Hong Kong, China – The first medals were handed out at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Hong Kong tonight, and although the US anthem wasn’t played, the Team is looking firmly to the future. They will ride their freestyle tests over the next two days and then focus on the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games where they will be riding on their home turf. Barb Grassmyer kicked it off with Mibis. She put in a steady performance in the Grade III Individual Test. From Placerville, CA the...

Lexington, KY – Driver Chester Weber continued his stellar European campaign over the weekend with a convincing win at the German Fahrderby in Riesenbeck, Germany. The Fahrderby (Driving Derby) is a unique competition which consists of six separate phases. It began with each competitor driving a pair the first morning - a class that is equivalent to a show hunter class. Four drivers enter a standard driving arena and are directed by the judges to perform specific movements from letter to...

Laura Kraut and Cedric Continued to Dominate at the Finale of the USEF Selection Trials for Show Jumping (Kenneth Kraus/PhelpsSports.com) By Joanie Morris Wellington, FL ­ – As Cedric and Laura Kraut jumped the final fence of the fifth leg of the USEF Selection Trials for Show Jumping they cleared another hurdle toward the USEF Short List for Show Jumping, which is one step closer to a trip to the 2008 Olympic Games. The International Arena at the Palm Beach International Equestrian...

Wellington, FL - Severe weather on Thursday March 6 caused the postponement of the $30,000 WEF Challenge Cup which a also served as the fourth leg of the USEF Selection Kenneth Kraus/PhelpsSports.com (The Top Three Riders at the USEF Selection Trials for Show Jumping (L-R: Laura Kraut, Nicole Shahinian-Simpson, Will Simpson)) Trials for Show Jumping at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. The Selection Trial began on Friday morning at 8 a.m. The grounds crew worked tirelessly and...

Diana DeRosa (Lauren Hough and Casadora lead the American effort after Day One of show jumping.) Rio de Janeiro—Some 47 Pan American Games show jumpers entered the arena at Deodoro Stadium outside of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday morning to begin the first of two days of team competition. Leading the way for Team USA was rider Lauren Hough aboard Casadora. The last of the four to go was Todd Minikus and Pavarotti. Team USA ended the day in a surprising overall fourth place after the...

Aussie Clayton Fredericks and Ben Along Time took home the top honors. (Amy Dragoo) Riding for the first time under the U.S. flag, former Australian rider Phillip Dutton finished second at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Farnam, for the fifth time. But, this year, it was former Aussie teammate, Clayton Fredericks, aboard Ben Along Time, who put in the best score to take the Rolex Kentucky four-star championship on a score of 54.0. Dutton, as the highest-placed U.S. rider aboard...

Amy Dragoo (Kristin Bachman and Gryffindor stand on a score of 48.2 heading into Sunday's show jumping phase.) Nearly 47,000 people turned out for a spectacular day of cross-country at the 2007 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Farnam. A variation of last year’s course greeted horses and riders, and at the end of a tumultuous day, Kristin Bachman, riding in only her second four-star on her own Gryffindor found herself on top of a very classy heap of horses and riders with a...

Doug Prather (New York's McLain Ward and Sapphire finish in eighth place in the Rolex FEI World Cup Show Jumping Finals in Las Vegas) Las Vegas, Nevada—On the last day of the 2007 Rolex FEI World Cup for show jumping, it came down to a battle between the Germans and Swiss. In the end, it was a win for Beat Mandli and Ideo du Thot, the 11-year-old Selle Francais gelding after putting in two rounds where they downed only one rail to finish on a score of five World Cup points. Some 15...

Courtesy Spanish Riding School (One of the Lipizzaner stallions performing at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria.) UPDATE: New Contact Information for Spanish Riding School Tickets For the first time in more than a decade, the Spanish Riding School of Vienna will make a once-in-a-lifetime tour of the United States, in celebration of the 60th anniversary of U.S. General George Patton’s rescue of Europe’s beloved Lipizzaner stallions. This amazing tour of dancing horses will...

Lexington, KY – The USEF Search Committee for the new Show Jumping Chef d’Equipe has developed a job description for the position after soliciting important input from owners and riders at two forums, one in Del Mar, California on October 1st, and the other in Syracuse, New York held on November 7th. Eric Straus, Chairman of the Search Committee, emphasized that this position will be different than ever before because it is, “a generational change, a functional change. We are...