When the 35th Edition of the Winter Equestrian Festival kicked off at 8:00 a.m., the sun was already high, conditions were perfect and the ground lush. The course designer this week in the Internationale Arena is Luc Musette, whose father, Jean-Paul, was national show jumping chef d’equipe for Belgium for many years until he retired to take charge of juniors and young riders. Musette was not originally scheduled to build until later in the tournament, but stepped in to deputize for Uliano...

—It was standing room only during the much-anticipated Pegasus Awards where the equestrian world’s brightest stars gathered to be honored and celebrate achievements from 2006, as well as a lifetime. Beezie Madden was named as the Equestrian of the Year during the evening’s ceremonies. Madden, who brought home two medals from the 2006 World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Aachen, Germany, this past fall, accepted her awards to a standing ovation. “There are so many people I...

Geoff Oliver Bugbee/USEF Archives (Kimberly Maloomian accepts a Silver Stirrup Award from Ned Bonnie for her champion in the Hunter Breeding category, Masquerade's Cove.) —From the historic Seelbach Hotel in downtown Louisville, KY, David O’Connor, President of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), awarded the honors bestowed on equestrian media for the past year before addressing the contingent of the equestrian sport world’s administrators and guests gathered to...

The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) announced another record-breaking year at the 2006 NRHA Futurity Prospect Sale held during the NRHA Futurity at the Oklahoma State Fair Park. The top-selling futurity prospect went for $195,000. It’s the latest in a string of record-breaking sales on horses at the NRHA Futurity sales the past few years. The Futurity Prospect Sale is just one of three sales held each year at the NRHA Futurity. Also included are the NRHA Breeders Showcase Sale and the...

At the 123rd National Horse Show’s $80,000 Young Jumper Championship International (YJC) Final, leading grand prix rider Sergio Campos and the six-year-old mare Mill Creek Sandhya redefined the phrase “this close.” It was less than 4/10 of a second separating Campos’ winning jump-off round from second-place finisher High Society, piloted by Darragh Kerins. Campos described the final course, designed by Jose Gamarra of Bolivia and set in the Internationale Arena to challenge the best...

The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation awarded a $2 million grant to the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) in November 2006 in support of the organization’s eight High Performance programs. The High Performance disciplines are dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, reining, para-equestrian, show jumping, and vaulting. USET Foundation funding provided support, in whole or in part, for High Performance athletes to participate in both national and international events in...

Offield Farms is pleased to welcome Lingh to its fine collection of stallions. Lingh was the reserve champion at the World Cup Finals in 2005 and 2004, and also on Holland’s Silver medal-winning team at this year’s FEI World Equestrian Games. He joins Tiamo Trocadero, the Olympic reserve horse for the 2000 British team in Sydney, and Hexagon’s Louisville, the 2006 United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Amateur Grand Prix Horse of the Year and member of the 2004 National Dutch “B” Team. Lingh...

With U.S. qualifying more than half over, the race to earn berths in the 2007 Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final is tightening up. Final qualifying events in both the East and West Coast Leagues will decide which horses and riders will represent the U.S. in the World Cup Final in Las Vegas, April 18-22, 2007. Las Vegas, the world’s premier city for exciting entertainment, will once again be the backdrop for the 2007 Rolex FEI World Cup™ Finals in both jumping and dressage. In 2005, the FEI...

Virginian Gary Baker and Kentuckians Jean McLean Davis and Donna Moore to be Honored (Lexington, KY) – The United States Equestrian Federation® will award the 2006 Pegasus Medals of Honor during the Pegasus Awards Gala at its Annual Meeting, Friday, January 12, at the Seelbach Hotel in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. The award recognizes individuals who have exhibited outstanding service to horses and sport, and who, through their dedication, have attracted people to the sport and...

Will Harris, co-Junior Equestrian of the Year (Doug Shiflet) Lexington, KY – New York’s Brianne Goutal and Tennessee’s William Harris have been named Junior Equestrians of the Year by the United States Equestrian Federation® and will be honored during the Federation’s annual gala – The Pegasus Awards – on January 12, 2007, in Louisville, KY. It is the first time in over a decade that two youths have been named co-recipients of one of the...