For Immediate Release June 11, 2007 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – On Wednesday, June 13, U.S. Equestrian athlete and Olympian Debbie McDonald will speak to youth from the Hoof Beats 4-H Club in Gladstone, NJ about the Olympic Value of Sportsmanship. Presented in cooperation with the United States Equestrian Federation, McDonald’s talk will intersperse her personal journey with stories of sportsmanship and the importance of living an active lifestyle. The presentation is part of the United States...

Lexington, KY—Completed applications for an American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA) Youth Scholarship are due in the association office no later than Monday, April 30, 2007. This fall, ASHA will award four $5,000 scholarships, as well as the Youth-to-Youth Scholarship, which is funded by donations and guaranteed to $5,000 by the Association. Additionally, one $2,500 scholarship will be awarded, which is funded by the American Saddlebred Association of Alabama. Scholarships are available to...

Geoff Oliver Bugbee/USEF Archives (Kimberly Maloomian accepts a Silver Stirrup Award from Ned Bonnie for her champion in the Hunter Breeding category, Masquerade's Cove.) —From the historic Seelbach Hotel in downtown Louisville, KY, David O’Connor, President of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), awarded the honors bestowed on equestrian media for the past year before addressing the contingent of the equestrian sport world’s administrators and guests gathered to...

The American Saddlebred Horse Association's (AHSA) convention, including its large Youth Conference, the formal annual meeting and election of directors, and the Saddlebred Ball at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, is scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, February 15-17, 2007. Headquarters will be the Embassy Suites Hotel in Lexington. Open meetings and forums with committees begin Thursday, as is customary, and the Charter Club Council will also conduct a workshop. The emphasis...

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) re-published an updated proposal on December 13, 2006, that would permit the establishment and operation of permanent, privately-owned quarantine facilities under certain conditions. The horse industry is an international industry and increasingly more foreign horses are being brought into the U.S. for racing, showing, sale and breeding and often there are not enough quarantine spaces to accommodate them all. “There are presently three...

The American Hanoverian Society (AHS) is pleased to announce that a Young Horse Dressage Symposium with USEF Young Horse Dressage Coach Scott Hassler will be held at the Jacksonville Equestrian Center on January 27, 2007, in conjunction with the Society's Annual Membership Meeting. The 2007 AHS Annual Meeting will be held January 26-28 at the Hyatt Regency Riverfront in Jacksonville, FL. The meeting will offer three days of educational programs featuring seminars on raising stallion prospects,...

(Aachen, Germany)—The United States Equestrian Federation announced today that Brentina and Debbie McDonald will withdraw from the remainder of the dressage competition at the World Equestrian Games due to a veterinary concern. Team vet Dr. Tim Ober said, “Brentina had a slight swelling after the competition on Wednesday. While a diagnosis is pending further evaluation by USEF veterinary staff Debbie McDonald and Klaus Balkenhol have decided it is not in the best interest of Brentina to ask her...

The American Horse Council (AHC) has confirmed Dr. Bob Hillman as a speaker for the AHC Issues Forum, which will be held on September 25 in Austin, TX. Dr. Hillman currently serves as the Texas state veterinarian and executive director of the Texas Animal Health Commission. He is also currently the chair of the USAHA Committee on Livestock Identification and serves on the Secretary’s Advisory Subcommittee for the National Animal Identification System. “We are excited about Dr. Hillman’s...

Lexington, KY - It is with the deepest sense of loss that the USEF must announce that Mary Lutz, Director for Endurance and Para-Equestrian, died today as a result of a riding injury. We ask that the entire equestrian community join us in expressing our deepest sympathy to Mary's family. Mary’s devotion to horse sport, her patient team attitude, and her commitment to both endurance and para-equestrian were admired and respected by all who had the privilege to work with her. More information...

The atmosphere at the Piazza di Siena, located in the parklands of the lovely Villa Borghese in the heart of the Italian capital, is very laid back indeed - except for the tension in the air over tomorrow's third leg of the Samsung Super League with FEI Nations Cup series - and it's the British that just about everyone's talking about. They are looking good and when Chef d'Equipe Derek Ricketts was asked today about their chances he said "yes, they're up for it - I think they should do well...