Karen Pavicic on Don Daiquiri, with Lorraine MacDonald, President of the Ground Jury. (Photo by Jennifer M. Keeler.) Burbank, CA - Sunny skies re-emerged over the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, CA, for the final day of the Mid-Winter Dressage Fair CDI*/Y/J. Although only two competitors chose to contest the Intermediaire I Freestyle, both Canadian riders demonstrated how they will be serious contenders for a spot on their country's Pan American Games team. Dancing to the victory was...

Alida D'Angona, Miss Massachusetts 2011. (Photo courtesy AMHA.) Shelburne, VT — Alida D'Angona, 24, from Bolton, MA, recently was crowned Miss Massachusetts 2011, and will be a presenter at the American Morgan Horse Association's annual awards banquet on Saturday, February 26 in Boston. Born in California, D'Angona traveled with her family as a child across the world to live in Hong Kong before settling in Bolton. With an interest in music as well as the sciences, D'Angona quickly became...

Michael Tokaruk and Roger Rabbit. (Photo by Sportfot©.) Wellington, FL - February 16, 2011 - In an unusual class on the opening morning of week 6 at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival, there was a tie for the win in the $8,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Jumpers. Laura Kraut, on The Freedom Group's Dona Evita, and Michael Tokaruk with Roger Rabbit, owned by Castle Point Farm LLC, both finished the speed class with no faults and in the same time of 63.121 seconds. The FTI Winter Equestrian Festival's sixth...

Taylor McMurtry and Just An Illusion. (ESI Photography©.) Ocala, FL - February 16, 2011 - The sun continues to shine in Ocala after a successful first AA-rated week of show jumping at HITS Post Time Farm. High-Performance and talented hunter riders once again pleased the crowd with awe-inspiring performances in the $50,000 EMO Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health and $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix. Young star Taylor McMurtry won her first Grand Prix ever aboard her own Just An Illusion...

Traverse City, MI - February 16, 2011 - Horse Sports by the Bay, Inc. and Flintfields Horse Park are pleased to announce details for the upcoming 2011 Horse Shows by the Bay Equestrian Festival, which is expanding to five contiguous weeks this year. Held each summer in beautiful Traverse City, MI, the Horse Shows by the Bay Equestrian Festival features some of the country's best horses and riders competing in the hunter, jumper, equitation, and dressage disciplines. Events will be starting on...

Dressage The Palm Beach County Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in West Palm Beach, FL, hosted The Wellington Classic Spring Challenge CDI-W. On Friday, Tina Konyot and her partner from the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, Calecto V, topped the field in the Grand Prix for Freestyle scoring a 70.043%. Elizabeth Austin riding Olivier and Shawna Harding riding Come On III collected second and third place honors. Konyot took another commanding win in the Freestyle, scoring a 75.300%. Harding...

Last March I made my inaugural visit to Wellington, FL and the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center for CSIO week, which included the USEF Selection Trials for the US Show Jumping Team for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games and the $75,000 FEI Nations Cup presented by CN. My partner in crime, Melissa Davis, and I set-up our Merchandise “Fort” and sold-out of nearly all the USA and patriotic coats, polos and hats we’d shipped down. Unseasonably chilly temperatures for Palm Beach...

Ocala, FL - February 15, 2011 - It wasn't just an illusion when Taylor McMurtry and her own Just An Illusion won Sunday's $50,000 EMO Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health. The horse-and-rider combination celebrated their first Grand Prix win ever to conclude the Ocala Winter Classic. "I'm so happy!" exclaimed McMurtry, 18, who found her way to the top on a beautiful sunny day at HITS Post Time Farm. "I'm overwhelmed. Especially since it was my goal to win a Grand Prix this year, I am...

Wellington, FL - February 14, 2011 - The FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) is bigger and better than ever in 2011, with more prize money and more opportunities for the world's best horses and riders to excel in the specialties of their sport. The World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) Hunter Classic Spectacular will be held for the 15th straight year at the FTI WEF beginning on February 18. The Spectacular first debuted in 1997 as an expansion of the popular World Championship Hunter Rider...

Burbank, CA - Riders who dream of competing at the Pan American Games will begin their quest at the Mid-Winter Dressage Fair CDI 1*/Y/J in Burbank, CA, February 24-27, 2011. As the first official qualifying competition on the West Coast, horses and riders will compete in front of FEI judges Jayne Ayers ("I" USA), Natalie Lamping ("I" USA), and Lorraine MacDonald ("I" CAN). In addition, this competition will serve as an early-season qualifier for the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of...