Hey Y’all! My name is Laura Sumrall. I am 18 years old and from the small town of Summit, Mississippi, where our one stop light turns to a blinking yellow light at 10 o’clock at night. All my life, I have been interested in horses, and at the age of 11, I became a Reiner. I was hooked for life. I now train under Schaffhauser Stables of Brookland, Arkansas and have been a student here for four years. My life as a Reiner really began to grow about three years ago when we bought my...

Steffen Peters and Ravel Sunday at CHIO Aachen (Photo: Ken Braddick/dressage-news.com). Aachen, Germany – Team USA wrapped up the 2011 World Equestrian Festival CHIO in Aachen, Germany with more strong performances, including a second place finish for Steffen Peters and Ravel in the Grand Prix Freestyle CDIO and a win for show jumper McLain Ward on Rothchild. Peters and Ravel, owned by Akiko Yamazki and Four Winds Farm, stepped up their game today and gave the best dressage horse in the...

Darragh Kenny and Bazooka de Muze won the $30,000 Battenkill Grand Prix, presented by Johnson Horse Transportation, at the Vermont Summer Festival (David Mullinix Photography). East Dorset, VT — Ireland’s Darragh Kenny won the $30,000 Battenkill Grand Prix, Presented by Johnson Horse Transportation, on Sunday, July 17, at the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT. The six-week equestrian competition is running at Harold Beebe Farm from July 6 through August 14, 2011....

McKayla Langmeier and Czar Z won the $5,000 Hunter Derby during week two of the Vermont Summer Festival (David Mullinix Photography). East Dorset, VT — Only 11 years old, McKayla Langmeier beat out 36 other entries to win the popular $5,000 Hunter Derby held July 14 at the six-week Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, Vermont. Competing in her first ever hunter derby event, McKayla of East Granby, Connecticut, earned the top score of the first round, an 88, after guiding Czar...

Laura Kraut clears a jump on her horse Teirra during the Warsteiner jumping competition on July 13, 2011, in Aachen, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images). Aachen, Germany - Another American victory came Saturday at the World Equestrian Festival CHIO in Aachen, Germany. Show jumper Laura Kraut rode Woodstock O, owned by Joan Kalman and The Freedom Group, to the win in the Sparkassen-Youngsters Cup. They were also awarded with the overall special prize for the best rider/horse of...

Blythe Marano, Urban, and Askaban (Photo: Katie Anich/PMG). Traverse City, MI - The $30,000 Grand Traverse Bay Grand Prix thrilled spectators today at Horse Shows by the Bay, with Blythe Marano achieving an astonishing double win. The expert equestrienne earned both first and second place in this exciting open jumper class. Wilhelm Genn came in third on Happy Z, with Freddie Vazquez rounding out the top four on Carpe Diem 8. Out of a starting lineup of 28 horses and riders, these four were the...

Dr. John Stutts on CF Cool Night Out (Howard Schatzberg Photography). Lexington, KY - As a 6-year-old, Dr. John Stutts peeked through the fence at a Louisville, KY, riding club to watch the horses warm up. That little boy fell in love with American Saddlebreds, and today, as a grown man, he turned a childhood Saddlebred dream into reality. Stutts and a dozen other qualified riders displayed their competitive ability within the adult amateur equitation division, trotting...

Hannah Olson and Maximus (Katie Anich/PMG ). Traverse City, MI - With high temperatures forecast for the weekend, the Open Jumpers cooled off today with an invigorating $10,000 Welcome Prix at Horse Shows by the Bay. The second of four such events to grace the Grand Prix ring at Flintfields Horse Park in Traverse City, MI, this afternoon's competition was a fitting precursor to Sunday's $30,000 Open Jumper Grand Prix, as well as tomorrow's Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper competitions. A...

Aachen, Germany - Team USA notched another win today at the World Equestrian Festival CHIO in Aachen, Germany. Chester Weber and his four-in-hand team won the second dressage test in driving. Weber handled the reins of Jane Clark's team - Para, Senate, Splash, and Uniek - in the dressage test, which was a rating competition for team classification. Weber competed as an individual for the United States, and he was given scores of 193, 203, 194, 196, and 193 from the judges. He and his team...

Ramsay Hanson guided Old Fashioned to the Adult Amateur Hunter and the Adult Amateur Equitation championship titles during opening week of the Vermont Summer Festival. East Dorset, VT — Ramsay Hanson was a double champion in the hunter divisions, taking home the Adult Amateur Hunter and the Adult Amateur Equitation championship titles during opening week of the Vermont Summer Festival running July 6 to August 14 in East Dorset, VT. Hanson, 19, of Centerville, Massachusetts, won all four...