Courtney King of Bedford, NY, riding the Dutch stallion Idocus owned by Christine McCarthy, won the Open Grand Prix at the Windy Hollow Hunt Spring Dressage show on Sunday, May 14, at the Sussex Fairgrounds in Augusta, NJ. King and the 16-year-old bay stallion by Equafor scored 62.708% from Judge Anne Rawle of Pennsylvania. "Idocus and I had our best grand prix by far since he has come back to me," enthused King, who had ridden the stallion to international success four years ago and was...

Del Mar’s Evening of Musical Freestyles delighted dressage fans with competition from some of the best in the world, including three-time Olympic Bronze medalist Guenter Seidel and Olympic and World Cup veteran Steffen Peters. They scored within a tenth of a percent of each other in the $5,000 Grand Prix Freestyle sponsored by Chalk Hill Estates Winery. Seidel on Aragon won with a score 74.450%, while Peters on Floriano scored 74.325% for second. Aragon is a 1992 Bavarian Warmblood gelding...

Michael Matz and Kentucky Derby 132 Winner Barbaro (Anne M. Eberhardt ) Lexington, KY – Imagine having an Olympic Silver medal of your very own. Imagine winning the greatest horse race in the world - the Kentucky Derby. To achieve either is a milestone in any horse lover’s life. To do both is almost unthinkable. That is unless you are Michael Matz, who has created his own exclusive club. And it has exactly one member. The 132nd Kentucky Derby was an exceptional day for this former...

A team of the top United States show jumpers prepared on Wednesday, May 3, to launch the defense of their Samsung Super League championship at this French coastal resort city. The U.S. won it's first ever elite Nations Cup victory at this same show a year ago, which also marked the first major team event under the leadership of George Morris as chef d’ equipe. The Americans followed the win at La Baule with victory in Aachen, Germany, and high enough placings at the other six two-round events,...

Marc Manning (Becky Holder and Courageous Comet tackle the Head of the Lake on the cross-country phase.) It was a big and challenging course that greeted the 59 horse-and-rider combinations going into Saturday’s grueling cross-country phase at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Farnam. And while many Kentuckians’ minds were on next weekend’s Kentucky Derby and the “most exciting two minutes in sports,” the eventing world and tens of thousands of...

Lexington, KY - Shawn Flarida and Rowdy Yankee took Gold in the Adequan/USEF Open Reining Championship Qualifier at the National Reining Breeders Classic (NRBC) in Katy, TX, on April 21, 2006. The pair marked a 226.5 to win the qualifier as well as the NRBC’s $25,000 Added Open on Friday evening. Rowdy Yankee is a 12-year-old Quarter Horse stallion owned and bred by Keith Crawford. He was the 1997 National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Non-Pro Futurity Champion and the 1998 NRBC Non-Pro...

Marc Manning (Darren Chiacchia and Windfall II) Call it a day! The dressage phase of the 2006 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Farnam ended with a second day of unprecedented beautiful weather and sun-kissed crowds who were witness to two days of the expert dressage tests. And with American riders siting in seven of the top 10 placings, it was a particular triumph for the U.S. eventing world. 2004 Modified CCI**** Rolex Kentucky Champion Darren Chiacchia and his black Trakehner...

Mara Dean on Nicki Henley during the dressage phase of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Farnam. (Marc Manning) If there was one thing that stood out the first day of the 2006 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Farnam – other than the international-level competitors and their beautiful mounts – it was the abundance of blue skies and sunshine that surprised even veteran Rolex attendees. Legions of fans of eventing came from around the world to watch the highest...

The Norwegian Fjord Horse Registry (NFHR) announces a national event scheduled for October 12-15, 2006, in Winona, MN, at the Minnesota Equestrian Center. The event marks the 25th anniversary of the NFHR and showcases the breed's versatility. The four-day celebration features an NFHR evaluation, horse show, Stallion Row and Presentation, "An Evening of Dancing with Fjord Horses" performance, seminars and demonstrations. The Norwegian Fjord Horse Association representatives from Norway, Holland,...

Iron Spring Farm has just released a new DVD, Guide to Successful Breeding with AI . The professionally produced DVD offers mare owners and breeders an easy to understand overview of artificial insemination. Topics covered include pros and cons of fresh and frozen semen, pinpointing the days a mare is most likely to become pregnant, and dealing with EVA protocols. This valuable information answers many common questions and helps the breeding process go smoothly. "A large part of our mission at...