Imagine the scenario. Sitting under a shaded tent facing a perfectly manicured and maintained hunter ring. Free food abounds. Dozen upon dozen of pony riders are mounted upon the most gorgeous ponies you have ever seen in your life. You get to kick back, relax and take in this awesome environment, free of stress or cares. Just another day in the life of this very lucky journalist and editor. Yes…the 2009 USEF Pony Finals is under way at the Kentucky Horse Park, and for the first time in...

Gladstone, NJ – After a four day battle, the rain finally won at the 2009 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions, and collectively the Ground Jury and the management decided that, in the best interest of the horses, the competition was suspended after the Young Riders rode first thing Sunday morning. This meant that Leslie Morse was crowned USEF National Grand Prix Champion for the fifth time. Morse GP Raymeister (SusanJStickle.com) and her beloved 15-year-old Swedish...

Steffen Peters and Ravel (Shannon Brinkman) Hong Kong, China – The dressage riders temporarily reclaimed the ring from the show jumpers tonight at Sha Tin and although Germany continued to rule… the Americans put in an impressive showing. Two US riders were in the fold and Steffen Peters and Ravel (who is owned by Aikiko Yamazaki) were first of the pair in the ring. Their test was brilliant, with no mistakes, Peters did a masterful job in the piaffe and passage and guided the...

American Horse Council ((L to R) Ben Gibbs on Peaches, David O’Connor on a U.S. Park Police horse, Kendall Jennings on a Quarter Horse and members of the U.S. Park Police Mounted Unit in Washington D.C.) The horse industry in the United States contributes $39 billion in direct economic impact to the U.S. economy and supports 1.4 million jobs on a full-time basis, according to a new study released today by the American Horse Council (AHC). When indirect and induced spending are included, the...

San Juan Capistrano, Calif. – Two days of exciting hunter competition came to a close on Tuesday, July 25, at the 2023 Adequan®/USEF Junior Hunter National Championship – West (JHNC). Eight section champions and two grand champions were named across the 3’3” and 3’6” heights. A pair of mares took the grand champion titles, repeating a pattern of mare domination from the East edition of JHNC earlier this summer. Eleanor Rudnicki and Evermore. ©Leslie...

Hagen, Germany – After the U.S. Dressage Young Rider Team earned bronze in the Future Champions CDIOY Hagen Nations Cup earlier in the week, they added solid rides in Friday’s CDIOY FEI Young Rider Individual Test and Sunday’s CDIOY FEI Young Rider Freestyle. Chef d’Equipe George Williams guided Kat Fuqua and Dreamgirl, Erin Nichols and Elian Royale, and Christian Simonson and Son of a Lady as they closed out the event. The top U.S. individual result was Simonson and Son...

Quarteira, Portugal – The U.S. Jumping Team had a podium finish on Sunday, November 20, at the FEI Jumping Nations Cup Vilamoura CSIO3* in Portugal, winning second place. Under the direction of Chef d’Equipe Anne Kursinski, the team of Kelly Arani and Impossible Dream, Cathleen Driscoll and Arome, Mimi Gochman and Celina BH, and Mavis Spencer and Carissimo 25, edged out 13 other teams to finish second behind the gold-medal team from France. ©VillaMoura Equestrian Center...

Jennifer Hoffmann and Mani’s Endeavor (Arnd Bronkhorst/arnd.nl) Ermelo, the Netherlands – Two combinations represented at the 2022 Longines FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championships for Young Horses in Ermelo, The Netherlands, from September 8-11. Jennifer Hoffmann and Mani’s Endeavor and Sabine Schut-Kery and Gorgeous Latino competed in the Six-Year-Old division, with U.S. Dressage Young Horse Coach Christine Traurig serving as Chef d’Equipe. “We went there...

Herning, Denmark – Adrienne Lyle and Salvino impressed in their FEI Grand Prix Freestyle under the lights at Stutteri ASK Stadium this evening, producing an 83.704 percent to take sixth place overall in the extremely competitive final competition for dressage combinations this week at the ECCO FEI World Championships Herning 2022. Charlotte Fry (GBR) took the gold aboard Glamourdale with a score of 90.654 percent, while Catherine Laudrup-Dufour (DEN) and Vamos Amigos earned silver on a 89....

Wellington, Fla . – The Dutta Corp. U.S. Dressage Team took second place in the FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ USA CDIO3* on a final team score of 432.265, just narrowly edged by the German team who finished on a score of 433.337. The Canadian Team took third place on a final score of 409.091. The Dutta Corp. U.S. Dressage Team was led by Chef d’Equipe George Williams in their first outing of the 2022 season. The team was comprised of three large tour combinations and one small...