Lexington, Ky. - US Equestrian reminds competition organizers, licensed officials, and driving professionals that applications for the 2026 USEF Competition Grant for Combined Driving and the Licensed Official Grant for Combined Driving are due January 1, 2026. These annual grants are designed to strengthen the pipeline of opportunities within the U.S. driving community by supporting licensed competitions, developing organizers, and providing education and experience for current or aspiring...

Lexington, Ky. - US Equestrian is pleased to announce the dates and locations of the 2026 Vaulting Observation Events ahead of the 2026 FEI Vaulting World Championships being held in Aachen, Germany on August 11-16, 2026. List of Observation Events: Any CVI held outside of the U.S. during the Selection Period (March 31 to June 1, 2026) Tryon CVI (April 9-10, 2026) Piedmont Spring Fest (April 11-12, 2026) Vault N' Texas (April 17-19, 2026) Oak Hills Classic (May 8-10, 2026) Pacific Cup (May...

Kansas City, Mo. – With two nearly perfect patterns and dazzling rail work, Finley Wood and Seven Oaks Heir Show secured the 2025 USEF Saddle Seat Medal National Final champion title. Under the direction of trainer Shelley Fisher, Wood added the medal to her impressive resume in the sport of saddle seat equitation. Finley Wood and Seven Oaks Heir Show. ©Leslie Potter/US Equestrian Wood (Columbus, Ohio) and “Lily,” her 2012 American Saddlebred mare (Undulata’s Heir...

Thermal, Calif. – Ben Ebeling (USA) and Bellena stole the show in the inaugural US Equestrian Open Dressage Final, hoisting the impressive trophy to conclude the first year of the finals across the three Olympic disciplines. The partnership earned a personal best score of 79.903% for their freestyle composition to a mix of iconic female pop artists to stand firmly atop the podium. Felicitas Hendricks (GER) and Drombusch OLD took second place on a final score of 78.260%, while Anna Marek...

Thermal, Calif. – US Equestrian Open Dressage Series winner, Anna Marek, rode Fayvel to the top of the FEI Grand Prix CDI5* ahead of the highly anticipated FEI Grand Prix Freestyle CDI5* tomorrow, which will crown the inaugural US Equestrian Open Dressage Final champion. The partnership topped the standings with a score of 70.804%, followed by fellow American, Ben Ebeling aboard Bellena who earned a 70.522%. Felicitas Hendricks (GER) and Drombusch OLD rounded out the podium on a 70.500%,...

Kansas City, Mo. – It’s been a banner week for saddle seat equitation star Izzy Fischer. On Wednesday at the UPHA American Royal National Championship Horse Show, she and CH-EQ Sugar Fund captured the win in the UPHA Adult Challenge Cup finals. On Friday, she came back to win the 2025 USEF Saddle Seat Adult Amateur Medal Final . In her first year in the adult amateur ranks, she’s already checked off the two most prestigious titles in the sport. Izzy Fischer and CH-EQ Sugar...

Kansas City, Mo. - The competition season for saddle seat equitation athletes comes to its exciting conclusion each year at the UPHA American Royal National Championship Horse Show in Kansas City. The historic show hosts the USEF Saddle Seat Medal Finals for both adult amateur and junior riders. The adult amateur final takes place on Friday, Nov. 14, as the final class of the morning session. All riders will complete railwork as a group followed by individual patterns, after which the champion...

Thermal, Calif. – The US Equestrian Open Dressage Final will get underway tomorrow evening with the FEI Grand Prix, kicking off a weekend of exciting competition with the inaugural edition of the event hosted at Desert International Horse Park in Thermal, Calif. The competition will see 13 combinations contest the qualification class before the highly anticipated FEI Grand Prix Freestyle CDI5* to determine the first-ever US Equestrian Open Dressage Final champion. ©DevynTrethewey/US...

Registration is now open for the 2026 US Equestrian Annual Meeting, which will be held at the Omni Hotel in Louisville, Ky., from Jan. 15-18, 2026. US Equestrian will once again host a series of educational presentations and workshops in a three-day interactive format with the goal of providing hands-on, immediately actionable information to members, affiliates, officials, and competition managers. For those unable to attend the annual meeting in person, full coverage of the sessions will be...

Lexington, Ky. - Earlier this fall, US Equestrian released a series of Horse Welfare Guidelines to members, including those based on the familiar concept of a stoplight guidance recently published by USEF. In addition to this work, the USEF Dressage Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Task Force led by Betsy Juliano and Lisa Gorretta, has been meeting regularly to discuss changes needed nationally within the discipline of dressage. As a result of the Task Force discussions Riding Standard Guidelines...