Craig Schmersal and Mister Montana Nic (Photo by Shannon Brinkman for USEF) Lexington, KY - The Adequan U.S. Reining Team started off competition today for the United States athletes at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG). Today's competition in the Reining World Championships presented by John Deere was part 1 and 2 of the Team Competition and the first round of the Individual Qualifying Competition. Tim McQuay of Tioga, TX, and Hollywoodstinseltown, owned by David and Bonnie...

Shawn McMillen (Hunt Tosh and Lone Star.) Lexington, KY - Hunt Tosh waited in anticipation after his final round. He'd dominated the first round and after a powerful second round he thought there was a chance the night could be his, but it wasn't until the scores went up that he knew he'd become the winner of the second annual 2010 $100,000 The Chronicle of the Horse/USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals. It was August 21, the night everyone had been anxiously waiting for, and there were only...

Meagan Davis and Bentley (SusanJStickle.com Photo) Gladstone, NJ – The second Saturday of the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions proved to be one of the busiest days of the six day championship. Three different USEF National Championships took place in the Dick and Jane Brown Dressage Arena at the USET Foundation Headquarters. The National Young Rider Dressage Championship kicked it off and three superstar Young Riders swept into the top three places after the first half...

Gladstone, NJ – The second leg of the National Intermediaire I Dressage Championship at the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of Champions closed out the second day of competition in the Dick and Jane Brown dressage ring at the USET Foundation Headquarters in Gladstone, NJ. The hallowed grounds have been the proving grounds of champions for decades and although a facelift has led to brand new footing in the competition and warm-up areas, the historic relevance is impossible to ignore. Fresh...

Photo by ESI Photography (Kelsey Hart and Agostino in the $10,000 Devoucoux Hunter Derby. ) Kelsey Hart continued to break the hearts of the other exhibitors competing in the $10,000 Devoucoux Hunter Derby when she rode her horse Agostino to the top prize in Saturday's feature class for hunters at HITS-on-the-Hudson, in Saugerties, NY. The Junior Rider from Albany, NY, rode against 30 other starters on a course set by Rian Beals. In the first round, Hart scored a 77.5, which put her in fourth...

Mario Desluariers and Urico (Randi Muster/Mustphoto.com ) Dressage The prestigious Palm Beach Dressage Derby got underway on Thursday, March 4th with some of the nation’s top riders competing in Loxahatchee, FL. Tina Konyot and her Danish Warmblood Calecto V triumphed over the field of elite horse and rider combinations in both the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special. In the Grand Prix Freestyle Mikala Gundersen and Leonberg put in a winning performance with a score of 72.250%; Canadian...

2009 USEF Farnam/Platform Horse of the Year (Shannon Brinkman/USEF Archives) Louisville, KY – Annually, five of the USEF’s 130,000 registered horses achieve so much in a year that they are named USEF Horses of Honor and enter the running for the title of Farnam®/Platform™ Horse of the Year. In 2009 all five of these horses were nothing short of remarkable. But one forever changed the face of his sport, and with that, Ravel was voted the 2009 USEF Farnam®/Platform™ Horse of the Year. It began in...

With the 2010 season just weeks away, HITS, Inc., is preparing for full horse show circuits in Thermal, CA, and Ocala, FL. The 2010 HITS Desert Circuit in Thermal will have six weeks of competition from January 26 to March 14, while the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit will run two non-rated and six rated shows from January 19 to March 21. One of the best attributes of both venues is the availability of permanent stalls that are situated on the main show grounds in close proximity to the show rings....

Excellence in equestrian sport does not come easy. It takes an amazing sense of dedication, incredible skill and a courageous heart. And in 2009, five horses (and their riders, drivers and handlers) have shown the world exactly those qualities. For each of them, their hard work and brilliant talent has garnered them a nomination for the United States Equestrian Federation's highest honor bestowed upon a horse - the Farnam/Platform USEF Horse of the Year Award. The five nominees represent the...

A national Welfare Code of Practice has been endorsed by the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the American Quarter Horse Association, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the United States Equestrian Federation and the U.S. Trotting Association. The Welfare Code of Practice, drafted by the American Horse Council, outlines in generic terms what it means for an organization to be committed to the responsible breeding, training, care,...