Lexington, KY – Ashley Alden, 17, of Deer Park, Illinois, riding American Saddlebred LA Blues, was crowned champion of the 2005 USEF Saddle Seat Medal Final, held November 19, as part of the UPHA/American Royal National Championship Horse Show in Kansas City, Missouri. Judges for this year’s final included Sandy Sessink of Eugene Oregon, Brent Jacobs of Georgetown, Kentucky, and Lewis Eckard of Hildebran, North Carolina. Smith topped the class of 24 entries in the two-phase...

Hurricane Wilma dealt a damaging blow to South Florida and the equestrian community of Wellington when she struck the area on October 24, 2005. Despite the widespread impact, the equestrian community is rapidly recovering and gradually returning to normal. The Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club, home to the 122nd Annual National Horse Show and Family Festival, sustained some damage, but nothing that will prevent this year’s show from going on as scheduled beginning on November 30 and running...

After 30 of 33 events on the 2005 tour, it all comes down to one class in this year’s race for the titles of American Grand Prix Association (AGA) Rider, Horse and Rookie of the Year. Entering its 27th year, the AGA Grand Prix Series of Show Jumping is the world’s richest and longest running series of equestrian show jumping events. The AGA offers over $3 million in prize money on a tour that encompasses 30 events and 20 different equestrian market locations across the United States....

The sun shone down on the International Ring for the $1,000,000 CN International Grand Prix on Sunday, September 11, however, the brightest star of the day was Beezie Madden of Cazenovia, NY. She and the 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion Judgement went clear through three rounds of competition to capture a prize of $325,000. It was a class that hosted 49 horse and rider combinations over three very challenging courses set by Leopoldo Palacios. The first round included a very difficult triple...

Lexington, KY -- An outstanding field of five- and six-year-old dressage horses, including a record 16 horses bred in the United States, came together to vie for the nation's most prestigious FEI young horse title this weekend, the Dr. Edgar Hotz Memorial Trophy--during the 2005 USEF/Markel Young Horse Dressage National Championships, hosted by MSEDA Dressage at the Park in Lexington, KY, September 9-11. Winning the Six-Year-Old National Championship with an overall score of 8.452 was Sir...

Stadium Jumping, Inc., the management company for the 2006 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), is pleased to announce that FTI Consulting of Annapolis, MD, is sponsoring the $200,000 FTI Rider Challenge. The FTI Rider Challenge will be held during the 2006 WEF, from January 25 to March 12 at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club in Wellington, FL. The FTI Rider Challenge will be a rider bonus pool for $200,000 in which the riders will receive points based on the number of riders in the seven...

As the 2005 Samsung Super League series moves to Dublin, Ireland, next Friday the home side lie last on the leaderboard despite a gallant effort in Hickstead last week. The Dutch are only 0.5 points ahead of them while the Belgians have just a single-point advantage. So much could change after this sixth leg of the series, which is drawing to an exciting climax. Following last Friday''s bruising encounter at the British fixture, it is the Germans who hold pole position, and they are likely to...

The stars, both equestrian and celebrity, were out at the 2005 Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows. Among the celebrities on hand were rock stars Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, former National Football League star and current television sportscaster Ahmad Rashad, and CNN anchor Lou Dobbs to name just a few. The top stars of the equestrian competition were Kent Farrington of Southport, CT, who won the $60,000 Budweiser Grandprix of Lake Placid CSI** for the Whitney Perpetual...

St. Gallen in Switzerland plays host to the third leg of the 2005 Samsung Super League series on Friday, June 3, and the Swiss team will be keen to keep the home supporters happy with a good result there. Lying fifth on the leaderboard after the first two legs of the series in La Baule and Rome, they have coped well so far in this, their first Super League season, and Chef d'Equipe Rolf Grass will choose his side from Fabio Crotta, Markus Fuchs, Christina Liebherr, Beat Mandli and Niklaus...

La Baule, France - Lady riders completely dominated the first leg of the 2005 Samsung Super League nations cup series in La Baule, France today where the all-girl American side won through ahead of the British, while America's Schuyler Riley and Britain's Ellen Whitaker produced the two double-clear performances of the day. George Morris and his team now head for the second leg of the Samsung Super League series in Rome later this month full of confidence and knowing that all the effort...