Lexington, Ky. - The U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup Team emerged victorious at the 2018 Saddle Seat World Cup this week, winning the gold medal in both the three-gaited and five-gaited sections. Led by their coaches, Jonelle Chovanec and Hilary Wilcox, and team mentors, Cindy Mugnier and Barbe Smith, the team of 12 athletes represented the United States to face-off against teams of top saddle seat equitation riders from Canada, Namibia, and South Africa at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky.,...

In the wake of major Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria and devastating Western wildfires, the equestrian community banded together to help horses in need in a variety of ways, whether by donating to the USEF Equine Disaster Relief Fund or by helping to evacuate or shelter animals. Hurricane-related flooding endangered horses and inspired equestrians around the country to provide help. Photo Courtesy of AAEP. Countless individuals and groups donated to the USEF Equine Disaster Relief Fund to...

Kate Grom’s first album, “Heroine,” came out earlier this year. (Jeremy Cowart) US Equestrian member Kate Grom may be one of the music world’s budding talents, but even in her musical career you can spot her passion for horses. Her new music video, “Whistle Cry,” also stars the American Saddlebred Perfect Vengeance, a five-time World Champion that Kate and her sister Tara showed. An Arabian named Beauty Queen and a Quarter Horse called Hancock Grey Bar, or...

Maria Filsinger Interrante riding Sammy in 2015 at the Red Barn on Stanford’s campus in California. (Damian Marhefka) Maria Filsinger Interrante, former captain of Stanford’s equestrian team, leads a group that recently won the $10,000 national prize for their work to develop a novel therapy for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Maria Filsinger Interrante, who led a team of young scientists that recently won the prestigious $10,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize in the “Cure...

Derek di Grazia’s courses are known for being challenging but fair and safe. (Mike McNally Photo) Derek di Grazia knows what it’s like to ride—and win—the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover: he won it in 1985 on Sasquatch, a Thoroughbred/Appaloosa cross. These days, as the Rolex Kentucky event’s cross-country course designer, di Grazia is the man asking the questions of the four-star horses and riders galloping over the Kentucky Horse...

Boyd Martin and Crackerjack competing at theRolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover in 2015. (Kasey @ Rare Air Photography) The path to the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover can be winding and difficult, and few understand that better than owner Lucy Boynton. Her horse Crackerjack has done more than just take Boynton to the highest level of eventing on both sides of the Atlantic; he’s also given her an extended family and continued a path that her late...

Reggie and Kathleen Murray (center) were joined by Buck Davidson (left) and Cassandra and Carl Segal when they evented at training level this winter in Florida. (Photo Courtesy Kathleen Blauth Murray) Thursday will mark the end of an era for Kathleen Blauth Murray at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover. Murray, eventing athlete and Buck Davidson’s longtime groom, will perform the dressage test ride aboard Carl and Cassandra Segal’s Ballynoe Castle R.M.,...

Good biosecurity practices are key to disease prevention when horses are grouped together at competitions. (Randi Muster/Mustphoto, Inc.) Ask horse owners to name their most-feared horse diseases, and chances are equine herpesvirus, or EHV, will be on the list. Recent reports of EHV in Texas, Louisiana, California, and Kentucky serve as a reminder that, with the spring competition season getting underway, it’s important for equestrians to be vigilant and take preventive measures, from...

Laura Chapot won the $30,000 Open Jumper Classic on ISHD Dual Star (The Book LLC) Lake Placid, N.Y. - Laura Chapot swept the top two places in the $30,000 Open Jumper Classic Thursday at the I Love New York Horse Show, the second of two weeks comprising the 47th annual Lake Placid Horse Shows, presented by Sea Shore Stables LLC. Chapot won the class on ISHD Dual Star and placed second on Quointreau Un Prince. She also finished 10th on Thornhill Kate. Eight of 29 entries reached the jump-off by...

Lexington, Ky. - Thirty-two top U.S. saddle seat riders will converge on William Woods University in Fulton, Mo., on Saturday, December 5, for the U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup Team Trials, attempting to earn a spot on the 2016 U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup Team as either a three- or five-gaited competitor. Following is the list of the athletes scheduled to attend: Three-Gaited Aleia Brown - Dayton, Ohio Megan Buckley - Zionsville, Ind. Sydney Budzinski - Mukwonago, Wis. Molly Codeanne -...