Canada’s Olympians had a rough go of it in the $50,000 Weston Canadian Open for International Jumpers at Toronto’s Royal Horse Show on November 14th. Americans McLain Ward and Laura Kraut, hot off their Team Gold at the Olympics, took first and third respectively, with Britain’s Michael Whitaker narrowly edging into the second position. Ward, with his 16-year-old veteran campaigner Goldika 559, executed the course in style, taking almost the identical route that teammate Kraut had taken 15...

Terengganu, Malaysia - Besting a Championship field of riders, Spain’s Maria Alvarez Ponton galloped home to Gold on Nobby, with a ride time of 8:48:06. Argentinean rider, Agustin Vita, riding Baraka Ibn Al Tamah won Silver, and Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem of the United Arab Emirates, gained the Bronze on Tazoul El Parry at the 2008 World Endurance Championship held at Terengganu, Malaysia, on the edge of the South China Sea. Nobby and Ponton were also awarded the Best Condition. The first...

Lexington, KY— The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) announces that bid packets are now available for any artist interested in becoming the “Official Artist of the USEF Pony Finals” for 2009. The USEF Pony Finals National Championships is a five-day championship which draws young riders from across the country competing for the title of four championships— USEF National Pony Hunter Finals, USEF National Green Hunter Pony Finals, USEF National Pony Medal and the USEF National Pony...

Lexington, KY - A replacement horse/rider combination has been named to represent the United States at the CSIO Buenos Aires November 12-16. The four horse/rider combinations and alternates were selected based on their ranking on the October 3, 2008 USEF Computer List. Rebecca Johanson-Hofmann/Corona were the first ranked alternate and have replaced Georgina Bloomberg/Cim Christo. Rider/Age/Hometown/Horse/Age/Breed/Sex/Owner Michelle Spadone/25/Califon, NJ/Melisimo/14/Royal Dutch...

Lexington, KY – US Eventing Chef d’Equipe and Technical Advisor, Captain Mark Phillips and the USEF have renewed the contract for Mark Phillips to serve in this capacity through 2012. In his 16 years in tenure as the Chef d’Equipe and coach of the US Eventing Team, Capt. Phillips has never taken a team to an Olympic, World or Pan American Games without bringing home a medal. His tenure has been highlighted by a Team Gold medal at the 2002 World Equestrian Games and David O’Connor’s Individual...

International-level dressage with a Saturday night musical freestyle celebration under lights will be held at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC), December 4-6. The CDI*** dressage competition will be combined with the CSI*** Holiday & Horses event that includes the Rolex/USEF National Show Jumping Championship presented by Equine Motorcoach. The dressage competition is a major upgrade from the national level show of previous years. The musical freestyles will be in the...

Lexington, KY – For the second time in three years, 21-year-old Laura Noyes has topped the United States rankings for the FEI World Cup™ Dressage Final for Young Riders. Noyes and her mount Synchro averaged 72.584% in their two best efforts in the FEI Young Rider Freestyle Test in a CDI-Y during the qualifying period (January 1, 2008 –October 27, 2008), and have earned themselves an invitation to Frankfurt, Germany for the Final, to be held December 18-21. Thanks to the generosity of the event...

Equestrian Sport Productions announced Tuesday that its Fall Circuit shows will be held at the South Grounds of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. The "A"-rated three-star Jumper Fall Circuit 2 for this Friday through Sunday will be held at the South Grounds, as will Fall Circuit 3, which is scheduled for October 31-November 2 and the Fall Circuit Finale scheduled for November 7-9. Major reconstruction around the International Arena, installation of new footing at several...

Lexington, KY – A mutual decision has been made not to renew the contract of USEF National Dressage Coach Klaus Balkenhol which expires at the end of 2008. The decision between Balkenhol and the USEF’s High Performance Dressage Committee means that his role as Chef d’Equipe, National Dressage Coach and Technical Advisor to the Committee shall be concluded according to the terms of the existing contract on December 31, 2008. In recognition of Balkenhol’s excellent service to the USEF over the...

The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) announces the details for the 2009 Annual Meeting, which will take place January 14-18 at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza in Cincinnati, OH. Registration for this year’s annual meeting is $55 per person. This includes all breakfast and lunch functions as well as registration materials. The deadline to get the discounted registration rate of $55 is December 19. Should you want to register on site, registration will be $80. Please note:...