The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) is delighted to announce that nominations for the FEI 2010 Awards are now open. The awards, which were launched last year, acknowledge outstanding achievement in the following five categories: - Athlete of the Year, for the rider, driver or vaulter who has shown exceptional sportsmanship and prowess; - Rising Star, supported by HSBC, for a rider between the ages of 14 and 21 who has demonstrated significant talent and commitment; - Development,...

Photo by Flying Horse Photography (Martel and Jenny Karazissis.) The hunters were stellar on a surprisingly cool Saturday in San Juan Capistrano. Forty-one competitors galloped around the $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby course with 14 returning for the Handy Round. Jenny Karazissis piloted Martel (Star Lane Farms, owner) with poise, winning both rounds for the top prize. The first round included 11 efforts, with four 4’ options. The course flowed smoothly, not too many trouble spots,...

Aaron Beale is a Detriot, MI native who has spent considerable time in the past couple of years building cross country courses at the Kentucky Horse Park. Aaron took a few minutes away from building the course for the 2010 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event Presented by Bridgestone to answer 11 of the most pressing questions about his profession. 1. How long have you been building at Rolex? A.B.: 3 Years. 2. What is your involvement with horses outside of course building? A.B.: There isn’t any,...

Arriving in Florida is always an adventure. Despite running laps between Lexington and Wellington this year, this was my first trip to Ocala, which of course means flying into Orlando. Which of course meant that I was the only person on my flight and in the airport without Disney World on the brain. Ocala and Lexington are locked in a fierce battle for bragging rights over which one really is the horse capital of the world. There are farms of every possible variety when you drive around this...

Photo by Robbi Meisel (Taylor Adams and Kassandra) Ocala, FL-based Taylor Adams began the curtain calls for the 2010 Jacksonville Winter Series on Friday evening with a big win in the $10,000 Bruning Equitation Classic, presented by the Jerry Parks Insurance Group. Adams partnered with the Devon Walther owned Kassandra bested a field of 15 over an intricate layout of 11 obstacles co-designed by international great Pierre Jolicoeur and Joe Carnicom. The course zig-zagged the length of the...

Photo by Flying Horse Photography (McLain Ward and Phillipa) Two-time Olympic Gold medal winner McLain Ward raised the roof during the $50,000 Strongid® C 2X CSI-W Grand Prix when he rode Sagamore Farm's Phillipa to the triumph before an enthusiastic crowd that filled the indoor arena at the HITS Desert Horse Park in Thermal, CA. Ward traveled from Brewster, NY, to get a jump start on qualifying for the Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix that will take place at HITS-on-the-Hudson, in Saugerties, NY,...

Photo by Flying Horse Photography (Keri Potter and Rockford I) The all-new Devoucoux Hunter Derby kicked off with a bang at the 2010 HITS Desert Circuit when one of the top hunter riders in the country, John French, piloted Victoria Komisar’s Over the Moon to the inaugural win in the $10,000 Devoucoux Derby on the West Coast. French of Gilroy, CA, had the highest score in both the first and second rounds of the popular 3'3" class that featured 29 starters on a course set by John Manning, which...

Melissa Jackson and Wellington Capture Grand Prix Win Sponsored By the Sanctuary Equine Sports Therapy & Rehabilitation Center Melissa Jackson and her 12-year-old Hanoverian, Wellington, captured the win in the Grand Prix at the Wellington Classic Dressage’s Autumn Challenge of Champions show, held in conjunction with the United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Region 3 Dressage Championships. The Grand Prix was sponsored by The Sanctuary Equine Sports Therapy & Rehabilitation Center, and...

The Arabian horse industry’s largest event for youth, the Youth National Arabian and Half-Arabian Championship Horse Show, moves into Expo New Mexico in Albuquerque, July 25-August 1, 2009. The eight-day event combines top-level equine competition in a variety of disciplines with daily youth activities and a shopping expo, bringing approximately $10.2 million to the city. Nearly 1,000 horses from across the U.S. and Canada will compete each day from 7:30 a.m. to about 10 p.m. in everything from...

Last year the Oldenburg Horse Breeders’ Society, a division of the Verband der Züchter des Oldenburger Pferdes (German Oldenburg Verband) proudly held the first ever Oldenburg Horse Show and Mare Performance Test at High Point Hanoverians in Chestertown, MD. The show, open to all Oldenburg registered and breed approved horses, and the mare performance test, open to Oldenburg registered mares, were a great success thanks in great part to the efforts of Angela Barilar of High Point Hanoverians,...