Wellington, FL - Olympic gold medalist McLain Ward (USA) was able to beat a field of 39 competitors to take the first round victory in the $30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series at the 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival. He and Oh' D Eole triumphed in the jump-off over Charlie Jayne (USA) on Chill R Z and Darragh Kerins (IRL) with Hot Wheels. Today's grand prix marked the start of an exciting show jumping season, where riders will compete over 12 weeks to win bonus money in the...

Cian O'Connor and Everything Capture First G&C Farm 1.45m Jumper Victory Wellington, FL - The FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) kicked off competition today with hunter/jumper classes in 10 rings. In the International Arena, Olympian Cian O'Connor (IRL) scored the first win of the season with Everything, owned by Abdulla Humaid Al Muhairi, in the G&C Farm 1.45m Jumpers. The first week of the FTI WEF runs through Sunday, January 15, and is sponsored by Surpass....

Wellington, FL - The 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) hosted its opening press conference on Tuesday afternoon at the White Horse Tavern in Wellington, FL. A large crowd of local, national, and international media were in attendance to hear the latest news on the 12-week competition, which begins tomorrow. The FTI WEF will host thousands of the world's best horses and riders on January 11-April 1 at the beautiful Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in what...

Wellington, FL Lauren Sammis and Sagacious HF competing at the 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of Champions at Gladstone. (Photo courtesy of Sue Stickle) – Pan Am Gold Medalist Lauren Sammis and Sagacious HF, a KWPN gelding owned by Al Guden and Hyperion Farm, have arrived in Wellington and are looking forward to a great New Year as well as a fabulous show season. Sagacious, a jet black gelding with his own Facebook page and a large fan following, is in top shape as he prepares...

Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro. Photo courtesy of British Dressage Wellington, FL - Organizers of the World Dressage Masters presented by Axel Johnson Group have been informed that the stallion Totilas and his rider Matthias Rath of Germany will be unable to attend the WDM Palm Beach presented by International Polo Club Palm Beach, which is set to take place January 26th to 28th. "I received a call this morning from Paul Schockemöhle, one of the owners of Totilas," said WDM Palm Beach...

2011 Recipients Named Oklahoma City, OK – January 5, 2012 – The National Reining Horse Youth Association (NRHyA) offers members an online program that rewards youth for leadership and community service activities outside of the show arena. The Varsity Reining Club (VRC) provides scholarships totaling $5,000, to be awarded to the most active participants in two age groups. In its sixth year, VRC will provide 13 youth scholarship monies, with the top-placing individual in each age...

Everyone will remember something different from 2011: exactly how long seven-hundredths of a second can be, the vast desolation of the Abu Dhabi desert, the joy of going undefeated or the nagging ache of defeat. Whatever you recall, 2011 was a year of tremendous success for the USEF High Performance programs. When the dust settled over Guadalajara, Mexico the USEF's teams had recorded a record Pan American Games medal haul. Ten medals - that is every medal but two - came back to the United...

Morton, IL – The American Shetland Pony Club, Inc., crowned its 2012 all-registry Queen at its recent national convention. Miss Alyssa Palas of Ames, Iowa, will represent the ASPC as well as the American Miniature Horse Registry, the American Show Pony Registry and the National Show Pony Registry throughout the next year. Alyssa Palas is the 18-year-old daughter of Greg and Barb Palas. She has been involved with the ASPC/AMHR and its small equine breeds since 2001. Ms. Palas actively...

Cincinnati, OH - The 2012 International Hoof-Care Summit theme, “Zeroing In On Soundness,” reflects the needs of hoof-care professionals eager to learn the latest cutting-edge ideas to boost their profitability, efficiency and footcare skills. This is the 9th annual Summit, offering unequalled footcare education through 8 general sessions, 12 Hoof-Care Classrooms, 24 Hoof-Care Roundtables, 18 How-To Clinics and 3 Trade Show sessions. The Trade Show offers 9 uninterrupted hours of...

Sara Schmitt and Kaboom. Photo: Pics of You. The Dressage Foundation has announced that a total of $10,000 has been awarded to U.S. dressage instructors through the Major Anders Lindgren Scholarship program. Due to the recent restructuring of the scholarship guidelines, to provide up to three scholarships per year for the recipients to train in the United States, interest was very high. This year, the Selection Committee chose the following recipients: Sarah Geikie (CT) was awarded the $6,000...