Randi Muster (Isabelle Caccamise and her medium pony, Better Than Good, won the title in the Medal Finals. ) Lexington, KY - August 15, 2010 - A mist of Show Sheen, check. A dab of hoof polish, check. A last pat for good luck, check. On Sunday, the clock began to wind down on the six-days of excitement that was the 2010 USEF Pony Finals National Championships. Still, as riders gathered for the final contest, The Equisport Insurance/USEF Pony Medal, attention to detail was not lost. Over 190...

Lexington, KY - August 14, 2010 - Saturday was yet another hot and humid day at the Kentucky Horse Park as junior riders competed in day five of 2010 United States Equestrian Federation Pony Finals National Championships. The Large Pony Hunter over fences class started out this morning’s competition with 102 entries to compete over Bobby Murphy’s course in the Walnut Arena. Riders competed in reverse order of the point standings after the model and under saddle phases. During the class,...

Randi Muster (Meredith "Maddy" Darst and Elation.) Lexington, KY - August 13, 2010 - The third day of competition got underway Thursday in the Walnut Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park during the 2010 United States Equestrian Federation Pony Finals National Championships. The event began with the model and under saddle phases for the Medium Pony Hunter division and was followed by the over fences phase for the Small Pony Hunter division to determine the Overall Small Pony Hunter Grand Champion....

Gladstone, NJ – The second leg of the National Intermediaire I Dressage Championship at the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of Champions closed out the second day of competition in the Dick and Jane Brown dressage ring at the USET Foundation Headquarters in Gladstone, NJ. The hallowed grounds have been the proving grounds of champions for decades and although a facelift has led to brand new footing in the competition and warm-up areas, the historic relevance is impossible to ignore. Fresh...

Photo by Emily Daily (Karen O'Connor and Mandiba after their victory.) The standings shifted radically beneath Karen O'Connor's feet Sunday afternoon during the show jumping phase of the Adequan United States Eventing Association (USEA) Gold Cup CIC***W division at The Event at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell, MT. Aboard Joan Goswell's Mandiba, the pair stood strong and posted a double-clear round in the stadium to decisively retain victory. "For me, today was great," O'Connor said. "I rode him early...

SusanJStickle.com (Young Rider Dressage Team Gold) Lexington, KY - July 28, 2010 - It was dueling dressage riders today in the gleaming parallel lines set on the field of the Kentucky Horse Park’s new Main Stadium. Junior competitors (ages 14-18) and Young Riders (ages 16-21) performed side-by-side to kick off the 2010 Adequan FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North. Today’s event, The Platinum Performance/USDF Dressage Championship Team Test represented...

Photo by David Mullinix (Hillary Dobbs and Marengo.) Hillary Dobbs of Sussex, NJ, and Marengo won the $30,000 Battenkill Grand Prix, presented by The Equinox Resort, on Sunday, July 18, at the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT. Dobbs are Marengo are no strangers to the winner’s circle at the Vermont Summer Festival, having won two grand prix events in 2009. This year, the pair faced off against 23 other challengers. In the first round, a total of four horse-rider combinations were able...

Beezie Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo (Erin Cowgill Photo) USEF Names Team for Meydan FEI Nations Cup Team Aachen, Germany – Sitting in the final spot of a nine horse jump-off, Olympic Gold medalist Beezie Madden of Cazenovia, NY, had the small luxury of knowing the time that she had to beat. With that knowledge, Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo were able to best the time of 50.07 seconds set by Sweden's Rolf-Göran Bengtsson and Ninja La Silla by two seconds. Their time of 48.27 seconds and a...

Photo by Leslie Mintz/USEA (Matt Flynn aboard his and Susan Schmidt's Caspar score the highest mark of the day to win the four-year-old class) Boys ruled at the Spalding Labs/United States Eventing Association (USEA) Young Event Horse (YEH) competition at Waredaca Horse Trials in Unity, MD, with two geldings and their male riders rising to the top of the four four-year-olds and eight five-year-olds who contested the event. Four-Year-Olds Matt Flynn of Gladstone, NJ, travelled to Germany last...

Photo by ESI Photography (Kelsey Hart and Agostino in the $10,000 Devoucoux Hunter Derby. ) Kelsey Hart continued to break the hearts of the other exhibitors competing in the $10,000 Devoucoux Hunter Derby when she rode her horse Agostino to the top prize in Saturday's feature class for hunters at HITS-on-the-Hudson, in Saugerties, NY. The Junior Rider from Albany, NY, rode against 30 other starters on a course set by Rian Beals. In the first round, Hart scored a 77.5, which put her in fourth...