Two Champions "Three-Peat" as Breed Show Wraps Up When individual breed classes took center stage on day three of Dressage at Devon 2009, two horses who had dominated the news in the prestigious show's first two days continued to grab headlines. Perfect Qredit, a yearling colt by Quaterback, added an 83.80% win in the Oldenburg (GOV) division to his Grand Championship, Young Horse Championship, Colt Championship, and Yearling Colts and Geldings title for owner Michelle Coursin, an air-traffic...

Kassandra Barteau and GP Raymeister (Flashpoint Photography) Lexington, KY —The Young Riders in the dressage competition returned to the arena for the final time to perform their musical freestyles. The stadium was rocking as the 15 qualifying riders performed their choreographed routines for an exuberant audience during the USDF/Platinum Performance North American Junior & Young Rider Dressage Championships at the Kentucky Horse Park. The highest score thus far in the competition...

Gladstone, NJ – The first leg of the 2009 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF National Grand Prix Dressage Championship, which was rescheduled to Friday morning after Thursday’s deluge, showcased some of the top horse/rider combinations in the US. But it wasn’t until the final ride of the class that anyone could break 70%. Veteran Olympic rider Leslie Morse and her classy 15-year-old stallion, Tip Top 962, put in a very focused and expressive effort to take a commanding lead with a...

This special section, Drugs and Medications Corner, will feature a series of articles from the USEF’s Drugs and Medications Program and the veterinary community to communicate the latest news to better educate the equine community. Many years ago, I was called to see a show hunter discovered to have a “big knee.” I found the horse to have moderate heat and swelling with pain on flexion of the left knee. He demonstrated a 3/5 lameness to trot in hand (AAEP scale, head bobbing)....

Molly Rosin and Havarah's Charly (Shannon Brinkman) Elkton, MD – Run concurrently for the first time, two USEF National Eventing Championships got underway as the first half of both the CCI*** and the CCI** performed their dressage tests at the 2008 Dansko Fair Hill International. Amy Tryon was having a stellar test on Coal Creek (an 8-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Tim and Kathryn Sullivan) when the loudspeaker malfunction causing a loud noise during the third to last movement in...

Hong Kong, China – A collective sigh could be felt in the Sha Tin venue as the final day of competition at the 2008 Paralympic Games got underway this morning. For everyone who has put so much time, money and work into the last six weeks – all that remained was 15 hours. The British made the best of those hours, winning 10 medals. The competition kicked off with the Grade III riders performing their Individual Freestyle tests. Barbara Grassmyer was the first US rider in the ring...

Phillip Dutton and Connaught in Hong Kong (Ken Braddick) Hong Kong, China – The second day of dressage got underway bright and early at Sha Tin and the overnight leaders, the Australians, never looked in danger of having their lead threatened. The same three scores the team used yesterday (out of the five riders) held their lead on a total mark of 102.80. The U.S. continued to well orchestrated plans, and their two most experienced riders put in very solid performances to leave the U.S....

Lexington, KY - U.S. Drivers Chester Weber and Tucker Johnson prepared for September's World Championships with solid performances at the prestigious CHIO Chester Weber's Second Place Team (Andres Steindl) Aachen today in Aachen, Germany. Weber and Tucker sit in second and fourth individually after the marathon and lie second, on a score of 296.81, less than a point behind The Netherlands (296.23), in the team portion of the competition. Weber, from Ocala, FL, has a two-day score of 144.64...

Lexington, KY – After five second place finishes with five different horses at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Phillip Dutton and Connaught (Mike McNally) Event Presented by Farnam, Phillip Dutton brought last year’s runner-up, Connaught, back to the Kentucky Horse Park and won convincingly with a masterful clear round in the show jumping. The 15-year-old Irish Thoroughbred gelding, who is owned by Dutton’s longtime supporter Bruce Duchossios, put together three impressive phases...

Oklahoma City, OK - The 2007 FEI World Reining Masters drew riders from fifteen countries to the Oklahoma State Fair Grounds on November 29, but two riders from the United States that caught the judges attention - equally. Not to be outdone by the home team an Austrian rider answered their challenge with an equally stellar performance. This meant that at the end of the competition Americans Casey Hinton and Gabe Hutchins were tied with Rudi Kronsteiner for first place on a score of 221. Under...