Lexington, KY --The nations’ best reiners will be coming to the heart of Kentucky in 2005, as a result of the combined efforts of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA), and the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA). The USEF Open Reining Championship will be the headliner class at Fiesta in the Park—a new show that offers reining and hunter-jumper events, side by side in the Kentucky Horse Park. The show, slated for August...

Temecula, CA —Adding only four show jumping penalties to their dressage score, Shannon Lilley of San Jose, CA, and High Mountain Road , owned by Dayna Lynd-Pugh of Tres Pinos, CA, won the USEF National One Star Eventing Championship and the Richard D. Collins Trophy, with a total score of 52.3. The Championship took place at the Galway Downs International Three-Day Event and Horse Trials in Temecula, CA, November 4-7. Claiming another victory over the weekend was Jamie Lawrence of...

Flashpoint Photography (Joie Gatlin and SunCal''s King) Joie Gatlin of San Juan Capistrano, CA, riding SunCal’s King, owned by Canyon Capital Insurance, won the $25,000 Open Jumper at the evening session of the Metropolitan National Horse Show Wednesday night in New York City. Gatlin topped a roster of 12 horses and earned $7,500. The Table II.2b class required riders to clear the Linda Allen-designed course of 11 jumps in order to move on immediately to the eight-obstacle jump-off. Six...

Wellington, FL —The retired Olympic horse Flim Flam passed away in Florida last week, following a brief, but irreparable illness. The 17-year-old Hanoverian gelding, owned by Fritz Kundrun and ridden by Sue Blinks, was humanely euthanized on the operating table after discovery of a ruptured stomach on Thursday, October 28, 2004. Flim Flam was only ill for a few hours and seemingly experienced very little pain. “Flim was the horse of a lifetime for me,” Blinks said. “I am...

Mike Ferrara (Apollopalooza was named Arabian Park Horse champion for the fourth time, and was ridden by Carmelle Rooker.) The 38th annual U.S. National Arabian and Half-Arabian Championship Horse Show (U.S. Nationals) held at the Kentucky Fair and Expo Center in Louisville, KY, from October 7-16, 2004, named national champion, reserve and top ten winners in 104 classes. The show attracted more than 3,000 entries from across the United States and Canada representing 47 states and four Canadian...

The red, white and blue were all over the Dixon Oval at the “Born in the USA” Awards at the 30th Annual Dressage at Devon Horse Show. High-scorers in 11 Breed Division categories were adorned with bright, patriotic rosettes and awarded a Certificate of Achievement, a stall plaque and a “Born in the USA” commemorative medal. The owners and breeders shared a generous purse in excess of $10,000, with 75% going to the owners, and 25% to the breeders. The two high scorers received sashes and coolers...

The Dressage and Jumping World Cup Finals will light up Las Vegas like never before when they come together at the Thomas and Mack Center, April 20-24, 2005. Individual tickets go on sale November 1, and they will go quickly, so spectators are advised to purchase early. Series tickets have been selling at an almost unbelievable rate, already surpassing the total ticket sales from 2003, the last time the Budweiser Jumping World Cup Final took center stage in Las Vegas. The start of individual...

Columbus, OH --Rocky Dare of Salem, NJ, won the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Open Reining Championship Qualifier at the All American Quarter Horse Congress on Saturday, October 9. The competition in Columbus, OH, marked the first of four qualifying classes for the 2004/2005 Season. Dare and Custom Pistol, a six-year-old Quarter Horse stallion owned by Steven Simon, received an impressive score of 220.5 to finish in the top spot. Second place went to Casey Hinton of Whitesboro, TX,...

Mark your calendars—this season will go down in the history books as the United States’ own Beezie Madden again claims a top three ranking in world show jumping standings. Madden, a true pioneer for equestrians, is the first woman ever to reach a top three placing. “It gives hope,” Madden says. “Women that ride here [in the United States] don’t think about it because we have more women [riders] than men, but Europe has always been a little behind, so it might...

Gladstone, NJ – After two days of rigorous testing, topped off with a final-four ride-off, 16-year-old Brianne Goutal surpassed even her own expectations with a well-earned, but nonetheless, surprise victory. “I was never expecting to get into the top four,” Goutal says. “I asked my trainer before the last round what score I would need and she wouldn’t give me an answer. She just said ‘ride well.’” And ride well, she did. Give her a few years, and...