As a member of the press, I especially enjoy press conferences. Of course, prior to these events I try to think of things that I’d like to ask or have explained in more detail than what is on the surface. Today, the World Equestrian Games Foundation held a press conference during a lunch break of the first day of dressage at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event to bring the press up-to-date on preparations for the big event. One thing I especially enjoy about press conferences is the...

Tracey Winter and Martailo Win Draper Equine Therapy Sponsored Grand Prix Special at Gold Coast Grand Finale I Tracey Winter, who owns Tranquility Dressage in Wellington, FL, turned in another consistent ride at the Gold Coast Dressage Association’s Grand Finale I show, winning the Grand Prix Special on her long-time partner Martailo. Draper Equine Therapy, makers of therapeutic horse and rider products featuring the innovative “smart fiber” textile Celliant™/Holofiber®, sponsored Winter’s...

The first West Coast Spalding Labs/United States Eventing Association (USEA) Young Event Horse (YEH) Competition of the year was held last Thursday at the Twin Rivers Spring Three-Day Event and Horse Trials in Paso Robles, CA. Although there were only two entries in the four-year-old division, the competition was neck-and-neck throughout the day with Pam Fisher riding her own Oldenburg/Thoroughbred gelding, Rigby, finishing only 0.4 points ahead of the Rheinland Pfalz-Saar mare, Bobbi Brown,...

San Juan Capistrano - April 19, 2010 - Turnout for the third and final week of the Blenheim Spring horse show series was again fabulous. Spectators and exhibitors alike enjoyed watching both the $10,000 The Chronicle of the Horse /USHJA International Hunter Derby on Friday afternoon and the $35,000 Blenheim Spring Classic III Grand Prix late Saturday afternoon. The Derby festivities, including wine and cheese during the final round and a post-Derby party with guest DJ John Huntington of A&E’s...

It was day one of Rolex events on Tuesday here at the Kentucky Horse Park. The Kentucky Cup CDI3*, a Dressage Test Event for the Alltech World Equestrian Games, kicked off this morning with 25 horses strutting their stuff in the Grand Prix. Amid the hustle of preparations for the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day the outdoor stadium was as beautiful a setting as ever for this elite competition. Sunny skies in the morning turned grey and dreary in the afternoon, I was certainly under dressed for the cool...

Mario Deslauriers and Urico (Rebecca Walton/Phelps Media Group) Lexington, KY – For the American show jumping community, the 2010 Rolex/FEI World Cup Final in Geneva, Switzerland will not be remembered for what happened on the field of play, but for a controversial decision by the Ground Jury involving the disqualification of Sapphire (ridden by McLain Ward) after the second leg. On top of the world after the first two legs, and with a variety of riders winning the majority of the classes...

Lexington, KY and Geneva, Switzerland - The Ground Jury of the 2010 Rolex/FEI World Cup Final in Geneva, Switzerland disqualified US jumping horse, Sapphire; in the early hours of April 17 (CEST) after her runner-up finish in the second leg of the competition with rider McLain Ward. The grounds for disqualification was hypersensitivity of the horse's leg. Sapphire was selected for hypersensitivity testing before she jumped in the class and according to the FEI Press Release: Following the...

Rich Fellers and Flexible Lead the Way (Rebecca Walton/Phelps Media Group) Lexington, KY – American Rich Fellers held nothing back and continued to prove the US domination in the Palexpo Arena at the 2010 Rolex/FEI World Cup Final. Riding Flexible, Fellers (Wilsonville, OR) had the fastest round of the day to take the lead after the first leg of the 2010 Final. Flexible crossed the finish line ½ second faster than teammate (and 2009 runner-up) Sapphire, ridden by McLain Ward. Owned by Mollie...

It was with speed and grace that Jeffery Welles was able to capture Saturday night's victory with his top mount, Armani, during a three-horse jump-off. The pair raced through the finish line in 44.36 seconds after completing a clear short course during the 2010 $200,000 Gene Mische American Invitational presented by G & C Farm at Raymond James Stadium. Peter Leone tried to catch his time with Select, who also left all the rails intact, but the duo's time of 44.87 seconds would fall just short...

The 2009/2010 Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final, which kicks off with preliminary classes at the Palexpo Arena in Geneva tomorrow (Wednesday), has been blown wide open by the late withdrawal of Ireland's Jessica Kuerten. When three-times champion Germany's Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, who gave birth to her first baby just six weeks ago, confirmed last week that she will not defend the title, then Kuerten's position as long-time favorite was further strengthened. But the Irish rider who topped...