Dear fellow USEF member, Last Saturday, I was formally elected to be President of the United States Equestrian Federation. I am deeply honored to have been elected to this volunteer position and am so excited to have been given this opportunity to help drive growth in equestrian sports in the United States. For those of you who don’t know me, the first thing you need to know is that I come to this position with 45 years of equestrian experience. And put simply, I love horses. Our family...

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Para-equestrian dressage competition got underway Sunday at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. Twenty-seven Grade III and Ib competitors representing 24 countries took to the main arena at the Deodoro Equestrian Center to perform the Team test, the first of two tests in team competition. Angela Peavy (Grade III) and Sydney Collier (Grade Ib) got the U.S. team off to a solid start, putting the U.S. provisionally into third place among the 14 nations, following day one...

I have been very lax and much has happened. Another medal for the U.S. Equestrian Team, but set against the extreme disappointment of having to withdraw Cortes 'C'. There have been a high number of clears in all rounds of the jumping competitions; I am sure there will be those that argue that it is a bad thing and some that will say it is a good thing. Whatever the eventual diagnosis, it sure as hell put the pressure on for the second round of the team jumping competition! I am not sure...

Jenny Karazissis and Puissance R (Shawn McMillen) Lexington, Ky. - For Jenny Karazissis, making the journey to Kentucky from Calabasas, California has already proven to be worthwhile. Karazissis and Puissance R bested a field of 132 top-caliber entries to win round one of the 2016 USHJA Pre-Green Incentive Championship at the Bluegrass Festival Horse Show on Tuesday. Going later in the order, Karazissis unseated Scott Stewart and Storm Watch from the top spot, taking over his score of 261.5...

I am happy to report that today started very well for the Jumping Team. Chef d'Equipe, Robert Ridland, managed a 0 fault round in the Keurig Challenge Stakes. I would say he had a clean round but I did notice a little spillage on the floor. Yes, we have a Keurig machine....life without coffee, no thanks! Trying to get everyone to keep the prep area clean and tidy has been at times, challenging, but Mr. Ridland led from the front disposing of the used K Cup and cleaning up afterwards. His...

A whirlwind 48 hours during which the eventing competition unfolded in a way that could give a storyline to the next Harry Potter movie. Quite unbelievable. Bronze for Philip Dutton - fantastic and so richly deserved. Perhaps the moral of the storyline to the last 48 hours is fight, keep fighting and never stop fighting until the Finish Line is disappearing in your rear view mirrors. The French have looked dangerous since the Europeans last year (where they had to secure Olympic qualification)...

Phillip Dutton and Mighty Nice (Shannon Brinkman Photo) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Cross-country, the heart of eventing competition, proved to be demanding for the 64 athlete-and-horse combinations who contested Pierre Michelet's technical course at the Olympic Equestrian Center at Deodoro on Monday. Only three entries finished double-clear, and only 26 crossed the finish without jumping penalties. U.S. veterans Phillip Dutton and Boyd Martin rode brilliantly and stand fifth and sixth,...

Boyd Martin and Blackfoot Mystery (Shannon Brinkman Photo) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - The eventing horse inspection officially kicked off equestrian competition at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday. Over the next 14 days, 204 athlete-and-horse combinations in the three equestrian disciplines of eventing, dressage, and show jumping will compete for coveted Team and Individual medals at Rio’s Deodoro Olympic Equestrian Center. The U.S. Olympic Eventing Team of Phillip...

Meet the Beast.... The Beast is a very bad beastie as it has “done a leg” and gone on sit down strike a) right in front of our container and b) on the main horse walk in to the stables. To be more accurate, the Beast can easily be repaired if a) the AWOL driver could be found and b) the driver was given accreditation so he / she / it could access the venue and remove the Beast. I just hope that we are not contributing to the day rate for the Beast to be away from his / her Cave of...

Part I We have a green light and Mission Control has pressed the big red, white and blue button. Afterburners have been ignited and phase one of the move to Rio is under way. Ok, so a bunch of Team clothing arrived after we had left, we do not know how we are going to get some 60 bags from USOC Team Processing in Houston to Rio, we are not entirely sure where our containers are in Rio, and the delivery of Coca Cola product to the Venue in Rio didn't go quite as smoothly as we had hoped....