Reprinted from the May 2006 issue of EQUESTRIAN By Gareth Selwood Many horse breeders the world over are now offering the services of their stallions through the use of frozen semen. For the stallion owner, there are many advantages, despite the initial investment in the freezing of the semen, storage and equipment costs, the time and labor intensive work hours saved during a busy breeding season are undeniable. Stallions are freed up to continue their show careers or attend horse fairs. For...

The FEI has just released new freestyle tests at four levels. These tests must be used by all competitions as of June 1, 2006, in the Junior, Young Rider, Intermediare-I and Grand Prix levels. The coefficients for artistic marks have changed, though the actual freestyle test requirements for competitors have not. All previous test editions should be discarded. All FEI tests, including those just released, are available for download on the FEI website, www.horsesport.org or for direct links,...

In September 2005, a dedicated group of Egyptian Arabian enthusiasts met in Lexington, VA, at the Arabian Sport Horse Nationals. Realizing the need for an organization that would meet the needs of owners, breeders and trainers of the Egyptian Arabian sport horse, they formed the Egyptian Arabian Sport Horse Alliance, Inc. (EASHA). One of EASHA's main goals is to increase public awareness of the Egyptian Arabian's athletic ability. The organization will offer encouragement to local association...

Rick Silvia of Silvia Estate Dressage announced that two of the stallions in his newly formed Dream Street Stallion collection will compete in the Raleigh CDI. The stallions, Starlight and Lullaby, will be shown by Silvia's trainer, Olympian Lisa Wilcox, who recently relocated to Florida after more than a decade of training and competing in Europe. Twenty-two-year-old Silvia has been a well-known competitor/owner on the Southeast dressage scene for the past five years, as he made the humbling...

With the 2006 World Equestrian Games just three months away, the top endurance riders in the U.S. are preparing to demonstrate their abilities in the hopes of earning a place on the U.S. Endurance Team. In order to be considered, each rider must compete at one of three FEI***/AERC dual-sanctioned 100-mile rides scheduled for May 20 in Oreana, ID; May 27 in Grand Island, MI; and June 11 in Ashland, MT. Members of the National Selection Committee will be present at each event to evaluate the...

The World Equestrian Festival, perhaps the largest single week's horse show in the world, began Wednesday in Aachen, Germany, with the United States announcing a top team for the Samsung Super League. Aachen CHIO has added championship vaulting to the lineup of show jumping, dressage and four-in-hand driving that will be contested by 145 athletes from 23 nations on more than 400 horses, in front of what is expected to be well above 300,000 spectators during the five days of competition. For...

The 61st annual Del Mar National Horse Show wraps up its third and final week with Hunter/Jumper Week, May 2–7. Coming on the heels of Western Week (April 20-23) and Dressage Week (April 27-30), Hunter/Jumper Week features the Del Mar National’s showcase event, the $100,000 HBO Grand Prix of Del Mar, an American Grandprix Association event, on Saturday, May 6, at 7 p.m. All Hunter/Jumper Week events are open to the public and staged at the Del Mar Equestrian Center on the Del Mar Fairgrounds....

To enhance the safety of horses and those who travel with horses, USRider has worked with Drs. Tomas and Rebecca Gimenez, experts in large animal emergency rescue, on a research project to gather and analyze data about horse trailer accidents. Conclusions and recommendations from this study will be released to the public soon. However, during the course of the study, USRider and Drs. Gimenez noticed a hazardous trend involving gooseneck horse trailers, of which they want to caution the public...

The already reduced United States squad for the FEI World Cup Final of Jumping, being held in Asia for the first time, scratched the West Coast horse Mc Guinness, who was running a fever Wednesday. Ten U.S. riders, seven from the East Coast and three from the West Coast, were selected to compete against 40 other riders from 22 countries in the 28th annual indoor riding championships. However, before the competition began, McLain Ward of Brewster, NY and Jimmy Torano of Ft. Lauderdale, FL,...

The Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) is proud to announce its inaugural 50-mile National Championship Endurance Ride, scheduled for June 3, 2006, in Palmyra, WI. The event is being hosted by and held in conjunction with an Appaloosa Distance Riding Association (ApDRA) ride, and will follow the guidelines and rules set forth by the American Endurance Ride Conference. Horses and riders have until May 30, 2006, to qualify. Youth riders 16 and under as of January 1, 2006, do not need to qualify for the...