A clear round for Brandie Holloway on the little mare she fell in love with was all it took to win Sunday's $25,000 Grand Prix during the opening week of the HITS Arizona Winter Circuit. Out of a starting field of 25 horse-and-rider combinations, Holloway and S&L So Be It was the only pair to master Mike Gallaway's challenging first-round course. Gallaway's course was a sweeping series of combinations with a last line that included an oxer to a vertical to an oxer double-combination finish. A...

The $75,000 Budweiser American Grand Prix Association (AGA) Championship, contested at the 122nd National Horse Show and Family Festival on Sunday, December 4, 2005, will be shown on the Outdoor Life Network on Christmas Day. The broadcast is scheduled for OLN at 6 p.m., Eastern time on December 25, 2005. The $75,000 Budweiser AGA Championship, the culmination of the year-long AGA tour, features the nation’s top show jumping horses and riders in their year end championship event, held during...

(Lexington, KY) As approved by the 2005 FEI General Assembly, an annual FEI registration is now mandatory for all riders and horses competing in FEI events. This would include the following disciplines: Dressage, Reining, Show Jumping, Driving, Endurance and Vaulting, Paraequestrian and Eventing. The fee requirement will take effect on January 1, 2006 and it is renewable annually. Fees are $15.00 for each horse and $15.00 per rider. This registration is in addition to acquiring a passport or...

Burbank, CA – With nary a misstep, Alex Maida, was picked as the winner of the grueling 2005 USEF West Coast Talent Search. The class was held in conjunction with the Los Angeles International Jumping Festival at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, September 21-25. Thirty-eight junior riders qualified throughout the year for a spot in the two-day four-phase finals. On Wednesday afternoon riders were allowed into the Equidome for a practice round and the class started in earnest the next...

(Austin, TX) – The Texas Animal Health Commission has set up an emergency hotline to provide pet owners with information on available shelters by county. The number is: (800) 550-8242 and operates Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pre-selected shelters are currently open and have been receiving evacuating horses and other animals. Lists of available shelters/stabling are also available thru local emergency management and the Texas Animal Health Commission. These are published on their web...

Iron Spring Farm has just imported one of the most popular young stallions in Holland, UB40. A four-year-old son of Olivi by Jazz, UB40 placed third in the championship keuring for dressage horses at the 2004 KWPN stallion show in Holland and received excellent scores for his gaits and dressage potential during his performance test. UB40's first foals were recently inspected and also received excellent scores and remarks from the inspectors. His foal, Armstrong M., was the high-selling foal...

Officials of the Hampton Classic Horse Show announced on August 1 that there will be a new fund-raising element at this year’s annual equestrian event. The Hampton Classic is building a new Southampton Hospital jump to be used during the $100,000 Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate Grand Prix. Spectators and table patrons will be given the opportunity to pledge any amount they wish to be paid each time a horse and rider clear the new Southampton Hospital Jump during the grand prix....

The 2005 National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Breeders Derby should be remembered for a long time, and not only because of the huge numbers of horses and riders. One of the two major NRHA Germany events, the Breeders Derby counted 132 horses in the Breeders Derby classes alone. Last year, there were 84 entries. Altogether, there were more than 900 starts compared to last year's 680. Reining obviously is growing more and more attractive. And it seems as if very slowly, even TV gets...

Horse breeders should be aware of a new tax advantage that begins in 2005 and increases over the next five years until fully implemented in 2010. The deduction can shelter up to 3% of 2005 profit from the sale of horses that a breeder has bred and sold. The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, passed by Congress at the end of 2004, provided a new tax benefit which lowers the tax on income from U.S. production. Specifically, it applies to income from the sale of property that was "manufactured,...

The report detailing the work of those who participated in the nation’s first-ever Unwanted Horse Summit is now available from the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP). The Summit was hosted on April 19, 2005, in Washington, D.C., by the AAEP with the purpose of identifying long-term solutions designed to improve the quality of life of unwanted horses. Over 25 equine industry organizations and individuals participated. Attendees worked in small groups during the Summit to examine...