Kirsten Coe aboard Starlight, owned by Laura King-Kaplan, emerged victorious at the $25,000 Fairfield Grand Prix on Saturday, June 28, the culminating event of the Fairfield County Hunt Club June Benefit Horse Show in Westport, CT. On hand to bestow The Callari Cup were George N. Venizelos of Wachovia Securities, LLC, the presenting sponsor of the grand prix, Claire Sussman and Catherine Herman, co-chairs of the show, along with Chairman Jenny Belknap and President Lynn Coakley of The EQUUS...

Oklahoma City, OK – Under the lights at the Oklahoma State Fair Park, Craig Schmersal bested some of the top reiners in the country to win the 2008 Adequan®/United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) National Open Reining Championship presented by Equine Motorcoach. Schmersal, an Oklahoma native, won the title along with his share of the $25,000 in added money. The USEF championship was part of the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Derby. This is Schmersal’s second time...

In one of the deepest fields assembled in recent memory, Wimpys Little Chic, owned by Arcese Quarter Horses USA, Weatherford, TX, dominated a field of impressive four-, five-, and six-year-old reining horses with a decisive win in the 2008 National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Derby. Ridden by NRHA’s Leading Money Earning Rider Shawn Flarida, the team accomplished what no other combination has—winning the NRHA Futurity, NRBC, and the NRHA Derby consecutively! Andrea Fappani piloted...

The week’s final spotlight shown on the children-adult jumpers as 47 horses took center stage with hopes of landing the starring role in Classic Company-sponsored $15,000 Jumper Classic. Carri Carse aboard her mount Letterman had the final call back and left the Georgia Horse Park all smiles. On Saturday, Derek Petersen of Archer, FL, captured his second Outback Steakhouse-Horses Helping Horses Grand Prix aboard Jordan Coyne’s Larazo, delivering an exciting conclusion to a weekend of giving at...

Patrick Seaton and Good Guiness not only won the $20,000 Bayfest Grand Prix the second week of the Woodside Summer Circuit, but Seaton also earned a $5,000 rider bonus for winning two of the three major jumper classes at the 2008 Woodside Summer Circuit aboard the same horse. If he can make it a hat trick by clinching the $30,000 Golden Gate Grand Prix, Seaton will be the first rider to claim the Woodside Jumper Accumulator bonus worth $20,000. "When I started the Woodside Jumper Accumulator...

Oklahoma City, OK – Some of the top youth reiners in the country traveled to the Oklahoma State Fair Park to compete in three age divisions for the title of 2008 United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) National Youth Reining Championship. Asa Peeples won the 13 and under age division; Jason Kvols won the 14-18 age division; and Lacey Vernon won the 19-21 age division. The USEF National Youth Reining Championship was part of the six-day National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Derby. Asa...

Peters and Ravel (Amy McCool) San Juan Capistrano, CA – Steffen Peters and Ravel were crowned Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF National Grand Prix Dressage Champions and won the USEF Selection Trials for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team in dressage with a spectacular performance in today’s grand prix freestyle. The pair finished with a remarkable score of 79.500%. Peters, Debbie McDonald and Courtney King-Dye finished in the top three places to represent the U.S. at the 2008 Olympic Games in...

Steffen Peters and Ravel (Amy McCool) San Juan Capistrano, CA – There was no one busier than Steffen Peters at the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions today and he saved his best performance for last. Peters rode Ravel to another win in the third leg of the USEF National Grand Prix Dressage Championship (which also serves as the USEF Selection Trial for Dressage) with a score of 75.25%. The 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding continues to impress everyone on hand at...

Michelle Gibson and Don Angelo (Amy McCool) San Juan Capistrano, CA – The first day of the USEF National Intermediaire Dressage Championship showcased the top horse/rider combinations in the country at the fiercely competitive Intermediaire level. Some of the most exciting up-and-coming horses performed the Prix St. Georges test in the arena at The Oaks Blenheim facility this afternoon. Two riders, who duel on a regular basis, ended the day separated by only four-tenths of a percent. Last...

Dressage trainer Elizabeth Niemi won the grand prix on Sunday at the Windy Hollow Hunt Dressage Show in New Jersey. Niemi rode Stan and Vivian Picheny’s strapping dark bay gelding Wholio to a score of 65.625% for the win. Following a torrential downpour the night before, the show opened on Sunday to a crystal clear day that provided perfect footing for the competitors. After competing in torrid heat Saturday, Wholio gave Niemi a relaxed and focused ride, coasting into the Grand Prix victory on...