Beginning in 1995 as part of the Volvo World Cup Finals, the Festival of the Horse (March 30–April 2) has become one of the largest dressage shows in Southern California. Cornerstone Event Management strives to combine top competition with special activities surrounding the show. “The sponsors play a large part on the success of the Festival,” said Glenda McElroy, Festival manager. “We try to find a niche for all our sponsors; Markel Insurance, a longtime partner, sponsors the high-point...

Photo by Erica Larson (Hannah Sue Burnett and St. Barths) It was a nail biter to the end at the Fork Horse Trials this weekend as the United States Eventing Association (USEA)/Adequan Gold Cup Advanced division and the CIC*** wrapped up with show jumping. Neither overnight leader was able to hold on to their lead, and even the winners were pleasantly surprised with the outcome of the competition. In the USEA/Adequan Gold Cup division, the "little horse that could" came from behind to take home...

A total of 43 riders from 19 countries will compete in the 2009/2010 Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final at the Palexpo Arena in Geneva, Switzerland, next week from April 14-18. All but one of the competitors have emerged from nine leagues that took place around the world in recent months, the sole exception being the host nation's Niklaus Schurtenberger who has been awarded a Wild Card entry with his top horse, Cantus. A notable absentee from the exciting closing stages will be 2008/2009...

Photo by Robbi Meisel (Taylor Land and Karonda V Schl’Hof) The Atlanta Spring Classics welcomed the new season with Cherry Blossoms in bloom, blue skies, and heated competition among hunters and jumpers. And the biggest competition this week centered around two sisters, Frances and Taylor Land, who dominated the jumper rings. Produced by the Classic Company and held at the Georgia International Horse Park, home of the 1996 Olympics, in Conyers, GA, the two-week event runs March 24-April 3 with...

Photo by Josh Walker/USEA (Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister at the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series CIC3* division at the Galway Downs International Horse Trials.) Overnight leader Tiana Coudray of Ojai, CA, kept her nerves in check to gallop home the winner aboard her Ringwood Magister in the CIC*** at the Galway Downs International Horse Trials. “He’s really grown up,” said Coudray, 21, of her handsome gray Irish-bred. “In so many places I gave him the opportunity to [be bad], and he wasn’t....

Photo by ESI Photography (Jennifer Alfano and Fantabulous on course in the $10,000 Devoucoux Hunter Derby at HITS Ocala. ) The 2010 HITS Ocala Winter Circuit was certainly a successful tour for HITS Ocala Veteran Callan Solem. The accomplished equestrian found victory in the Grand Prix ring several times during the eight-week horse show circuit at HITS Post Time Farm in Ocala, FL, including a win in the $50,000 Ring Power Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, on Allison, owned by Quiet...

Sappire Wins Again for McLain Ward (Shannon Brinkman/ USEF Archives) Wellington, FL - March 27, 2010 - Tonight's $500,000 FTI Consulting Finale Grand Prix, CSI 5* drew the largest crowd in the history of equestrian sport in Wellington. More than 9,000 spectators came to see who would win one of the biggest show jumping purses in North America. Sapphire, ridden by McLain Ward (USA) and owned by Ward and Blue Chip Bloodstock, came home with the win and repeated their victory from last year over...

Husband Jason Dye Thanks Dressage Community for Its Support As Courtney King-Dye, a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Dressage Team, remains in a coma in a Florida hospital after suffering a serious head injury earlier this month, an award winning New York fashion designer and two California equine photographers hope that sales of a t-shirt honoring Courtney will help with the mounting expenses associated with her medical care. The black-on-white silkscreened t-shirt for women, designed by indie...

When 15-year-old Chelsea Dowdy entered one of Kentucky’s many county fairs in 2009 with El Diamante, she could feel their usual synergy. With all the fun she had, it was an easy decision to enter another. And another. By season’s end, they had not only claimed top honors and a collection of garlands and ribbons—they had amassed a respectable college fund totaling $10,799.31. That hefty chunk of change came courtesy of the Kentucky Breeders’ Incentive Fund (KBIF), earmarked for a...

In celebration of its 35th anniversary, September 28-October 3, 2010, Dressage at Devon is adding two exciting new championship programs—the Pro-Am Challenge and the Young Performance Horse Championship. The goal of both awards is to identify success in two important groups of competitors—amateur riders and young horses. "We always strive to find new ways to recognize greatness at Dressage at Devon," said Lori Kaminski, President and CEO of the event. "This fall, while some of the...