Jimmy Torano could not have been happier with his winning performance in the $10,000 Escada/Theory Open Welcome Stake, Presented by Manchester Designer Outlets, on Friday, August 1, at the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT. Magic Cruise, an eight-year-old Belgian-bred mare owned by SCNC Investments, Inc., has been knocking on the door of the “big” classes for some time now. According to Torano, Friday’s win marked a highlight for this special mare. “She is a very straightforward horse....

Tickets are now selling for the annual Saddlebred Raffle, with winners to be drawn at random during the Kentucky State Fair World’s Championship Horse Show. According to Brenda Newell, Senior Program Administrator for the American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA), the raffle is one of the ASHA’s most important fundraisers. Only 400 tickets are sold worldwide, at $100 each, for gross proceeds of $40,000. Of that, $20,000 goes into the Saddlebred Futures Fund, and $20,000 of it is returned to...

A lifetime horseman and trainer, Carl Knee, passed away at age 76 on July 22, 2008. He trained many outstanding riders and horses, but it was a team effort that gave Knee his greatest joy. He coached the Canadian Equestrian Team for the 1976 Summer Olympic Games. Michel Vaillancourt won the Silver medal in the individual jumping event. Among the riders he trained were Anthony D’Ambrosio who set the National Horse Show’s record for jumpers of seven feet, four inches aboard Sympatico in 1973;...

Tyler Morris moved to Aiken, SC, from Lafayette, NJ, where he trained with Robin Fairclough of Newton, NJ, and Top Brass Farm in 2007, when he transferred to Aiken County Pony Club. He represented the Carolina Region at the United States Pony Clubs Show Jumping Championships in Lexington, KY, last year and this year in Lexington, VA, July 24-27, 2008. And he won the Vieva Perrin Memorial Award for Horsemanship both years. This perpetual trophy is given in memory of one of the founders of...

With only two more FEI World Cup™ qualifiers to run in the 2008 season, Australia’s Kevin McNab has sensationally swept into a huge lead in the FEI World Cup™ rankings, after scoring a one-two at his local qualifier at Warwick, Australia. A popular member of the local Queensland Eventing Committee, McNab, 30, now has 220 points, 60 clear of his nearest rival, Clark Montgomery (USA) with 160. McNab won at Warwick on Hufflepuff, his Melbourne runner-up, and finished second on Game Play. He is now...

The management of the Capital Challenge Horse Show has once again introduced an innovative class to their competitive show. Held this year September 27 through October 5 at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, MD, the prestigious event will feature an exciting new $5,000 hunter class for emerging professionals. The $5,000 Emerging Pro Challenge will give riders competing in the professional divisions (future hunter, green working, green conformation, regular working, and regular...

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,...

The Reichert Celebration, one of most prestigious all-breed Western pleasure futurity shows in the nation, adds even more reasons to celebrate this summer. The Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) joins the show schedule this year with an ApHC-approved show, held August 8-10, with four judges. The Reichert Celebration will be held at the Tulsa Expo Square in Tulsa, OK August 8-17, 2008. Some of the most anticipated ApHC classes will be highlighted in the evening performances—the ApHC Heritage...

Jennie Brannigan and Cooper (Kenneth Braddick) By Joanie Morris Parker, CO - Despite another very busy day of competition at the 2008 CN FEI North American Junior/Young Ride Championships at the Colorado Horse Park presented by Gotham North, only one medal was decided. The North American Individual Young Rider Gold Medalist Katie Johnson rode a stellar test on Millenium to take top honors on a score of 69.050%. The 19-year-old rider from El Cajon, CA was a member of the Region 7 Gold medal...

Morton, IL- The Hong Kong Equestrian Federation (HKEF) in conjunction with the Hong Kong Jockey Club and ING Corporation, hosted an extraordinary “Hand- Over” ceremony on July 10th in Hong Kong to receive two ponies the American Shetland Pony Club (ASPC) donated to salute Hong Kong’s efforts in hosting the 2008 Equestrian Olympics. ASPC Marketing Director Johnny Robb was on hand to make a speech at the ceremony and to answer questions for the media. ASPC Director of Operations Zona Schneider...