Ireland won the opening leg of the 2011 FEI Nations Cup™ series in a nail-biting thriller at La Baule in France today. On an afternoon when the form-book was turned on its head, Robert Splaine's side of Shane Sweetnam (Amaretto Darco), Billy Twomey (Romanov), Cian O'Connor (Larkhill Cruiser) and Cameron Hanley (VDL Southwind) produced superb jumping to finish with a two-fault advantage over the runners-up from Belgium, while the mighty German side had to settle for third spot in...

Chesterfield, SC - For the first of three days for the Heart of the Carolinas Three-Day Event, taking place at Southern Eights Farm in Chesterfield, SC, April 29-May 1, three divisions were featured: Beginner-Novice, Novice and Training. In the Dressage, Jim Baker and Wings are leading the way in Beginner-Novice with a score of 42.3. Anne Lane Maunder and Penny Lane are leading in Novice on a score of 29.3 and Sarah Morton and Conference Call head up the Training level riders with a score of 29....

Badminton, UK - A trio of British girls head the leaderboard after the Dressage phase at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials (GBR), the first leg of the HSBC FEI Classics™ 2011. Ruth Edge (GBR), in pole position with the excellent score of 33.3 penalties on the 17-year-old Two Thyme, winner at Luhmühlen in 2007, is no stranger to the limelight in this phase – indeed, she regularly wins national titles in this discipline. “There’s always a lot of pressure on...

Brooke Coleman of Texas A&M University and Striptease. (Photo by Sportfot©.) Wellington, FL - February 11, 2011 - The 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) hosted the second annual Collegiate Equitation Championship today at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. Riders from 16 universities around the country gathered to compete in a head-to-head, bracket-style format. It was Brooke Coleman from Texas A&M University who claimed victory in the championship. Invitations were...

Boyd Martin and Neville Bardos (Shannon Brinkman) Elkton, MD – Mother Nature wouldn’t quit but smart riding prevailed at the 2009 Dansko Fair Hill International as Boyd Martin flew to the lead in the USEF National CCI*** Championship with Neville Bardos. Newly an American citizen after changing citizenship from Australia earlier in the year, Martin and the nine-year-old Australian Thoroughbred literally skipped over the muddy ground making Derek DiGrazia’s course look easy....

Six USEF National Driving Championships Draw Quality Competition to the Kentucky Horse Park Lexington, KY – For the first time ever, all six USEF National Driving Championships are running con Chester Weber Leads USEF National Four-in-Hand Driving Championship (Picsofyou.com) currently, and the first day got off to a fantastic start at the 2009 Kentucky Cup and Lexington Driving Classic which is also serving as a test event for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. All six FEI...

Gene Mische and Jessica Montezuma (Geoff Oliver Bugbee/USEF) Cincinnati, OH – The philosophy is pretty simple: “If you take care of this sport, it will take care of you.” Gene Mische is a lifetime of living proof. Mische was honored by legions of fans and friends for decades of involvement in the equestrian world. At the Pegasus Awards Ceremony, Mische was presented with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement award at the 2009 USEF Annual Meeting. “I’m...

Corinne Ashton and Dobbin (Shannon Brinkman) Elkton, MD – The standings shuffled significantly both overall and in the USEF National Eventing CCI*** Championship at the Dansko Fair Hill International. Leslie Law (Great Britain) had been sitting in the top position after the dressage with Mystere du Val but run outs at fences 10 and 12 meant that he walked off the course at the half way point. Kim Severson, who had been the top-placed American after the dressage with Tipperary Liadhnan...

Hong Kong, China – It was an interesting cross-country day at the Beas River venue today as 70 horses took on Mike Etherington-Smith’s eight minute cross country course. Not one horse achieved the optimum Gina Miles and McKinlaigh (Shannon Brinkman) time, and Australia’s Shane Rose (riding All Luck) was the only pair to have single digit time penalties. The Germans, on 158.10, took a slim lead over dressage winners, Australia (162.00), in the team portion of the competition....

Parker, CO - The CN FEI North American Junior/Young Rider Championships at the Colorado Horse Park presented by Gotham North finished with a three-hour closing ceremonies at the Colorado Horse Park in Parker, Colorado today. The four-day championship competition wrapped up with the Junior and Young Rider Musical Freestyles in Dressage, Stadium Jumping in Eventing, the Individual Finals in Show Jumping, and the Individual Finals in Reining. Already having locked down the Team Gold on Friday,...