Jason Berry guides Upswing to success in the Hunter ring (ESI Photography) Culpeper, Va. - Earlier this year, Upswing was imported as a dressage prospect at three-day eventer Phillip Dutton’s barn. Quickly proving that piaffes and passage weren't his calling, Upswing left them in the dust for an over-fences career. Pamela Deslauriers purchased the eight-year old Mechkenburg gelding and handed the reins to Jason Berry (Verona, Virginia) less than three months ago. “He has come...

Kristin Smith & Ophelia (Tricia Booker Photography) Traverse City, Mich. - Kristin Smith's plan was pretty straightforward said trainer Tammy Provost: "To take no prisoners." With 20 of the 35 starters qualifying for the jump-off in the $10,000 North Face Farm Children's/Adult Jumper Prix on July 27, there was no doubt the winner would need to chart a course that combined speed with precision and careful jumping. Designer Scott Starnes' challenging tie-breaker included a daring...

Go With The Gold, a sweepstakes program offered by Merial, Ltd., is launching this month in equine retail stores across the country, giving horse owners the opportunity to win a trip to Las Vegas and attend one of two premier equine events. Purchasers of ZIMECTERIN® Gold (ivermectin/praziquantel) can enter the drawing via a code provided at checkout. Customers can also enter by texting GOLD to 38470. They’ll receive a link to a video to watch on their phone, after which a sweepstakes...

Saumur, France - The rain that has plagued much of the week at the Saumur CCI3* continued on Friday but the two U.S. entries were undeterred as they slotted into the top 10 at the completion of the first phase. Land Rover Competition Grant recipient, Doug Payne, leads the American effort standing fourth heading into the cross country, with Elisabeth Halliday-sharp lying eighth after the dressage. Doug Payne and Crown Talisman (Eric Knoll) Payne (Apex, N.C.) and his own and Larry and Amelia...

Alexandra Beaumont and Undergrad (The Book LLC) North Salem, N.Y . - Sometimes when things fall into place, they really click. For Alexandra Beaumont of Ridgefield, CT, Thursday was when she and her horse Undergrad put the pieces together. It led to their first-ever over fences blue ribbons, but more than that, it took them to the division tricolor and Grand Adult Hunter Championship during the second week of the Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows. On the Grand Prix Field, Laura Bowery of...

Lexington, Ky. - The focus of the reining the world will be on the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park April 25-27, as a talented field lines up for the Adequan/USEF Open Reining National Championship and Selection Trial for the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games U.S. Reining Squad which is being held in as part of the Kentucky Reining Cup. Twenty two of the best in the U.S. will go head-to-head to stake their claim on the National Title, 21 of which are also competing for a spot on...

Raeford, N.C. - A talented field of 11 drivers descends upon Raeford, N.C., this weekend as they look to lay claim on the 2014 USEF National Single Horse Driving Championship. The annual championship will be held in conjunction with the Southern Pines CDE, April 11-13, at the Carolina Horse Park. Competition gets underway Friday with the dressage, with drivers heading out on the marathon course the following day. Sunday hosts the final phase of competition as the 2014 champion will be crowned...

Lexington, Ky. - The United States Equestrian Federation Board of Directors has voted unanimously to appoint Chris Welton as Chief Executive Officer effective June 1, 2014. Welton will replace John Long who announced his decision to retire from the position a year ago. Welton possesses a broad background in sport development and management and has acquired a deep understanding of and experience with the Olympic movement. After practicing law in Atlanta for six years, in 1991 Welton was named...

Steffen Peters and Legolas 92 dance to an impressive Grand Prix Freestyle win at the Festival of the Horse CDI 3*. (Terri Miller) San Juan Capistrano, Calif. - Steffen Peters and Legolas 92, the number one-ranked Grand Prix rider/horse combination in the country, "wowed" not only spectators but also the judges on their way to dominating the CDI Grand Prix Freestyle on the final day of California Dreaming Productions' Festival of the Horse CDI 3*/Y/J/U-25 (presented by Hof Kasselmann) in San...

Lexington, Ky - On Friday, U.S. riders again produced top finishes in Wellington, Fla. at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival CDI5* presented by Diamante Farms, as American combinations claimed victory in both the Grand Prix Freestyle and Grand Prix Special. Tina Konyot saved her best performance of the 12 week festival for last as she earned victory in the Freestyle competition, while her teammate from the winning U.S. Nations Cup effort one month ago, Adrienne Lyle, produced a an impressive...