Craig Schmersal and Tidal Wave Jack, Winners of the 2005 Adequan/USEF Open Reining Championship (Waltenberry Photography) Lexington, KY – With swift and calculated moves, amazing 360-degree spins and stop-on-a-dime sliding stops that left an unabashed crowd going wild, Craig Schmersal and Tidal Wave Jack claimed their landmark USEF Gold medal and trophy in one fell swoop at the 2005 Adequan/USEF Open Reining Championship on Saturday, August 27, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington....

Rider Aaron Vale of Aiken, SC, rode Alison Register’s 13-year-old Warmblood bay mare Alliance to a double-clear round victory over a field of 26 competitors in the H n’ D Stables’- and Wilton Connor Family-sponsored Lucky Sevens Welcome Stake on July 21. Alliance's first round time of 63.50 made him the third out of four mounts for Vale going into the jump-off. Their second clear round time of 34.70 was just one second enough to pull off the win. Pablo Barrios of Wellington, FL, aboard Wild Cat...

Following the sold out, three-show Woodside Summer Circuit, John Bragg leads the point standings for the 2005 Woodside Hunter Incentive. At each of the seven USEF “A”- and “AA”-rated hunter/jumper shows at the Horse Park at Woodside, each trainer’s five highest scoring hunters are counted toward his or her Hunter Incentive points. All hunter sections count toward the points: junior, amateur, children’s, adult, ponies and open. This year’s contest ends at the Woodside Fall Finale (September...

For the first time in Kentucky Horse Park history, reining will take a dizzying spin to center stage, as the park plays host to the inaugural Adequan®/ United States Equestrian Federation Open Reining Championship, the USEF National Youth Reining Championship, presented by Markel Insurance and Hagyard-Davidson-McGee, and the final qualifying competition in preparation for the 2005 FEI (International Equestrian Federation) World Reining Masters Series Finals—all in the same week, August 23-28....

Professional Auction Services, Inc., returns as manager of the American Hunter Pony Classic, the industry's premier auction of hunter ponies, for the tenth year. The record setting auction will be held in conjunction with the USEF Pony Finals to be held this year at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, August 10-13, with the auction taking place on August 9. The 2005 sale features 100 ponies, including seven ponies that are qualified for the 2005 Pony Finals. Other feature ponies include:...

Lexington, KY --The first edition of the Performance Horse Registry (PHR) e-newsletter, American Breeder News, was sent on Friday, July 8. A breeder-savvy publication about sport horse breeding in North America, American Breeder News will continue to be delivered to subscriber's e-mail boxes every month, offering the latest news affecting the breeding industry from the PHR, breed registries across the United States and American breeders themselves. This launch coincides with the unveiling...

The horse industry is huge, competitive and powerful. But do you know just how huge and powerful we are? According to the American Horse Council's 1996 industry study, the horse industry impacts the United States Gross Domestic Product by $112.1 billion. It provides 1.4 million jobs and pays $1.9 billion in taxes. How competitive is our business? There are approximately 87 breed registries and associations; the largest of which has more than 161,000 members. So how does the 10,000-member...

The Vermont Summer Festival is proud to host a qualifying competition for the prestigious International Equestrian Federation (FEI) Children’s Jumping Final. Open to show jumping athletes ages 12-14, the FEI Children’s Final sees riders from all across the globe competing in this unique annual event. The competition was created to promote and encourage talented young riders by giving them the opportunity to experience international competition with support from the FEI. For the second year in a...

Lili Weik Photography Jimmy Torano and Marcel - Winners of the $150,000 Rolex/USEF National Show Jumping Championship (Lili Weik Photography) Saugerties, NY – With only one time fault to speak of in the second round of Sunday’s competition, Jimmy Torano of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and his mount Marcel, out-jumped 14 competitors to take home the Championship trophy, $30,000 in prize money, and the elegant Rolex watch at the $150,000 Rolex/USEF National Show Jumping Championship in...

It was a strong start for Cynthia Williams on the opening day of the Garden State Horse Show, held May 4-8 at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta, NJ. Williams and a seven-year-old gelding named Quality Time topped the first three Green Conformation classes. Owned by White Hill Farm of New York, NY, the 16.2-hand hunter will make a play for the Green Conformation championship on Thursday when the final classes are held in the main hunter ring. In the Pre-Green hunters, Sandra Lobel of...