Layla Choate Scottsdale, Ariz - University of South Carolina junior Layla Choate won the 2014 Sun Circuit Shootout Championship on Sunday at the Arizona Sun Circuit horse show. Choate defeated opponents from South Dakota State, West Texas A&M, and Baylor to win the title. "This is a great accomplishment for Layla and we are all thriled for her today," South Carolina head coach Boo Major said. "Layla has proven herself to be one of the best, if not the best reiner at the college level so...

Cross Plains, Wis. - The American Driving Society (ADS) is pleased to announce plans for a new head-to-head driven North American Championship, in addition to the popular calculated Intermediate Championship offered since 2009. The North American Preliminary and the North American Intermediate Championships will be driven championships, each taking place over a single competition weekend. The original Championship will be renamed The North American Calculated Intermediate Championship and...

Lexington, Ky. - The USEF launched a pilot "high performance" training program in 2012/2013 with approximately twenty drivers attending one or more clinics held in Kentucky, Florida, and North Carolina. Since there are limited training opportunities for driving at the USEF/FEI levels, the opportunity to train with an International Four-in-Hand driver and coach was overwhelmingly positive. To further this program, it is the intention of the USEF to roll out the 2014 Developing Driver Program...

Waco, Texas. - The final fall national team rankings for the National Collegiate Equestrian Association have been released Monday by the NCEA Selection Committee. South Carolina is the nation’s new No. 1 team, closing its fall slate with a 6-2 overall record and a back-to-back road wins against Auburn and South Dakota State to finish the fall semester. Auburn in the nation’s No. 2 team with a 6-1 record and three road wins against ranked teams to conclude the fall semester. Baylor...

Lexington, Ky . - As communicated earlier this year, after providing ten years of excellent service to the United States Equestrian Federation, Chief Executive Officer John Long has made the decision to retire from his position in June, 2014. The volunteer leadership, as well as staff, genuinely appreciate the dedication, integrity, and vision John has provided for the Federation. Accordingly, it is now time to begin the search for a new CEO who will continue that same tradition of excellence...

Celebrating the accomplishments of 2013 and planning for even more in 2014 – those were the items on the agenda when the Western Dressage Association® of America held its fourth annual meeting Oct. 31-Nov. 1 in Tulsa, Okla. WDAA President Guy E. Brown welcomed 40+ attendees from 14 States and Canada. Listening to the list of accomplishments in 2013 was a perfect lead in to two days of planning and prioritizing projects for the coming year. • Adopted and published WDAA Rules and...

Springtown, Texas - It was a tale of two teams in Texas on Saturday as No.7 Baylor and No.8 Texas Christian met in an early season in-state clash. TCU had the better western team, and Baylor was the dominant hunt seat team. But the TCU reining team was the only squad able to secure an outright, 5-0, sweep. In doing so they made the difference in a hard fought 11-9 win. Baylor won equitation on the flat 3-2 and TCU edged out an equal 3-2 victory in horsemanship. TCU was able to pick up one point...

Katherine Schmidt won point in equitation over fences and on the flat for South Carolina. On the flat she was named most outstanding player. (Juan Blas) The South Carolina equestrian team wasn’t just dominant at Fresno State on Friday, it was record setting. The Gamecock western team won 9-1, and their hunter seat team won 8-2. The resulting 17-3 win means that South Carolina has now scored 32 points over two matches, and improved to 2-0 after winning at Kansas State to open the NCEA...

Lexington, KY – The country’s best examples of hunter breeding will be on display this week on both coasts to compete in the 2013 Sallie B. Wheeler/US National Hunter Breeding Championship. Judges of Sharon Stewart-Wells of Ruidoso, NM and Deborah Sands of Encinitas, CA will travel to both coasts to assess the entrants. On August 28, young horses on the west coast will meet at the Showpark All Seasons Summer Tournament in Del Mar, California. In her final year of eligibility, the...

Devon, PA - Despite the rain Thursday afternoon at Devon, competitors in the USEF Talent Search came out ready to ride. The thirteen-jump course was challenging, with a long ride to the first fence, tight turns, and two water obstacles. The riders came prepared, many approaching the course with determination and confidence. Their drive to succeed was evident in both their skill and strategy. The section A competitors took to the ring amidst cloud cover and slight winds. The first few riders...