James R. Wolf has been selected by the USEF to assume the leadership of the Federation’s High Performance discipline programs as the Executive Director of High Performance. He had been serving as Interim Executive Director. Jim has many years of administrative and competitive experience in horse sports. Prior to joining the USEF staff full-time, he managed the USET’s three-day eventing squad at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, where he was responsible for the coordination of the...

Lexington, KY —The United States Equestrian Federation is pleased to announce the newest supplier of horse blankets to the Federation—Blue Ribbon Custom Blankets by Royal Riders. Holding a rich tradition of excellence in equine clothing, Royal Riders has been producing some of the best horse blankets in the industry for nearly 30 years; hunter and equitation enthusiast Janet Graham has been at the helm for the last 13. Graham says the company has evolved quite a bit since its...

Los Angeles, CA —As the 2004 season comes to a close, West Coast League riders step out of their saddles for a moment to reflect on five rounds of World Cup qualifiers that have determined their standings at the halfway mark. Separated by only a few points, Richard Spooner, Joie Gatlin and Gabriella Salick maintain an incredibly close race for the three World Cup slots afforded to the League. A tenth place finish atop Hilton Flight (Bay Irish Sport Horse gelding; Errigal...

The American Saddlebred Horse Association has not published an official register since 1988. That will all change in 2005. ASHA has teamed with Harris Publishing to release the American Saddle Horse Register for all registered foals in 2004. Each horse will be listed with his or her registration number, foaling date, city and state of breeding, as well as the first, second and third sires and dams. The publication will also include the names of the more than 45,000 Saddlebreds that have been...

Lexington, KY – The USEF Search Committee for the new Show Jumping Chef d’Equipe has developed a job description for the position after soliciting important input from owners and riders at two forums, one in Del Mar, California on October 1st, and the other in Syracuse, New York held on November 7th. Eric Straus, Chairman of the Search Committee, emphasized that this position will be different than ever before because it is, “a generational change, a functional change. We are...

Jacqueline Brooks on Balmoral and Elly Schobel on Raison d’Etre were the top scorers in the North American Breeders Futurity FEI Dressage Test for Five-Year-Old Horses and Six-Year-Old Horses respectively at the 2004 Dressage at Devon. Brooks earned an 8.2 in the test, a score which judge Janet Brown says would place her in the top ten percent in a European championship. Her five-year-old American Hanoverian is by Belcanto out of Charisma, and was bred by Stephanie Jeffery. The Canadian was...

The Dressage and Jumping World Cup Finals will light up Las Vegas like never before when they come together at the Thomas and Mack Center, April 20-24, 2005. Individual tickets go on sale November 1, and they will go quickly, so spectators are advised to purchase early. Series tickets have been selling at an almost unbelievable rate, already surpassing the total ticket sales from 2003, the last time the Budweiser Jumping World Cup Final took center stage in Las Vegas. The start of individual...

Washington, D.C. – The Equestrian Olympic athletes that represented the United States in Athens this year had the extraordinary opportunity to meet the President and First Lady at the White House. Following a tradition started with President Gerald Ford, President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush greeted the athletes in style on Monday. The event was sponsored by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) on behalf of all of the members of the US Olympic and Paralympic Teams....

Royal Kaliber, the stallion that took Chris Kappler to the Olympic team silver and individual bronze medals at the 2004 Olympic Games, is stable as he continues to recover from colic surgery performed in the Netherlands on Monday, September 27th. Dr. Jack Snyder, the veterinarian who performed the surgery, reports that Royal Kaliber is eating, sleeping and drinking normally for this stage of recovery. “Although there is still much concern and he is not out of the woods yet, all of Roy’s...

Lexington, KY — The top reining horses and riders in the country are set to begin competing in the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) 2004/2005 Reining Qualifying Season as they gear up for the 2005 championship season. The first qualifying reining competition will be hosted in Columbus, Ohio, on October 9th, during the All American Quarter Horse Congress. As one of the largest equestrian events in the world, the Congress typically sees more than a half a million people every year....