Washington, D.C., November 13, 2015 - The Time to Ride Challenge, a grassroots competition offering $100,000 cash and prizes to stables, clubs and businesses that introduce new people to horses, reached a grand total of 41,428 new horse enthusiasts throughout the summer-long program. Participants in 49 states hosted beginner-friendly horse events to stimulate interest in riding and grow their businesses. In its second year, the Challenge marked an amazing 63% increase in reach over the 2014...

Las Vegas, NV - German Course designer Olaf Petersen, Jr. set a track that required precision and speed from both horse and rider in order to earn a top spot in the $35,000 Las Vegas FEI Welcome Speed Classic, presented by Park Eduardo Menezes and Quintol Place Foundation. Serving as a qualifier for Saturday's $100,000 Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Las Vegas, presented by Interactive Mortgage, riders had their eye on a chance to compete for valuable World Cup™ points by...

Margie Engle and Royce claim the $65,500 Sunshine Classic FEI CSI-5* at National Sunshine Series II in Thermal, Calif. (ESI Photography) Thermal, Calif. - FEI classes continued Thursday at the National Sunshine Series II in Thermal, California, and as the prize money grew, so did the competitive spirit among the world’s top riders. Having won the $50,000 HITS Welcome Stake the day before, Margie Engle, of Wellington, FL, had her game face on and this time with Royce, owned by Elm Rock...

Adrienne Sternlicht and Providence (Rebecca Walton for Phelps Media Group) Lexington, Ky. - Adrienne Sternlicht, of Greenwich, CT, won the Show Jumping Hall of Fame (SJHF) Jumper Classic Series Final at the National Horse Show at the Kentucky Horse Park on October 31. Riding her 8-year-old mare Providence, owned by Starlight Farms, Sternlicht topped a field of 32 horses, 11 of which made it to the jump-off. Sternlicht then rode Providence to the only fault-free ride in the jump off, finishing...

Katy, Texas – Rebecca Hart and Kate Shoemaker came down the centerline and delivered superb performances to begin the 2015 USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage National Championships today. After performing the Team Tests in their respective levels, Grade II athlete Hart has the early lead in the CPEDI3* Championship High Performance division with a score of 73.118%. Grade III athlete Shoemaker is on top of the CPEDI1* Championship National division with a score of 70.237%. Today’s totals...

Three years ago, the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) launched an innovative Developing Driver Program to provide supplemental training opportunities for American combined drivers who demonstrated a commitment to the goal of competing at the USEF/FEI level and who were in pursuit of competitive excellence. The eventual goal was to increase the number of drivers and their horses/ponies competing at high performance levels, therefore developing the drivers that could become be future...

Beat Mandli aboard Celina (Al Cook - www.alcookphoto.com) Harrisburg, Pa. -- The featured event of the evening was the $34,000 Keystone Classic, a Longines World Ranking class, time first round speed format with fences set at 1.45 meters. A field of 16 horse and rider combinations took to the ring to see who could run the fastest over a course of 15 obstacles. It was a speed duel between Swiss rider Beat Mandli with Celina, owned by Grant Road Partners, who had a fault free performance over the...

Mikala Gundersen and My Lady (Hoof Print Images) Devon, Pa. – With the sun actually peeking out from behind the clouds, the rescheduled FEI Grand Prix Freestyle took place Sunday morning. It was ladies day with female riders claiming the top three places. My Lady, a bay Danish Warmblood owned by Janne Rumbough, danced into first place under the guidance of her rider, Mikala Gundersen. My Lady, who also won last night’s Grand Prix Freestyle Qualifier, demonstrated even more of her...

Conor Swail Aboard Simba De La Roque (Curtis Wallis) New Albany, Ohio – The luck of the Irish strikes again as an Irishman wins the $125,000 New Albany Classic for the second year in a row. This year, Conor Swail and his 9-year-old chestnut gelding Simba De La Roque emerged from an eight rider jump-off to win the Authentic Cup at the 18th annual New Albany Classic held at the Wexner home in New Albany, Ohio. Swail held on despite a thrilling challenge from Beezie Madden, who is currently...

Kent Farrington of USA riding Uceko during the AKITA Drilling Cup at the Spruce Meadows Masters. (Spruce Meadows Media Services) Calgary, AB, Canada – The 2015 Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ Tournament CSIO 5* got underway on Wednesday celebrating 40 years of outstanding competition at one of the world’s most iconic venues. Top international horses and riders convened for opening day, which featured wins for Kent Farrington (USA) and Uceko in the $85,000 AKITA Drilling Cup 1....