Nicole DelGiorno and Lamborghini Dane (Flashpoint Photography) Lexington, KY—The 2009 Adequan FEI North American Junior Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North went out rocking with the Junior freestyle dressage tests. The top 15 Juniors came back to perform their choreographed routines in the USDF/Platinum Performance North American Junior & Young Rider Dressage Championships, and the crowds cheered them on under sunny Kentucky skies. After the scores were tallied, Nicole...

Sage Sapergia, riding Shiners Q Chex for Team Alberta, took top honors (Waltenberry) Reining joins dressage, show jumping, and eventing as the disciplines showcased at this year’s Adequan® FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships, presented by Gotham North which hosts teams from Canada, Mexico, and the United States for a full week of competition. In its second year as a full-medal sport, this year’s SmartPak™ North American Young Rider Reining Championship...

Lexington, KY – Ashlee Bond continued her winning European ways with a fantastic victory in the Warsteiner Prize, one of the featured events at the World Equestrian Festival - CHIO Aachen. The Hidden Hills, CA rider flew to the win on Little Valley Farm’s fleet-footed Cadett 7 Ashlee Bond and Cadett 7 (Ken Braddick) . The talented duo bested 50 of Europe’s best horses and riders in an impressive effort, which involved the fastest round of 14 in the jump-off. “I’m...

Jocelyn Wiese and Lamborghini (Susan J. Stickle Photography ) By Joanie Morris Gladstone, NJ – Under the banner of a chilly relentless rain, the 2009 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions got underway on Thursday, June 18. The “Brentina Cup” Riders (aged 20-28) were the first of five groups of horses and riders vying for National Championships titles. The nine “Brentina Cup” Riders were the only division to get a performance in as the rest of...

Winners in Rome (Courtesy FEI ) By Joanie Morris Lexington, KY – The US Show Jumping squad bounced back with a valiant effort, winning the second leg of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup in Rome, Italy. Chef d’Equipe, George Morris continues to build a show jumping empire with the US. After winning back-to-back Olympic Gold medals in 2004 and 2008, Morris brought a team of mixed experience to Rome and dominated the nine other nations to finish on a two round total of 4 faults. The French...

Photo by PhelpsPhotos.com (Rebecca Hart and Norteassa) Lexington, KY – Rebecca Hart has had quite an eventful year. In 2008, she won her first National Championship aboard Norteassa in May, 2008, and then the pair went on to Hong Kong to compete in the 2008 Paralympic Games and barely missed winning an Individual medal. This year, Hart bested 16 other riders to defend her title as 2009 Cavalor/United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Para-Equestrian Dressage National Champion. The...

The Champ (Shannon Brinkman) Las Vegas, NV – The Dressage world has changed. American rider Steffen Peters and Ravel are at the center of the universe. The suspense built throughout the night at the 2009 Rolex FEI World Cup Final in the Thomas & Mack Arena, and with only one American horse remaining in the competition, the crowd had to wait until the third to last horse in the ring. With $102,000 USD on the line and a Rolex watch, the competition was fierce. Ravel, in first World Cup...

The dressage justice in the world continued last night. In a fiercely difficult freestyle, Ravel and Steffen delivered a World Cup Championship performance. It was one of those nights where the planets aligned. How lucky are we to have been a part of it? Ravel got better, and better, and better throughout the Freestyle and they brought down the house for the US. To the music of the Rolling Stones' Sympathy for the Devil, Ravel, who had an introduction to the world in Hong Kong last summer,...

Michelle Spadone and Melisimo (Ken Braddick) Lexington, KY - The following five horse/rider combinations have been named by the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) to the 2009 Show Jumping Developing Rider Tour. These horse/rider combinations were selected based on their ranking on the March 27, 2009 USEF Computer List. The following horse/rider combinations will compete at CSI2* Linz in Austria, May 8-10, CSI04* Linz in Austria, May 14-17, and CSIO4* Lisbon in Portugal, May 28-31. They...

Lexington, KY – The following changes to the CSI/CSIO aka the USEF Computer List will become effective March 17, 2009. Changes in Bold/Italics/Underlined and Strikethrough . • Page 3, 2nd paragraph under SELECTION of the Selection Procedure for CSIO/CSI Competition Discretionary Selection: “However, with the approval of the Show Jumping High Performance Committee and the Executive Committee or these committees’ designees, the chef d’Equipe shall have the authority...