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...

On August 1, the Youth National Arabian and Half-Arabian Championship Horse Show came to an end after eight days of top-level horse show competition, a shopping expo and the Arabian Horse Youth Association (AHYA) Annual Convention. This was the show’s 17th year in Albuquerque and is estimated to bring about $10.2 million to the city. The largest class, Arabian Hunter Pleasure Junior to Ride, age 14-17, hosted 79 horses and was won by Kool Enuff, owned and ridden by Kirsten McKillop of Alamo, CA....

With a crowd of 7,000+ cheering wildly, Steffen Peters and Ravel staked their claim in history last night; Steffen becoming the first American rider to win the World Cup Final in Dressage on American soil. Steffen and Shannon anxiously awaited scores just outside the arena, and when it became certain Steffen would be the title-holder, he lifted Shannon up and held her tightly, the same excited reaction we saw when he won the Grand Prix on Thursday. An interesting tidbit I picked up at the...

The Arabian Horse Association (AHA) is proud to announce FF Irish Vodka+++//, owned by Collier McLeod of Augusta, GA, as its 2008 High-Point Horse. FF Irish Vodka, a 10-year-old, Anglo-Arabian ended the year with 487.5 points earned in working hunter, hunter hack, sport horse under saddle, dressage and in-hand classes. McLeod, who also picked up the Youth Amateur Achievement Award for the year, rode “Guinness” to three national championships at Canadian Nationals and several Top 10s at both...

Commandingly leading the 2008 International Jumper Futurity Listings, Reno (Riverman x Caretino) has offspring putting in top performances across the country. His American-bred son, Zero Point (Hilltop Reno x Galoubet A) has certainly been racking up the points during the competition season with his top-place finish in the USEF Five-Year-Old Jumper Horse of the Year division. Bred by Candy Tripple and owned by Matt Yeterian, Zero Point had numerous competitions last season with his rider Maggie...

A group of fuzzy and adorable Miniature horses became instant fan favorites when they marched in the 75th Annual McDonald’s Thanksgiving Day parade in downtown Chicago on Thanksgiving Day. Lennie Bertrand, of Bertrand’s Miniature Horse Ranch, brought 21 Miniature horses to march in the parade much to the delight of the 400,000 plus spectators who came out to enjoy Chicago’s favorite tradition. Bertrand said it was his 11th year to bring his Miniature horses to the parade, and he had friends...

Two American Saddlebred supporters recognizable to many in the Saddlebred community have died: Betty E. Brockman, and Dinwiddie Lampton, Jr. On Friday, September 26, 2008, Betty Elaine (Hilgendorf) Brockman, died peacefully at age 84. She was born February 19, 1924, in Beloit, WI, the daughter of the late Ada (Bussewitz) and Bernhard Hilgendorf. Betty and her husband Donald O. Brockman built and ran Brockman Stables in Neenah, WI. For many years they were deeply involved in the training and...

The management of the Capital Challenge Horse Show has once again introduced an innovative class to their competitive show. Held this year September 27 through October 5 at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, MD, the prestigious event will feature an exciting new $5,000 hunter class for emerging professionals. The $5,000 Emerging Pro Challenge will give riders competing in the professional divisions (future hunter, green working, green conformation, regular working, and regular...

The facilities for providing first-rate care of horses brought to Hong Kong for the Olympic Games in August have been given the thumbs-up by members of the Animal Welfare Advisory Group (AWAG) who visited the two equestrian venues. “I think the welfare of the horses is being very well taken care of,” said Chan Pui-tin, after he and five colleagues inspected the venues on June 24.. “We have asked a lot of questions on a range of topics, big and small, such as whether the horses will suffer from...

A new program has been launched to provide prize money for exhibitors at the Arabian Sport Horse National Championships beginning in 2008. Founded by a group of Sport Horse National (SHN) exhibitors and supporters, the program features half-price stallion services as the main source of funding. By donating a breeding, all existing offspring of that stallion become eligible for the prize money in all payback classes. The stallion services are sold on a first-come-first-served basis to any mare...