop San Francisco. Riding her own horse first and then starting the rotations that are characteristic of these tests, Ament...

ATHENS, Greece – As a whirlwind of competition and ancient Olympic culture wraps up in Athens, the U.S. Paralympic Equestrian Team prepares to make the return journey after a seventh place finish in Sunday’s Team competition. Representing a compilation of Individual and Team scores, the group posted 399.876 points in the last equestrian event of these Paralympic 2004 Games. “We feel happy with our accomplishments,” says Chef d’Equipe Denise Avolio....

One step out of the ring, internationally renowned equestrian Lynn Seidemann and Phoenix B knew they had put on a good show. Slated to ride second to last in the line-up, the pair pulled out all the stops to wow the judges with a spectacular performance Thursday. Make that a Silver medal-winning performance that surprised even Lynn. “It was a good day,” Lynn said modestly after the news started to filter back through the time zones into the States. With a Silver medal in tow and a...