Leslie Howard and Donna Speciale Win $40,000 Sovaro Speed Stake (Shawn McMillen) Bridgehampton, N.Y. - Leslie Howard (USA) and Donna Speciale, owned by Laure Sudreau, went early in the field of 41 competitors from five nations, but the Darien, CT resident managed to hang on to the fastest clear round and win the $40,000 Sovaro Speed Stake, the first or four FEI-recognized competitions to be featured at the 41st Annual Hampton Classic Horse Show. Howard was fourth in the lineup and watched as...

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...

Lexington, Ky. - Aug. 20, 2016 - A hush fell over the Kentucky Horse Park’s Rolex Stadium as the final two riders prepared to take the stage in the 2016 USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship. As Jennifer Alfano and the SBS Farms team looked on anxiously from the sidelines, Kristy Herrera entered the ring with Miss Lucy and laid down the trip of a lifetime to secure the sweetest victory, bringing a true fairytale ending to life for the SBS Farms team during the Bluegrass Festival...

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,...

Boyd Martin and Blackfoot Mystery (Shannon Brinkman Photo) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - After day one of eventing competition at the Olympic Equestrian Center at Deodoro, the U.S. Olympic Eventing Team sits in seventh place. Boyd Martin and Clark Montgomery put in solid performances among the 32 combinations that competed Saturday in day one of dressage before the ground jury of Marilyn Payne (USA), Andrew Bennie (NZL), Sandy Phillips (GBR). The trailblazer for the U.S. team was Martin...

Piber Köflach, Austria – Torrential rains on Friday afternoon made for slick spots and deep footing in the marathon obstacles on Saturday at the 2016 FEI World Driving Championships for Singles, proving difficult for the U.S. combinations. Sterling Graburn is the top American in the overall standings in 51st place, while Donna Crookston was the top U.S. finisher in the marathon phase in 51st place in the field of 74 combinations. The U.S. Driving Team of Crookston, Graburn, and Suzy...

This is stressful. Sitting in the Team tack room watching a procession of athletes destroying our supplies of snacks, drinks, and other culinary delights: Clearly they do not get fed at home and this is an enjoyable adventure for them. Ok, I get it, they and the grooms are who matter most but all the bottles and snacks were lined up in regimental rows and now a tornado has destroyed the illusion of order. Rewind. Monday morning (Europe time) Clan Dressage deployed to Rio; horses from Liege...

Nick Novak and Climbus win the $25,000 Welcome Stake at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival Week IV. (Kendall Bierer/Phelps Media Group) Traverse City, Mich. - Nick Novak finally overcame his five-year drought on Friday afternoon at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF). For years, he has fallen just shy of the victory, taking the backseat to the winner's circle. During Week IV of GLEF, the drought came to an end for Novak, and as the old saying goes, "when it rains, it pours." Novak...

Parker, Colo. - The 2016 Adequan®/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North saw the USDF North American Junior & Young Rider Dressage Championships Young Rider Team medals awarded Wednesday at The Colorado Horse Park (CHP), as three teams received the first round of medals presented during the weeklong competition. The Region 1 Young Riders took to the top podium, earning the Gold medal, while the combined team from Canada, composed of riders...