Photo by Randi Muster (Farewell and Rachel Koggan capture the Amateur-Owner Hunter 18-35 Championship at the 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. ) The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival had a very successful opening week of competition. New faces from across the country and around the world came to show at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, and close to 1,600 horses showed in the first week of the circuit. That is a 21% increase in horses that showed during the same week at last...

Measured by nearly 1,000 horses stemming from 42 states and four foreign countries, nearly 1,950 entries, beautiful weather and plenty of extra activities, the American Paint Horse Association's first Fall World Championship Paint Horse Show is now complete. The split format was introduced this year with the Youth World Show being the focus of the summer event, while the Open and Amateur World Show, plus the slot classes and Breeders' Futurity, were the focus of the Fall World. The expanded...

Dressage rider and trainer Tracey Winter takes great pride in her horses, and thanks to her recent win at the United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Region 3 Championships she has even more to be proud of. Winter and Windsor, her six-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Routinier, out of Oceana, by Charmeur, won the Region 3 First Level Open Championship. “It was a surreal feeling to win, as I was just hoping to be in the thick of things,” Winter said. “It was a good-size class with very nice...

The Reining Horse Sports Foundation (RHSF) mission is to develop and enhance the sport of reining worldwide through its five core programs: NRHA Hall of Fame, Crisis Fund, Research, Development & Education, Youth Programs and International Development. With the 2010 Alltech® FEI World Equestrian Games approaching next September, RHSF has a unique opportunity for you to champion its involvement in the Games and aid its efforts to bring reining to an unprecedented audience. Contribute to the RHSF...

The Agricultural Marketing Group at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM, has undertaken the first scientific saddle fit study of Western performance saddles. Using a force sensor array (FSA) pressure pad, which shows exactly how the saddle applies contact to the horse, different levels of pressure are shown in different colors and in three dimensions. The focus of the study is on barrel and roping saddles, but the results are applicable to all types of Western saddle users. Using this...

The Morgan breed's largest horse show has begun. The Grand National & World Championship Morgan Horse Show is held in Oklahoma City, OK, and already some athletes have taken world championships in their respective divisions. If you weren't able to make it to Oklahoma this year, have no fear. You can still see all of the action ringside by going to www.morgangrandnational.com and order your live, streaming video. You can also read all of the results posted on www.gaitkeeper.com at the end of...

“Excited and overwhelmed,” were how Gallop in the Glen co-chair Kim Burnett Mitchell described the opening week. "I feel the show was a success due to the GREAT exhibitors, GREAT parties every night, GREAT music each night, a GREAT staff, and GREAT officials!” an exuberant Mitchell said. Even Saturday’s downpour of rain didn’t dampen spirits or good times. “Everyone still kept telling me how thrilled with the show they were. Actually this facility can handle an unbelievable amount of rain, and...

Members of the Professional Riders Organization (PRO) took top honors at the Waredaca Horse Trials in Maryland this weekend, with PRO riders winning six divisions. In a crowded field of competitors, PRO founder Phillip Dutton walked away with first-, second- and third-place finishes in Open Intermediate. Dutton is currently ranked second in the nation behind fellow PRO founder Buck Davidson. Boyd Martin, a PRO board member who also competed at Waredaca, is ranked third. Overall, the top five...

Surrounded by the beauty of the Kentucky Horse Park, First Lady Jane Beshear presented a proclamation declaring Saturday, August 15, 2009, as the Fifth Annual Hats Off To Kentucky's Horse Industry Day. "I can not think of a better way to celebrate our signature horse industry than to invite everyone to attend a day of festivities at the Kentucky Horse Park," said First Lady Beshear. "I encourage all Kentuckians to join in the fun on Saturday for the Hats Off to Kentucky's Horse Industry Day."...

The North American Young Riders Endurance ride took place on Friday, July 24. It was run concurrently with the FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships (NAJYRC) and for the first time all three North American countries were represented. Held in the rolling hills of Henryville, IN, riders competed against the clock for team and individual medals. Heavy rains left the ride’s 75-mile course a bit more treacherous, requiring riders to be extra cautious. The Individual Gold and Silver...