Dear US Equestrian Members, As a follow up to the letter you received last week from US Equestrian (USEF) President Murray Kessler, I am writing to provide you with further detail regarding our actions and changes involving the USEF Drugs & Medications Program and Laboratory. Staffing Changes Effective last week, Laboratory Director Dr. Cornelius Uboh is no longer employed by the Federation. In addition, a laboratory technician has also left his position as well. The Federation will not...

Leaders from collegiate and scholastic organizations gathered Friday at US Equestrian’s Annual Meeting to share ideas, discuss marketing and promotional opportunities, and learn more about US Equestrian’s many resources for educational partners. “We wanted to get together to discuss how we can promote participation in equestrian sport, how we can assist the scholastic and collegiate groups in raising awareness of what they do, what their formats are, what the opportunities...

To the surprise of many, two-time Olympic team bronze medalist Steffen Peters entered the arena on Thursday to begin the FEI World Cup™ Dressage Final wearing a helmet. A traditionalist at heart, Peters made it his 2017 New Year’s resolution to drop the top hat and sport a helmet in Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) competitions. Steffen Peters sports his helmet at the FEI World Cup™ Dressage Final. (Shannon Brinkman Photo) “I hung on because of a...

Lexington, Ky. - US Equestrian has named the following combinations to The Dutta Corp. U.S. Dressage Team for the Stillpoint Farm FEI Nations Cup™ CDIO3*, March 21- 25, in Wellington, Fla., at the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF): Shelly Francis (Loxahatchee, Fla.) and Patricia Stempel’s Doktor, a 2003 Oldenburg gelding Direct Reserve Horse Patricia Stempel’s Danilo, a 2004 Hanoverian gelding Olivia LaGoy-Weltz (Haymarket, Va.) and her own Lonoir, a 2004 Danish...

Lexington, Ky. – Parry Thomas was not simply the sharp business mastermind that revolutionized the city of Las Vegas, Nev. The equestrian community knew him as the passionate owner whose love of horses helped inspire and impact the sport of dressage. Surrounded by his supportive family, Thomas passed away peacefully on Friday, August 26, 2016, at his cherished River Grove Farm in Hailey, Idaho, at the age of 95. No one could have predicted the success that would significantly leave a...

Louisville, Ky. - Beginning on Saturday, August 20th, and ending on Saturday, August 27th, 2016, nearly 2,000 American Saddlebreds, Hackneys, and Roadsters competed for the World’s Championship titles in Freedom Hall at the Kentucky State Fair. The exhilarating and glamorous event culminated on the final Saturday night when seven top horses competed for the crown jewel of the American Saddlebred world as they vied for the Five-Gaited World’s Grand Champion title. After a thrilling...

Claire Campbell and Roll Call (Shawn McMillen Photography) Lexington, Ky. – Claire Campbell and Roll Call took home the title in the Small Regular Hunter Pony Championship in the US Hunter Pony Championships presented by Collecting Gaits Farm at the Kentucky Horse Park. The pair garnered a total score of 1026.32 through two days of competition. National titles are determined following three phases of competition, with Model and Under Saddle phases each counting towards 25% of the overall...

Piber Köflach, Austria – The U.S. Driving Team of Donna Crookston, Sterling Graburn, and Suzy Stafford, along with individual Leslie Berndl, made a valiant effort at the 2016 FEI World Driving Championships for Singles, which proved to be a true championship test. The strong international field consisted of 75 combinations from 23 countries, and after four days of competition, the U.S. team finished 14th. Sterling Graburn and Mannkato (Krisztina Horváth/Hoefnet.com) Graburn (Paris,...

Aachen, Germany –The CAIO4*-H4 Nations Cup competition continued on Saturday at CHIO Aachen with the marathon phase. Under the guidance of Chef d’Equipe Ed Young, the U.S. Driving Team of Chester Weber and Allison Stroud now sits in seventh place with a total of 401.640 after the second phase of the competition. Weber is the top-ranked U.S. athlete, lying in third place on a score of 158.40. The Netherlands leads the team competition with a total of 311.760. Hungary moved into...

Winners of the $40,000 Bentley of San Francisco & Bentley of Los Gatos Grand Prix Mandy Porter & Eminent. (Alden Corrigan Media) Atherton, Calif. - Inspired by the 2016 Summer Olympics the 46th Menlo Charity Horse Show invites attendees on a fantastic journey to the vivacious Rio de Janeiro. The charm of the Menlo Circus Club and the sensational energy and color of Brazil are blended to bring the “Road to Rio” alive in show rings August 9th-14th from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m....