White Star Lexington, Kentucky - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has awarded the 2011 ‘ Hunter Sire of the Year Award ’ to the world-record breaking Elite and Premium Hanoverian stallion White Star (Weltmeyer/Glücksstern/Grande). Of interest to North American breeders, the German stallion is set to arrive in the US late February 2012 and will be standing at stud in Massachusetts. Based on the performance of a stallion’s offspring, the annual award is given...

In effort to further advance equestrian to a NCAA championship sport, the entity formally known as Varsity Equestrian has established an association to become the voice for the sport of equestrian within college athletics. The National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) was founded to be the catalyst for growth of varsity level equestrian competition. “The transition of Varsity Equestrian to the National Collegiate Equestrian Association is a very positive step that will give us a...

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...

Orlando, Florida - Olympian Peter Leone joined members of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) Board of Directors at their annual meeting held in Orlando, FL to celebrate the launch of his new book, Peter Leone's Show Jumping Clinic: Success Strategies for Equestrian Athletes. Leone's book, written along with Kimberly S. Jaussi, PhD, herself an avid rider, writer and leadership professor and coach, explores every aspect of riding from the basics of correct use of aids...

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...

Arianna Barzman-Grennan on Red Alert. Photo courtesy of Barzman-Grennan family. Within the past month, The Dressage Foundation awarded a total of $3,800 in grants to provide support to young riders. A grant of $1,800 was given to young rider Arianna Barzman-Grennan (CA) and $2,000 was provided to Dressage4kids, for the Emerging Dressage Athlete Program. The Renee Isler Dressage Support Fund provided an $800 scholarship to Arianna, and the Foundation also provided a $1,000 general grant to help...

Students were awarded ribbons for their efforts during the PBSFA Horse Show hosted by the Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Center. (From left to right) Ms. Nora, Ray S., Garron M. and Stephen A. Photo: Kendall Bierer/PMG. Loxahatchee, FL - The Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Center (VTRC) held its first Palm Beach School for Autism Horse Show on Tuesday, December 20, 2011. The students have been participating in a recently developed program by the VTRC and the Palm Beach School for Autism (PBSFA)...

2011 USEF Horsemastership Training Session. USEF Archives. Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) will ring in the New Year with the sixth annual USEF Horsemastership Training Session presented by the United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) and Adequan. The Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL, will once again host 12 of the top young riders in the U.S. January 3-7, 2012. The following 12 riders will participate in the five-day training...

The Gold United States Para-Equestrian Team (Pictured Left to Right: Pam Lane, Chef d'equipe Missy Ransehousen, Rebecca Hart, Erin Alberda, Mary Jordan, and in front is Donna Ponessa). Photo: Hope Hand/USPEA. Lexington, KY - The U.S. Para-Equestrian Team continued to make strides in qualifying for the 2012 Paralympic Games by winning Team Gold at the 2011 Melbourne CPEDI3* held in conjunction with the Saddle World Dressage Festival. The U.S. was represented by Donna Ponessa, Becca Hart, Erin...

Molly Sweeney. Photo Courtsey of the Sweeney Family. Lexington, KY – Known as a visionary with an incredible passion for horses and learning, Molly Sweeney, of Hockley, TX, has been chosen as the 2011 recipient of The EQUUS Foundation Humanitarian Award for her local and national-level volunteer work for over two decades in the equine assisted activities and therapies (EAA/T) field. Sweeney recognized the importance of professional research to support the results from EAA/T. To that end,...