Photo by Lauren Fisher/PMG (Mary Ann Grant and Tamaro will perform in the brand new figure skating and dressage exhibition at the 2010 Challenge of the Americas. ) The Ninth Annual Challenge of the Americas is excited to announce a very unique new dressage and figure skating performance to the Challenge lineup. Held in Wellington, FL, on Saturday, March 13, 2010, the evening will get under way at 5:30 p.m. with musical grand prix team quadrilles, four-bar jumping and a figure skating dressage...

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...

Renowned course designer and horse show manager Bobby Murphy has taken equine education to the next level by implementing the Supporting and Promoting of Equine Awareness in Kentucky Schools (SPEAKS) program. The SPEAKS program is designed to work with elementary schools and community groups to develop knowledge of the equine industry. From demonstrations at the horse park, to visits at the equine educational museums, SPEAKS goal is to educate the future of society about the importance and...

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...

Victoria Birdsall, Alex Parrish, Josephina Nor and Taylor Siebel emerged as Conference champions in the regular season of the 2009 Cavalor Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series. The Cavalor Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series conducted its 2009 series with classes at more than 100 horse shows across the nation, giving competitors an abundance of opportunities to accumulate points throughout the year. The Series featured separate divisions for amateur-owner and junior...

Every two years, while the selection committees ponder who will represent the United States, another selection process is under way to determine who will feed our horses while they represent our country. For the last four games—2002 Jerez World Equestrain Games (WEG), 2004 Athens Olympics, 2006 Aachen WEG, and 2008 Beijing Olympics—Pennfield Feed was the feed of choice for our equestrian teams, because just like them, Pennfield demonstrates the highest level of consistent quality....

As the United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation Holiday Fundraiser draws closer, many exciting performances have been announced for the feature event. SUCCEED® and Wellington Classic Dressage will be hosting the Holiday Gala Fundraiser, December 11-12, 2009, to benefit the USET Foundation. The venue for the fundraiser will be the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL. The two nights of exciting performances will include Pony Club Mounted Games featuring Gina Miles, Cathy...

The 2010 Gulf Coast Winter Series has become the hot topic among the equestrian community from coast to coast. Under the management of Bob Bell and Janet McCarroll, the Gulf Coast Winter Series has just announced the addition of Thom Brede to assist Allen Rheinheimer this season as a technical director. “Thom’s been managing large horse shows for years, he’s one of the most sought after hunter judges, and brings a host of talents to our series,” Bell shared. While it’s expected that Brede’s...

The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Board of Directors voted to induct two people, Jack Brainard and John Hoyt, and two horses, Nu Chex To Cash and Rest Stop, in 2010 into the NRHA Hall of Fame, as well as awarding the NRHA Dale Wilkinson Lifetime Achievement Award to C. R. Morrison. NRHA Hall of Fame Inductees Jack Brainard Jack Brainard attended the NRHA Foundation meeting and served as a director that first year. His NRHA membership number, 19, is indicative of just how long...

One of the great things about any national show is that you get to meet people from all over the country. You get to see friends you only see once a year, or perhaps friends you've talked to online but never met in person. I'm facebook friends with all kinds of people I don't know at all, simply because we have mutual friends and interests. Some of them are pretty well known, so I always wonder if they think I'm some sort of weird Internet stalker. I'm not! I swear! Can I...