The 2008/2009 ASG Software Solutions/United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) International Hunter Derby Qualifying Series was brought to a close this past weekend at the Devon Horse Show in Devon, PA, and the Memorial Day Classic in Burbank, CA. The 18-month series will culminate at the Hunter Derby Finals on August 21-22, 2009, at the Kentucky Horse Park. The top 75 horses based on earnings will be invited to Lexington to compete for an unprecedented $100,000 in prize money. Forty-five...

A century of sporting history will be celebrated when the much-anticipated first leg of the inaugural Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ series takes place in La Baule, France, this weekend. It was in 1909 that the indoor London Olympia and outdoor San Sebastian shows first hosted military team jumping competitions and, 100 years on, the honor and distinction of representing one's country in the battle for team supremacy has lost none of its edge. The advent of new sponsors, the Dubai-based development...

Wilhelm Genn became the first rider to reach the World Equestrian Brands/United States Hunter Jumper Association’s (USHJA) Rider Recognition Program’s elite $1 Million Club after a successful campaign at the Lake St. Louis Hunter Jumper Show, April 1-5, 2009. Genn rode Happy Z, Chantal and Loredo, to third-, fourth- and sixth-place finishes in the $25,000 Grand Prix, to push him over the $1-million mark. “It’s a great program that World Equestrian Brands sponsors,” Genn said of the USHJA Rider...

Stacy Parvey-Larsson, owner of Hidden Acres Dressage in Ocala, FL, rode away with the FEI High Point title at the recent Dressage on the First Coast show in Jacksonville, FL, aboard the beautiful black Trakehner gelding High and Mighty. Parvey-Larsson earned a high score of 79.211% in the Intermediare I class, which was sponsored by The Oaks of Lake City Equestrian Center. “Aileen Daly recently purchased High and Mighty, and I am very grateful to have been able to show him throughout the winter...

The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation is pleased to announce that Ashlee Bond, 23, of Hidden Hills, CA, and Michelle Spadone, 25, of Califon, NJ, are this year's co-winners of the Maxine Beard Show Jumping Developing Rider Award. The USET Foundation awarded these rising young equestrians this honor because of their competitive records to date and because of their promise for the future in show jumping. Bond and Spadone were given trophies at a presentation during the 2009...

The Show Jumping Hall of Fame held its annual induction ceremony at the Budweiser American Invitational at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL, on Saturday evening, April 4. Honored with induction were Dr. John Steele and the horses Abdullah, Miss Budweiser and Riviera Wonder. Induction into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame is a great honor bestowed annually upon select individuals whose contribution to the sport has set them apart from others and whose influence has had a significant impact on the...

George Lucas’ Storm Troopers from the blockbuster Star Wars films were created as an elite army with no fears, just a determination to be victorious. This week saw a new breed of Storm Troopers at the Atlanta Spring Classics finale. Shaker Heights, OH-based David Jennings and partner Marcus Aurelius triumphed over Mother Nature in the Lucky Sevens Welcome Stake and the Atlanta Spring Grand Prix, both presented by Classic Company. Despite torrents of rain that came and went throughout most of...

Brentina, the only U.S. dressage horse to win the FEI World Cup Finals, will appear at the 2009 Rolex FEI World Cup™ Finals for her official retirement ceremony. Brentina's retirement ceremony will take place on Friday afternoon, April 17. Once again hosted by Las Vegas Events (LVE), the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Finals, April 15-19, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, will bring spectators edge-of-their-seat entertainment as they watch riders compete for the title of FEI World Cup champion in...

Double Olympic Gold medalist Beezie Madden won her first grand prix of the 2009 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) on Thursday, March 12, aboard Onlight in Round X of the $30,000 Braman Motorcars WEF Challenge Cup Series. Madden of Cazenovia, NY, and Onlight, owned by Team Onlight, were the only double-clear round from the initial 49 entries for the class in the DeNemethy arena. Only four combinations made it to the jump-off on the the course designed by Guilherme Jorge of Brazil. The time by...

The Arabian Horse Association (AHA) of Aurora, CO, is proud to name its top point-earning amateurs for 2008. Natacha Lesburgueres of Louisville, KY, earned 532 points, becoming the adult amateur winner, while Collier McLeod of Augusta, GA, earned 522.5 points for the youth amateur top spot. The AHA Amateur Achievement Award program began in 2002 and has since tracked the points that individual riders, handlers and drivers earn each year. In 2008 the program was adjusted to recognize adults and...