A dramatic win by Darragh Kenny of Ireland in the $75,000 Hermès Grand Prix CSI 2* for the Whitney Perpetual Challenge Trophy highlighted the 41st Annual Lake Placid Horse Show. Only five entries from the starting field of 24 succeeded in completing the 16-jump, first-round course designed by Olaf Petersen, Jr., of Germany without penalty. They returned for the nine-jump jump-off at the North Elba Showgrounds. First to go was Callan Solem of Chester Springs, PA, who set the mark to beat by...

The United States Equestrian Team Foundation welcomed internationally renowned dressage rider and United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Developing Dressage Coach Debbie McDonald to Hamilton Farm for the second of three Developing Dressage Clinics this past weekend, June 12-13, 2010. Aiding the development of this nation's up-and-coming dressage riders, the two-day clinic led by McDonald provided important guidance and insight to the nine riders who were invited to participate based upon...

Photo by Waltenberry (Wimpys Little Step ) Wimpys Little Step made history at this year’s Carolina Classic Derby, held May 13-16, in Williamston, NC, when his offspring surpassed two million dollars in National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) earnings. The flashy palomino sire joins eight of NRHA’s leading stallions as a Two Million Dollar Sire*. To achieve this elite status is no easy feat, yet Wimpys’ offspring went above and beyond expectations when they earned enough to make him the...

Photo Courtesy USHJA (The headquarters of the United States Hunter Jumper Association.) When a horse and rider present an elegant partnership it’s called great equitation. When two equestrian organizations—the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) and the United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA)—join forces, it’s called a winning combination. “Speaking on behalf of the IHSA membership, I am confident in saying that I believe this relationship will greatly enhance both...

Photo by Robbi Meisel (Taylor Land and Karonda V Schl’Hof) The Atlanta Spring Classics welcomed the new season with Cherry Blossoms in bloom, blue skies, and heated competition among hunters and jumpers. And the biggest competition this week centered around two sisters, Frances and Taylor Land, who dominated the jumper rings. Produced by the Classic Company and held at the Georgia International Horse Park, home of the 1996 Olympics, in Conyers, GA, the two-week event runs March 24-April 3 with...

Colombian dressage rider Marco Bernal lived every rider’s dream during the 2010 Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI, when he heard his country’s national anthem played three times for three great wins. Bernal’s success came aboard his Westphalian stallion Farewell IV, the same stallion that he set the world record on at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in 2005 when they scored a record high score of 85.385%. “This was the best show for me so far. It is nice when you work so long with a horse and...

Photo Courtesy AHA/Conley Driediger (Conley Driediger with gelding, Winning Afire+//.) Alexis Starer Doughty of Cape Charles, VA, and Conley Driediger of Yarrow, BC, Canada, were named the Arabian Horse Association (AHA) Adult and Youth Amateurs of 2009, respectively. Doughty earned an impressive 646 points at 22 AHA-recognized shows in 2009, while Driediger earned a whopping 485.5 points from 17 shows. The AHA Amateur Achievement Award program began in 2002 and tracks the points of individual...

Photo by Diana DeRosa The atmosphere at the fourth annual Bowling for Equestrians was electrifying. From the thunder of the bowling balls as they sped down the alleys to the misty fog that made the psychedelic lighting system sparkle. The game room was showered with kids testing their skills while young and old alike threw bowling balls down the alleys in hopes of a spare or strike. The fundraiser, which is the brainchild of the American Hunter-Jumper Foundation (AHJF), was held at Greenacres...

Breeder Ken Borden, Jr., has characterized his Little Bit Farm, Inc., as “small but mighty.” They have had growing success and many year-end awards for both farm and horses, but this past year was a banner one. For 2009, Little Bit Farm is the leading dressage breeder for both the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and the United States Dressage Federation (USDF), with five USDF Horse of the Year winners and two of their four approved stallions entering the record books. Masterpiece...

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...