Jenny Karazissis and Puissance R (Shawn McMillen) Lexington, Ky. - For Jenny Karazissis, making the journey to Kentucky from Calabasas, California has already proven to be worthwhile. Karazissis and Puissance R bested a field of 132 top-caliber entries to win round one of the 2016 USHJA Pre-Green Incentive Championship at the Bluegrass Festival Horse Show on Tuesday. Going later in the order, Karazissis unseated Scott Stewart and Storm Watch from the top spot, taking over his score of 261.5...

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - The U.S. Olympic Show Jumping Team has withdrawn Beezie Madden and Cortes ‘C’ from competition at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Cortes 'C' sustained an injury during Round One of the Team competition on Tuesday and in the best interest of the horse's welfare, the decision has been made to withdraw Cortes 'C'. The U.S. will head into Wednesday’s team final in a four-way tie for first. As a three-member team, the U.S. will not have a...

Rio 2016 continue to mess up a perfectly functional transport system, U.S. Dressage rider hits another Personal Best, and the Jumping horses have started leaping. All is good in Rio. The transport (to be more precise the Drop Off / Pick Up) debacle would be comical if it wasn’t so disruptive to everything that we (and other Nations) have been doing for the last two weeks. To then be told that it was our fault and that we, the Teams, were disobeying the rules was insulting and insane....

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – The equestrian venue at Deodoro Olympic Park was filled with excitement Tuesday for the second day of show jumping at the 2016 Olympic Games. A total of 69 athlete-and-horse combinations representing 24 countries, including 15 teams, competed in the first half of the two-round team competition, which also served as the second qualifier for the individual finals. The U.S. team produced three clear rounds which put them in a four-way tie for first place with The...

Givrins, Switzerland – The U.S. Reining team delivered a great display of showmanship at the 2016 SVAG FEI World Reining Championships, August 11-13, at the CS Ranch in Givrins, Switzerland. Team members Shane Brown, Troy Heikes, Kari Klingenberg, and Nick Valentine all had consistent performances throughout the Team and Individual competitions. They finished fifth in the team competition with a score of 646. Heikes placed seventh in the Individual Final on Saturday to lead the U.S....

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Excitement filled the air as the final day of dressage got underway at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Deodoro Olympic Equestrian Center on Monday. The top 18 competitors from eight nations competed in the Grand Prix Freestyle, the deciding competition for the Individual medals. Only three athletes from each nation were eligible to compete. After winning the Bronze medal with teammate Kasey Perry-Glass on Friday, Steffen Peters, Alison Brock, and Laura Graves entered...

Andrew Kocher and Zantos II won Sunday's $50,000 Grand Prix of Williamsburg CSI2* to wrap-up Week Five at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival. (Taylor Renner/Phelps Media Group) Traverse City, Mich. - Aug. 14, 2016 - Week Five's feature event at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF), the $50,000 Grand Prix of Williamsburg CSI2*, went to Andrew Kocher (USA) and brand new mount Zantos II. With only having ridden and competed the 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding for less than a month,...

Lexington, Ky. – A week of competition at the 2016 US Pony Finals presented by Collecting Gaits Farm came to a close Sunday with the most coveted award of the championship. The Marshall & Sterling/US Pony Medal Finals took place in the Alltech Arena with 182 riders vying for top honors in front of judges Scott Hofstetter and Jack Towell. Following excellent performances through the day, Caroline Passarelli earned the Marshall & Sterling/US Pony Medal Finals title. Caroline...

I started this blog this morning with the aim of completing by the start of the jumping competition and extolling the virtues of the Glorious 12th. However it is now evening and the blog is only just being started due to the time consuming shenanigans of the Annoying 14th. It has been one of those days that Rio 2016 have perfected the art of creating; frustrating and unnecessary. Casting my mind back to the Glorious 12th, I still get goosebumps combined with deep reoccurring nervous tension...

Atherton, Calif. - Saturday is a special day at Menlo Charity Horse Show (MCHS) from the Leadline to the $40,000 Bentley Los Gatos and Bentley San Francisco Grand Prix; there truly is an event for everyone. Don DeFranco has been on the MCHS committee since 2007 and began sponsoring the Leadline Class in memory of his father, V. James DeFranco a pediatrician and family practitioner, who passed in May 2013. “He was a very charitable man and did a lot of good for a lot of people and I just...