Over the weekend of April 29-May 1, 2006, at a dressage competition in Beaufort, Luxembourg, American breeder Susan Thomas had the joy of watching her homebred stallion Patriot win several S-level classes at his first international dressage competition. Patriot is by Thomas Farm's stallion Pharaoh (Parabol-Almeo-Zeus) and was produced by embryo transfer out of Thomas Farm's accomplished grand prix mare Safir (by Diamond). Thomas sent her young stallion to Oliver Luze at Gestut Tannenhof in the...

It's official! Lil Ruf Peppy, owned by Green Valley Ranch in Aubrey, TX, has just been named the National Reining Horse Association's 11th Million Dollar Sire. At the start of the National Reining Breeders Classic (NRBC) held recently in Katy, TX, Lil Ruf Peppy was less than $3,000 short of the Million Dollar milestone. Limited and Intermediate Open Classic finalists Lil Santana, Pop Tart and Dry Ruf joined forces to put their sire over the top. Lil Ruf Peppy, bred by the King Ranch, Inc, hit...

The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation is pleased to announce that their 2006 Limited Edition Breyer Model horse will be based on show jumper and Olympic Team Gold Medalist Authentic. Authentic, an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, is ridden by Beezie Madden, and together they have accumulated huge victories in the past two years. Authentic was a member of the 2004 Athens Olympic Gold Medal Team. In 2005, his clutch performance in Aachen, Germany, secured the victory for the...

The Mission Pacific Vaulting Selection Trials were held May 13-14 in Somis, CA, and with only two more selection trials before the short list is named, the competition is tight, especially among the women. A seasoned athlete at age 18, Megan Benjamin of Saratoga, CA, led the women with a strong score of 8.608 on her horse, Faronia, a 17-hand Dutch Warmblood. Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Osborn of Menlo Park, CA; 22-year-old Mary McCormick of Woodside, CA; and 16-year-old Ali Divita of Redwood...

Courtney King of Bedford, NY, riding the Dutch stallion Idocus owned by Christine McCarthy, won the Open Grand Prix at the Windy Hollow Hunt Spring Dressage show on Sunday, May 14, at the Sussex Fairgrounds in Augusta, NJ. King and the 16-year-old bay stallion by Equafor scored 62.708% from Judge Anne Rawle of Pennsylvania. "Idocus and I had our best grand prix by far since he has come back to me," enthused King, who had ridden the stallion to international success four years ago and was...

With the 2006 World Equestrian Games just three months away, the top endurance riders in the U.S. are preparing to demonstrate their abilities in the hopes of earning a place on the U.S. Endurance Team. In order to be considered, each rider must compete at one of three FEI***/AERC dual-sanctioned 100-mile rides scheduled for May 20 in Oreana, ID; May 27 in Grand Island, MI; and June 11 in Ashland, MT. Members of the National Selection Committee will be present at each event to evaluate the...

The World Equestrian Festival, perhaps the largest single week's horse show in the world, began Wednesday in Aachen, Germany, with the United States announcing a top team for the Samsung Super League. Aachen CHIO has added championship vaulting to the lineup of show jumping, dressage and four-in-hand driving that will be contested by 145 athletes from 23 nations on more than 400 horses, in front of what is expected to be well above 300,000 spectators during the five days of competition. For...

Lexington, KY – The 2006 USEF Pony Finals National Championships will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park from August 9-13, 2006. Unlike in years past, this year’s Pony Finals will observe a new five-day format in place of the traditional four days. The championships include the 2006 Adequan/USEF National Pony Jumper Championship Individual, the 2006 Adequan/USEF National Pony Jumper Championship Team, 2006 USEF Pony Medal Final presented by Far Niente Stables, 2006 Wild Horsefeathers/USEF...

With the victory gallop at Rolex now in the past, the East Coast eventing scene’s focus shifted to the final preparations for the New Jersey CCI** and CCI*** in early June and the Virginia Horse Park’s CCI* in mid-May. Many riders chose to have a final tune-up at the Maryland Combined Training Association (MCTA) Horse Trials located at Shawan Downs. Although MCTA Horse Trials are long time veterans of the spring eventing schedule, the organizers added both intermediate and advanced levels to...

Del Mar’s Evening of Musical Freestyles delighted dressage fans with competition from some of the best in the world, including three-time Olympic Bronze medalist Guenter Seidel and Olympic and World Cup veteran Steffen Peters. They scored within a tenth of a percent of each other in the $5,000 Grand Prix Freestyle sponsored by Chalk Hill Estates Winery. Seidel on Aragon won with a score 74.450%, while Peters on Floriano scored 74.325% for second. Aragon is a 1992 Bavarian Warmblood gelding...