Lexington, KY.- The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased to anounce the six horses are up for the 2014 USEF Horses of Year honors. International Horses of Honor Cortes 'C' (SusanJStickle.com) Cortes ‘C’ (Randel Z x Orchidee Van De Tombeele) 2002 Belgian Warmblood gelding Owner: Abigail Wexner Cortes ‘C’ enjoyed a banner year in 2014, cruising to some of the most coveted titles in the sport of show jumping. Abigail Wexner’s scopey Belgian Warmblood...

John French and Sochi on their way to a blue ribbon and the Scott Wilson Perpetual Trophy in the $2,500 Pre-Green Hunter Championship 3' (ESI Photography) Thermal, Calif. - Over the past two weeks, the National Sunshine Series Hunter Rings have seen amazing competition. Friday afternoon’s Pre-Green Hunter Championships established a pleasant atmosphere that continued throughout the weekend. Familiar faces topped the leaderboards, albeit many of them aboard new horses. Alex Wilson is new...

Lexington, Ky. - As the National Horse Show awarded its professional hunter championships Wednesday, there was one name repeated with almost every presentation: Dr. Betsee Parker. Parker, of Middleburg, Virginia, is the owner of Casanova, Cold Harbor, Lucador and the lessee of A Million Reasons. The four horses constituted four of the five championship winning mounts Wednesday at the Kentucky Horse Park. Scott Stewart and Lucador earned the 2014 Grand Hunter Championship with a clean sweep of...

Upper Marlboro, Md. – Ponies ruled Saturday at The Capital Challenge Horse Show, presented by The Gochman Family. Kurtz (14) of Hudson, Ohio., rode to the top of the Pony Hunters on David Gochman's Valor. They were the Large Pony Hunter champions, and with two firsts, two seconds, and a fourth under saddle, and received the Grand Pony Hunter Championship, sponsored by Ali Sweetnam and Sweet Oak Farm. They were awarded the VanderMoore Designs Trophy, donated by VanderMoore Designs....

Upper Marlboro, Md. - After working for six years to qualify for and achieve her ultimate goal of winning the ARIAT National Adult Medal Finals, Rachel Boggus of Indianapolis, Ind., succeeded. She rode Papillon 136 through two rounds of equitation competition and came away with the win over 30 competitors. Since it's inception in 1994, the ARIAT National Adult Medal has given adult riders the opportunity to compete in a competitive equitation class over fences 3' in height. The classes...

Upper Marlboro, Md. –The Capital Challenge Horse Show started with junior riders competing on Equitation Weekend, presented by Bigeq.com. Championships for age divisions in equitation were presented Saturday, leading up to Sunday's finals competition. The equitation age divisions had over fences classes in the outdoor and indoor rings, joined by a flat class indoors. There were five junior equitation age division champions awarded, along with classes for the Adult Amateur Equitation...

North Salem, N . Y. - When Darragh Kenny and Gatsby entered the ring as one of the last to go in today's $34,000 Don Little Memorial Welcome Stake, the time to beat sat at 76.040 seconds. That time, held by Jessica Springsteen and Vindicat W, had been set nearly 50 rounds before and looked like it would remain untouchable. But by the time Kenny and Gatsby trotted off the grass grand prix field at Old Salem Farm, they had blown Springsteen's time out of the water by nearly 5.5 seconds...

Tammy Provost and Kim Calamos' Kallisto (Chicago Equestrian) Antionch, Ill. - The $50,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby is the highlight of the 2014 Chicago Hunter Derby at Annali-Brookwood Farm, showcasing top horses and riders from across the country while raising funds for charities. The Chicago Hunter Derby is a unique stand-alone event, currently offering more prize money than any other competition of it’s kind. The derby weekend is also one of the few derbies held in a grass...

The second day of vaulting consisted of the First Round Freestyle Tests for the Squads, Individual Females, and Individuals Males at the Zénith on Wednesday. The judging panel of Sue Detol (USA), Elzbieta Dolinska (POL), Anita Flamand (AUT), Véronique Girard (FRA), Pavla Krauspe (SVK), Anna Kull (SUI), Helma Schwarzmann (GER), and Karolina Wickholm (FIN) saw an array of intricate performances from the top-notch field of competitors. The scores from Tuesday’s Compulsory Tests...

Brunello and Boyd during their winning handy round (A Galvin/Phelps Media Group) Lexington, Ky. - -"I feel like it's a bit of a dream, like pinch me. I'm still a little bit in shock." That is what the winner of the 2014 USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals had to say after her finish, and it is no wonder Liza Boyd thought winning derby finals twice in a row aboard Brunello was a long shot. She gave birth to her second child just two and a half months prior to the competition, giving...