Daisy Farish and Elation are the Gotham North Small Pony Hunter Champions. (Photo by Sportfot©.) Wellington, FL - February 6, 2011 - Numerous championships were awarded in the pony hunter divisions. The FTI Winter Equestrian Festival, which runs through April 3, hosts some of the fanciest ponies in the country. Today, the Gotham North Small Pony Hunters were among those awarded. Loads of spectators, including many pony riders and their accompanying family members, filled the areas surrounding...

Dressage Under the Stars kicked with musical freestyle winner, Chris Von Martels on Don Darveen (Photo courtesy of JRPR.) Wellington, FL – For the third year in a row, Dressage Under the Stars held patio-side at The Players Club Bar & Grille, is the place to be on Wednesday nights in Wellington. This year will bring another eight weeks of exciting rider and horse combinations competing for weekly prizes and an opportunity for riders to return the final week to perform in the grand finale. Chris...

Endurance The first American CEI of 2011 took place at the Dupuis Equestrian Center near Indiantown, FL, January 28-29. The event featured two days of Endurance competition. In the CEIJY 1* (80km), Forest Green and PL Nino took top honors in a time of 3:55:30 beating Kelsey Russell and Tryssta by 30 seconds to the wire. In the CEI 1* (80km) Amy Atkins crossed the finish line in 5:03:40 on SA Zacks Comet, one second ahead of Daryl Downs and Blaze Star. In another desperately close race, Kathy...

Ocala, FL - If the weather was a sign of things to come, then the 2011 HITS Ocala Winter Circuit is sure to be another spectacular season. The HITS Ocala Pre-Circuit came to an end on Sunday after two special weeks of exciting show jumping, which now paves the way for the highly anticipated six-week, AA-rated circuit set to start on February 8. Where it all begins again The Road to the Pfizer Million HITS, Inc. made history in 2010 when it produced the richest Grand Prix in the world, the...

Donna Miller and ArdCeltic Art. (Photo courtesy Donna Miller) Lexington, KY - Each year at the United States Equestrian Federation Horse of the Year awards dinner, two Connemara Ponies are honored with special awards from the American Connemara Pony Society for excellence in USEF eventing and hunter competitions. The McKenna Trophy is awarded in memory of Joan McKenna, and is presented to the high scoring purebred or halfbred Connemara competing in USEF eventing competitions at the Preliminary...

Wellington, FL - The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation Board of Trustees hosted a cocktail reception on January 28, 2011, to honor the equestrian athletes that represented the United States during the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG), the recipients of the Foundations' Gold Medal Club Anniversary Awards, the Lionel Guerrand-Hermes Trophy, and the Whitney Stone Cup. The reception was held at Player's Club in Wellington, FL. The reception opened with lovely remarks by...

Nick Haness and Catwalk (Flying Horse Photography© ) Thermal, CA - Canadian Olympian John Pearce seems determined to return to the Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix after a tremendous first week in the Grand Prix ring at the HITS Desert Horse Park in Thermal, CA. Pearce swept both Grand Prix classes at HITS Thermal last week, winning the blue in Friday's $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, aboard Forest View Farm's Chianto, the horse he placed third on in the 2010 Pfizer...

Pablo Barrios and G&C Quick Star 11 won the $40,000 Surpass Grand Prix, CSI 2* (Sportfot©) Wellington, FL - The third week of the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) has concluded at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. In addition to 12 rings of hunter, jumper, and equitation competition, there was plenty happening on the grounds. $40,000 Surpass Grand Prix, CSI 2* Pablo Barrios (VEN) and G&C Quick Star 11, owned by G&C Farm of Wellington, FL, captured the top prize in Saturday...

Taylor Ann Adams after winning the 2009 Essex Classics/USHJA Hunterdon Cup at HITS Saugerties. (Lili Weik Photography©) Saugerties, NY - HITS, Inc. is pleased to announce that the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has selected HITS-on-the-Hudson to be the host site for the 2011 Junior Hunter National Championships – East Coast, marking the return of the event to HITS facility for the sixth time in the past seven years. The 2011 USEF Junior Hunter Championships - East Coast will be held...

Boston, MA - Several nationally accomplished presenters will be leading clinics and seminars at the 2011 AMHA Convention, which will take place February 23-26 in Boston, MA. Among the speakers are: • Eitan Beth-Halachmy, the founder of Western Dressage, who will give a talk on this new discipline. • Carriage driver Jeff Morse will lead a talk on how carriage driving is a perfect discipline for older equestrians. • World champion trainer, Steve DeBolt, will give a harness demonstration/clinic. •...