The opening day of the 2009 Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) ended with an evening session for Children's and Adult Hunters. The two divisions each had a two-round $10,000 championship. Sienna Sumavielle rode Lexington to the win in the Children's Hunter Championship, while Ainsley Sadlo and Vermilion took first place in the Adult Hunter Championship. The 2009 WIHS runs through Sunday, October 25, at the Verizon Center in downtown Washington, D.C. In the $10,000 Children's Hunter...

One of the great things about any national show is that you get to meet people from all over the country. You get to see friends you only see once a year, or perhaps friends you've talked to online but never met in person. I'm facebook friends with all kinds of people I don't know at all, simply because we have mutual friends and interests. Some of them are pretty well known, so I always wonder if they think I'm some sort of weird Internet stalker. I'm not! I swear! Can I...

Wayne, IL – The sun finally emerged at the spectacular Lamplight Equestrian Center to spotlight the nation’s future dressage talent in the six-year-old and developing horse divisions. It was a competition worthy of champions as presented to judges Linda Zang, Jeanne McDonald, and Hilda Gurney. In the Six-Year-Old division, U.S.-bred “Pikko del Cerro HU” made America proud by claiming the Markel/USEF National Championship with an overall score of 7.9. Ridden by Mikala Munter Gundersen of...

On October 16-19, Gold Coast 7 finished off the 2008 season with a bang. In addition to sponsor Markel Insurance Corporation awarding the series’ championships, the show hosted the CPHA Children’s & Adult Regional Finals and CPHA Regional Horsemanship Finals. After the first two rounds, Malina Munshi was in first place going into the Children’s & Adult Finals work-off. Despite "nerves running through me," she maintained her lead. Munshi was concerned about the approach to the last jump. "That...

Courtney King-Dye (Shannon Brinkman) Hong Kong, China – The first round of team competition got underway for the team portion of the dressage competition and Courtney King-Dye, from New Milford, CT, was the lone American to perform her Grand Prix test today based on the advantageous draw of the US team. The US team drew 11th of 11 teams so King-Dye and Mythilus were the second to last combination to go of the second rotation. They put in an excellent test with no mistakes, highlighted by...

Claudia Colo of Stand & Deliver Farm announced that registered Irish Draught stallion The King of Hearts was recently awarded Mid-Circuit Champion and Reserve Circuit Champion for Level 6 Jumpers at the HITS 2007 Desert Circuit Show in Thermal, CA. During the six-week long grueling competition against the best West Coast horses and riders, The King of Hearts and noted grand prix rider Hap Hansen competed in the Level 6 Jumping Classes, each averaging from 60-80 horse-and-rider combinations. By...

Lexington, KY—The United States Equestrian Federation® (USEF) again asks our competition organizers and managers to consider becoming or continuing to be a part of the very successful Outreach Program which was initiated in 2005. This program has continued to build a productive bridge between the USEF staff, competition organizers, show managers and exhibitors/competitors. This gives USEF staff first hand experience in observing and helping our licensed events, and the opportunity to learn...

While the often-raised question, “How many horses are there in Kentucky?” is a simple one, the answer isn’t as straightforward. The answer depends on who you ask and how the count is done. What is known is that many horses never get counted by the Census of Agriculture, because they are not on property classified as a “farm.” Figuring out how many horses live in Kentucky isn’t just an exercise in counting. It’s important. If we don’t know how many horses are in Kentucky and where they live and...

Bob Langrish (Vaulter Megan Benjamin won an Individual Gold medal.) (Aachen, Germany) – It all came down to one minute. It was years in the making, but it came down to one minute in Aachen, Germany, and when that one minute was over, 18-year-old Megan Benjamin of Saratoga, CA, was the first female American vaulter ever to take a world championship. For the past 20 years, a German woman has always held the title of World Champion, and Germany has also won 23 of the last 30 world championships....

Amber Siegelman and The Waterboy Sailing To The Gold Medal (PhelpsPhotos.com/USEF Archives ) Lexington, KY – When Amber Siegelman was the last to go in the jump-off at the 2006 Adequan/USEF National Pony Jumper Individual Championship, you would have thought you were at a Western event by the sounds of the crowd. All night the crowd was clucking on horses to help them over the fences. But, when Siegelman’s ride looked to be the only clean of the five in the jump-off, the crowd got...