Bob Bell, President of the Classic Company, announced, "It’s official," referring to the return of the John Deere-USEF Memberperks bonus program, which will award a new Gator to the high-scoring adult amateur hunter on the final week of the Atlanta Fall Classics in November. Bell had pitched the idea for rewarding the adult group to the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and various committees in late 2005. “I just felt this is a group of exhibitors that so often is overlooked and that...

The Executive Board of the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) has voted to withdraw the proposed Strategic Plan. This plan called for the creation of a U.S. affiliate with a new governance structure and a realignment of the governance for the NRHA as a worldwide association. The Executive Board has determined that to serve the membership needs better, a new plan will be constructed in the near future. Bylaws changes have been submitted to the membership for a vote in June. If the legal...

The Morgan breed was celebrated and heralded in Atlanta, GA, at the 2007 American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) Convention February 14-17. For the first time in its 26-year history, many Morgan enthusiasts and speakers couldn’t make the event due to poor weather and cancelled flights. “Our theme this year was ‘The Morgan: A Passion That Lasts a Lifetime,’” said Convention co-chairman Barbara Goda. “I think this also follows closely with the people who surround the Morgan horse. Our Morgan...

(Lexington, KY) - The USEF has announced the show jumping team which will represent the United States against a stellar field of international teams at the CSIO competition in Wellington Florida, March 7-11. This event is one of the premier show jumping competitions in the United States this year and will showcase many of the international athletes and horses that will be competing at the World Cup in Las Vegas April 18-22nd. The event includes the only Nation’s Cup international team...

American Quarter Horses, the world's most versatile breed, takes center stage Sunday, January 7, on NBC at 1:30 EST/ 10:30 PST to strut their stuff in the America’s Horse Championships Presented by Ford Trucks . The program features two uniquely American competitions, cutting and reining, coming from The FedEx Open Competition at The American Quarter Horse Association World Championships show in Oklahoma City, OK. For those viewers new to these two sports, be ready to be intrigued. Calling the...

The 52nd Annual Convention of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), held December 2-6 in San Antonio, TX, set a new attendance record for the association’s flagship event, as 6,842 veterinary professionals, guests and exhibitors participated. The previous attendance record of 6,284 was set at the 2004 Annual Convention in Denver, CO. "We were overwhelmed with the positive response to this year's convention. A fantastic and extremely practical program, coupled with a very...

With the competition season drawing to a close, final nominations from American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA) membership for the ASHA’s individual awards are due at ASHA no later than the close of business Wednesday, November 15, 2006. Each year, the association’s highest honors are presented at the annual Saddlebred Ball, to be held at the Keeneland Entertainment Center to close the ASHA convention, on Saturday evening, February 17, 2007. The awards, Lifetime Achievement, Meritorious...

Loss of open land has been identified as the greatest threat to the future of all equestrian sport, recreation and industry. The Equestrian Land Conservation Resource (ELCR), which is dedicated to promoting access to, and conservation of, land for equestrian use, has announced that it will move its national headquarters to the Kentucky Horse Park, becoming the 30th equine organization to locate at the Park. They will also hire a new chief executive officer (CEO). By educating horse people and...

Sometimes winning looks easy, and sometimes it just doesn’t. Ask the junior jumper riders about the 2006 Adequan/USEF National Junior Jumper Team Championship - Prix des States. The Zone 2 team representing the best junior jumper riders from New Jersey , New York and Pennsylvania made every jump count as they edged the Zone 1, New England squad, by a single downed rail. The defending champions, Zone 5 (IL, IN, KY, MI, OH) were never better than third where they tied with West Coast Zone 10 (CA,...

The Arabian Reining Horse Association announced the entry deadline for all National Reining Horse Association classes held at the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show has been changed. The new deadline is December 1, 2006 (as opposed to December 15, 2006) as previously published. Unlike previous years, contestants will be unable to enter NRHA classes at the show.~~~