Kent Farrington and Top Gun. (ESI Photography© . ) Ocala, FL - The 30th Anniversary of the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit could go down as the most memorable one ever. The eight-week Circuit was blessed with beautiful weather, stellar competition and record-breaking entries in both the Grand Prix and Devoucoux Hunter Prix, proving that qualifying for this year’s Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix and Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final has captured the hearts and minds of equestrians from...

Samantha Richards, 2010 AMHA/Team Morgan Win a Morgan Horse Contest winner. (Photo courtesy AMHA.) Shelburne, VT — Nineteen-year-old Samantha Richards of Laramie, WY, recently was announced as the 2010 American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA)/Team Morgan Win a Morgan Horse Contest winner. Samantha recently met her new filly, CBMF Stolen Kisses, a full sister to world champion, Continental Vision. Richards originally hails from Maryland, and attends the University of Wyoming, where she is...

Lauren Barwick. (Photos courtesy Lindsay Y McCall.) Del Mar, CA - Canadian Para-Equestrian Team member Lauren Barwick dominated the Grade II division at the 2011 Dressage Affaire at the Del Mar Horsepark during the CPED13* Para-Equestrian Dressage competition, riding away with the blue ribbon on Off To Paris and the red on Ferdonia 2 in the Individual Test. Barwick also took home top honors in the Freestyle, riding Ferdonia 2 to first place with a high score of 75.167% and earning second on Off...

Lexington, KY – Equestrian Events, Inc. (EEI), producer of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Bridgestone, is excited to welcome Ariat as the title sponsor and Official Apparel and Footwear of the Kentucky Reining Cup, which will debut alongside this year’s Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, April 28-May 1, 2011, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. Joining Ariat as sponsors of the inaugural event are the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), SmartPak and Markel...

Lucy Davis and Nemo. (Flying Horse Photography.) Thermal, CA - The 20th Anniversary of the HITS Desert Circuit was a success from start to finish, with beautiful weather, great competition and record entries for the first time since 2007. The fifth season at the HITS Desert Horse Park in Thermal, CA, was a world-class show jumping experience for trainers, owners, riders and spectators, alike. All four of the FEI World Cup Qualifying Grand Prix took place before sold-out VIP and general...

Kent Farrington and Top Gun. (ESI Photography.) Ocala, FL - Sunday’s $100,000 DeLuca Toyota Tundra Grand Prix, presented by Great American Insurance Group, was not only the season finale to the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit, but also the 36th Grand Prix of the 2011 HITS Show Season, which marked the virtual mid-way point for the qualifying period for this year’s Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix. Kent Farrington felt the need for speed, when he and Iron Horse Farm’s Top Gun captured the win, to conclude...

A competitor on course in the Purina Mills Horseless Horseshow. (Photo by Sarah Owen.) Ocala, FL - The annual Purina Mills Weekend, which featured exciting classes, a $50,000 Purina Mills-sponsored Grand Prix, and a series of special events, wrapped up the fifth week of AA-rated competition at the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit. Another round of beautiful weather provided picture-perfect conditions, and exhibitors were out in force to take advantage of an action-packed schedule, with several key...

Wellington, FL The ninth week of the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) has come to a close at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. Saturday Night Lights at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival brought a crowd of more than 4,200 spectators to watch Brazil's Rodrigo Pessoa and Let's Fly jump to victory in the $231,000 FEI World Cup™ Grand Prix CSI 4*-W Presented by Bainbridge Companies. Pessoa earned the winning cut of prize money after an exciting jump-off of many of the top horses...

Ellen Toon and Invincible. (ESI Photography© .) Saugerties, NY - For the first time in the history of the HITS Winter Circuits in Ocala, FL; Tucson, AZ; and Thermal, CA, three extraordinary Hunter events took place at nearly the same time on Saturday night and awarded $40,000 in prize money from coast to coast. The Devoucoux Hunter Prix, a two-round Hunter classic, was by far one of the most exciting classes on the schedule this winter and the ticket for riders looking to earn their way to the...

Dressage Steffen Peters swept the 2011 World Dressage Masters Palm Beach presented by the International Polo Club, dominating both the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Freestyle at Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL. The California combination scored a personal best CDI Grand Prix score of 80.872% and a Freestyle score of 84.525% at the only CDI5* in the United States. Tina Konyot and Calecto V were second in the Grand Prix and third in the Freestyle to complete a strong showing for...