Jennifer Alfano and Jersey Boy captured the $100,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals Championship at the Bluegrass Festival Horse Show. (Kendall Bierer/PMG) Lexington, KY - It was a night that will be well remembered, and a win well deserved. The Rolex Stadium was packed at the Kentucky Horse Park as the Handy Round brought the 2012 $100,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals to a close during the Bluegrass Festival Horse Show. One of the industry's most successful hunter...

Paul O’Shea and Instant Karma won the $30,000 Manchester & the Mountains Grand Prix on Saturday, August 4, at the 2012 Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT. (David Mullinix Photography) East Dorset, VT – Ireland’s Paul O’Shea and Instant Karma were the winners in the $30,000 Manchester & the Mountains Grand Prix, sponsored by Purina Horse Feed, on Saturday, August 4, at the 2012 Vermont Summer Festival. In a three-horse jump-off, O’Shea and Instant Karma...

Paige Johnson and Amagedon 3 won the High Amateur-Owner Jumpers at the Kentucky Summer Classic. (Kendall Bierer/PMG) Lexington, KY - August 3, 2012 - Although storm clouds hung sullenly over the Kentucky Horse Park this afternoon, the amateur and junior jumper riders were not deterred as they tackled their respective courses to vie for the top honors in the Rolex Stadium. Paige Johnson topped today's High Amateur-Owner Jumpers with Amagedon 3. Megan Nusz slid into the second place finish...

Lexington, KY - Sarah Hood is not your typical high school cross country runner. On torrid Georgia afternoons, after classes are over, she joins her teammates for practice and runs for miles. After that, most of her teammates head home. Sarah Hood heads to the barn. "As my teammates and l left every day, drenched in sweat and exhausted," she says, "many complained about being tired and couldn't wait to go home and crash. I just smiled as l left, knowing that I had horses waiting to be...

Maggie Ridenour Traverse City, MI - The final Saturday afternoon of the Horse Shows by the Bay Hunter/Jumper Series kicked off with the featured HJAM Junior and Adult Medal Finals. After one course walk prior to the three hotly contested Finals, Horse Shows by the Bay held a moment of silence to honor the recent passing of Richard A. Cram, Sr., a legendary Michigan horseman. His son, Rick Cram, Jr., provided a tribute to his dad that was read to the large crowd gathered to pay respects to a...

The sixth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder When on a horse, I wear a riding helmet. My students wear riding helmets. I ride and show western and dressage. The helmet/hat quandary, style vs. safety, the tradition or common sense conversation is therefore a subject near and dear to my heart. On March 22, 2012, I went into the hay barn to get a bale of hay to feed lunch in the barn. To make a long story short, despite my usual care in tipping bales, as I turned to leave the...

Abigail McArdle (Zone 5) aboard Cosma 20 take the Gold medal in the Junior Individual Show Jumping (Sportfot) Lexington, KY - The show jumpers and reiners finished today by naming two new individual gold medalists each at the 2012 Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North (NAJYRC), which conclude tomorrow at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. Kilian McGrath and Abigail McArdle took gold in the Young Rider and Junior Show Jumping divisions...

Major equestrian competitions attended by U.S. athletes, both domestic and overseas, are listed in this weekly preview. Please look below to find competition listings by discipline * and breed. We hope you will follow the competitions that most interest you, but check Equestrian Weekly on Monday for a report of any top finishes by U.S. Equestrians. *lists of competitions in all international disciplines will include only FEI competitions or USEF Championships within the USA and international...

The inaugural FEI Sports Forum began on 30 April in Lausanne (SUI). (Photo by Edouard Curchod/FEI) Lausanne, SUI - On 30 April in the presence of more than 280 delegates representing 39 National Federations (NFs), Event Organisers, International Riders, Owners and OrganisersClubs, members of the FEI Technical Committees, veterinarians, sponsors, and media. “This day marks a new beginning for the International Equestrian Federation,” FEI President HRH Princess Haya said in her...

Laura Kraut and Cedric (ManciniPhotos) Wellington, FL - Equestrian Sport Productions LLC (ESP) hosted its second of five weeks of the Spring Series horse shows at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) this week with the ESP Spring 2 Horse Show. With a full line-up of 'AA' hunter and four-star jumper competition, the show ran on April 11-15, 2012, and featured a $25,000 Grand Prix and $10,000 Welcome Stake. The ESP Spring Series circuit will continue on April 18-22,...