Theodore O’Connor, the 2007 Farnam/Platform® USEF Horse of the Year, known as Teddy to his adoring fans, and his rider Karen O’Connor, were honored with a special treat at the 2008 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. The special treat was a pail of Platform® Treats with the winning pair pictured on the label. Picturing the Farnam®/Platform® USEF Horse of the Year and his rider on the label of Platform® Treats is a tradition begun in 2006 with the inaugural winner of the award, Brentina and her...

Diamante Farms of Wellington, FL, is pleased to announce that Michelle Gibson will compete Don Angelo, the farm's eight-year-old Oldenburg stallion, at the 2008 USEF National Intermediaire I Championship during the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of Champions. The event will be held in San Juan Capistrano, CA, on June 21-22 and June 27-29, with the Intermediaire I championship scheduled for the second weekend. Gibson, a 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games Team Bronze medalist, is head trainer at...

Powerful winds and rain on the final day of the Kentucky Spring Horse Show instigated a change of plans for the $55,000 Commonwealth Grand Prix CSI***. Originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in the Sheila C. Johnson Arena, early announcements informed exhibitors that the grand prix would be held in the indoor arena at 2:30 p.m. This alteration did not daunt Hidden Creek's Pamina L, who Margie Engle maneuvered flawlessly for an expeditious grand prix win. Out of 34 starters, 13 horses completed...

Photo by Randi Muster (Alex Matz and his pony, Wise Guy.) A famous jumping name will again be present in the Devon Horse Show catalog. The name is Matz, but this time it isn’t Michael, who showed for many years very successfully at Devon, but his son, Alex. Alex is only 11 years old and he’s only been competing in pony jumpers for a couple of months, but it’s already beginning to look like he’s inherited his famous father’s talent. The first time he ever competed...

Eighteen-year-old rookie Laura Teodori went clean and well within the time allowed in an exciting jump-off against three veteran riders to win the $100,000 Premier Truck & Trailer Grand Prix of Del Mar, an American Grand Prix Association (AGA) event, at the Del Mar National Horse Show. Riding Kasoar D’Uxelles, owned by L & M Ventures, LLC, Teodori went up against 29 competitors from all over the nation in the competition held Saturday, May 3. Only three others—Ali Nilforushan, Alicia...

The final week of the Aiken Spring Classic was win-win for Daniel Geitner of the Aiken-based DFG Stables. At the Aiken Finale, which concluded at the Highfields Events Center on Sunday, Geitner led the victory gallop in this week’s highlight event, the $30,000 Carolina Real Estate Co. Grand Prix, as well as both Young Jumper Championships. Riding the Rhinelander mare Sympa, owned by Mrs. Charles Bostwick, Geitner bested 13 horse-and-rider teams in Sunday’s Grand Prix. He also placed seventh in...

The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) announced that Henk van Bergen has signed on to be the featured presenter at the 2009 Succeed/USDF FEI-Level Trainers’ Conference to be held January 18-19, 2009, in Loxahatchee, FL. Each year, USDF offers a trainers’ conference to those individuals who meet the attendee criteria to learn training techniques and study with a world-class dressage trainer. Born as the son of a baker in Nijmegen, Holland, van Bergen started his career as a groom at the...

Lexington, KY -The countdown is almost over. There is only one more qualifier for the 2008 Adequan/USEF National Open Reining Championship presented by Equine Motorcoach left for riders to win their ticket to the USEF National Championship. The final qualifying competition is at Syracuse, NY at the CNYRHA Ride and Slide June 7th. The National Reining Breeders Classic hosted a 2008 Adequan/USEF National Open Reining Championship presented by Equine Motorcoach qualifier on April 18th in Katy, TX....

Chicago 2016, the organization bidding for the privilege to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, announced that Tempel Farms, an internationally renowned equestrian facility in Lake County, IL, will be the proposed site for the Olympic Equestrian Complex. Tempel Farms is well known to the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), and its participation is expected to strengthen Chicago’s concept for the Games significantly. Chicago 2016 Chairman and CEO Pat Ryan said, “This is a great day for...

Young Horse Finals were featured on the closing day of the 12-week CN Winter Equestrian Festival, presented by Zimmerman Advertising, at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. As she had done throughout the circuit, Laura Chapot of Neshanic Station, NJ, continued to dominate the young jumper division. The $20,000 Seven- and Eight-Year-Old Young Jumper Final was the featured class in the International Arena on Sunday, April 6, attracting a total of 48 entries. From the original starting...