Elkton, Md.- The Dutta Corp Fair Hill International began Thursday with the first half of the CCI2* field completing their dressage tests and U.S. entries taking initials steps toward 2013 USEF National Two Star Championship honors. Boyd Martin and Pancho Villa seized the lead following the first day of competition scoring 41.4 in front of the Ground Jury of Judy Bradwell and Bobby Stevenson. Martin (Cochranville, Pa.) and the Pancho Villa Syndicate’s 10-year-old Selle Francais cross...

Sambalino and Becky Gochman (Shawn McMillen Photography) Upper Marlboro, MD – The 2013 Capital Challenge Horse Show continued today with competition for the amateur and adult hunter riders, along with a evening session final for Children's/Adult Jumpers. Grand Championship ribbons were pinned on the bridles of Sambalino and Becky Gochman, Q and Susan Baker, and Sutton Place and Katie Robinson in the Amateur-Owner and Adult Hunter divisions. In the evening session, the fastest jump-off...

Small Affair and John French (Shawn McMillen Photography) Upper Marlboro, MD – The Capital Challenge Horse Show, presented by The Gochman Family, featured the best hunters in the country as well as up-and-coming talent in both horses and riders. The day was full of competition, but the highlight class was the $25,000 WCHR Professional Challenge. John French took home the win for the third time in class history on Small Affair. The $5,000 WCHR Developing Pro Challenge victory went to Greg...

Jenni McAllister and Casseur de Prix pull out all the stops to win the $30,000 LA International Grand Prix (Flying Horse Photography) Burbank, CA - The $30,000 LA International Grand Prix delivered on the promised thrills and chills when Jenni Martin-McAllister eked out the win on Casseur de Prix (Granville Equine, owner) in an electrifying jump off. “When I was running to the last jump, I knew I was close,” Jenni recounted. “I was thinking, ‘Come on, let’s...

Burbank, CA - Judges Jimmy Torano and Mandy Porter wasted no time posing questions to the 33 riders who tackled the Gymnastics Phase of the Platinum Performance/ USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals West. The course started with a canter rail to a vertical with a landing rail, and the rail fell often. Riders then had to trot into a grid comprising a trot rail to a vertical then 23 feet to an oxer followed by 21 feet to another oxer. Hannah Von Heidegger (Will Simpson, trainer) found the best...

The 2013-2014 NCEA begins on Friday when No.5 Kansas State takes a road trip to Blythewood. They’ll meet the No.3 Gamecocks in a marquee non-conference matchup before heading to Dover to face Delaware State. My quick look at both matches is below. No.3 South Carolina University vs. No.5 Kansas State University This trip to Blythewood will be a new experience for the Wildcats, none of whom have been to South Carolina for NCEA competition. The last time they met on the Gamecocks home turf...

Brianne Goutal and Nice De Prissey (Rebecca Walton) North Salem, NY - On a perfect day in front of a sold-out crowd of over 4,000, 25-year-old Brianne Goutal added her name to the historical list of riders who have won the $200,000 American Gold Cup CSI4*-W, Presented by Suncast. Thirty-six entries gathered at Old Salem Farm for the international jumping competition, but it was Goutal and her talented mount Nice De Prissey that scored the winning honors after executing a quick and accurate...

Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen (Samantha Clark) Lexington, KY - The first day of dressage began at the Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials in Woodstock, England, with the first batch of U.S. riders coming down the centerline on Thursday. In the CCI3*, a talented international field performed their dressage tests in front of the judging panel of Eric Lieby, Nick Burton, and Lindsay Jenkins. Clark Montgomery (Wiltshire, UK) and Loughan Glen, USEF Land Rover Competition Grant...

Shane Sweetnam and Solerina (The Book LLC 2013) North Salem, NY - The 2013 American Gold Cup CSI4*-W returned to the picturesque Old Salem Farm Wednesday to kick-off the week-long international jumping competition featuring the world's top athletes. Thanks to phenomenal reviews from 2012, a large number of entries created a section split for the day's main event on the Grand Prix Field: the $8,000 Danbury Porsche Audi 1.40m Open Jumper class. During the first section, it was...

John Pearce and Chianto jump to a win in the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, making it two in a row for Pearce at HITS Saugerties this week (ESI Photography) Saugerties, NY – On the heels of a win in Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix with Son of a Gun, John Pearce of Bermuda Dunes, California jumped his way to another blue on Sunday in the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented, by Zoetis, this time aboard Forest View Farm’s Chianto. Celebration, however, soon...