As of January 1, 2007, the Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) began issuing Performance Permits to ApHC-registered, non-characteristic (N) Appaloosas. Permits allow all non-characteristic Appaloosas, regardless of parentage or age, to show in ApHC-approved and sponsored events as well as race with results counting toward ApHC race awards. The permit remains effective for the life of the horse once it is issued, regardless of ownership changes. Performance Permits eliminate the current Certified...

Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation® has finalized the second list of breed events that will receive outreach grants through the new program announced in January. The maximum grant is $1,000, and grants are still available. A total of $125,000 has been budgeted in 2006 for grants to financially challenged breed competitions that meet the grant requirements and are approved by the USEF. To date, 61 applications have been received and 49 have been approved. Grant requests are...

The U.S. Saddle Seat Equitation World Cup has received official word that the dates for the 2006 International Saddle Seat World Cup competition have been changed. The event has moved one week later and will now be held December 4-10, 2006. The prestigious international competition will be held at South Africa’s premier equestrian facility, the Parys Indoor Arena in Parys, South Africa. The U.S. will be taking on teams from Canada, Great Britain, Namibia and South Africa in an effort to match...

The Swiss team will be first into the ring when the second leg of the 2006 Samsung Super League with FEI series gets underway tomorrow at 1:15 p.m. local time in Aachen, Germany. The ORDER OF GO tomorrow is as follows: 1. Switzerland; 2, The Netherlands; 3, Great Britain; 4, USA, 5, Germany; 6, France; 7, Ireland; 8, Sweden. The U.S got off to a good start today as Margie Engle on Hidden Creek's Perin won the Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia with no faults in a time of 75.26. Jeffrey Welles of...

Bob Tarr (TCE Balastrana+++// with Mercy Burwell) TCE Balastrana+++// (TC Expression x Brooklynn), owned by Mercy Burwell of Brentwood, MO, ranked as the top horse among a field of more than 3,000 Arabians, Half-Arabians and Anglo-Arabians to become the 2005 Arabian Horse Association (AHA) High-Point Horse. To reach this pinnacle, the mare accumulated 388 points in Horse Achievement Awards (HAA), the Association's premier rewards program for actively competing horses. The Arabian horse...

Stephen B. Macfarlane, 59, died following surgery in Louisville on January 11. Macfarlane had spent his lifetime as a multi-faceted horseman, winning championship titles in American Saddlebred, Roadster, Pony and coaching competitions. Macfarlane had just returned to Kentucky from his winter home in Ft. Meyers, FL. He had been taking blood-thinning medication for a diagnostic procedure scheduled later this week, when he suffered a head injury resulting in edema that could not be controlled...

North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) is proud to announce that nearly $50,000 has been raised for a fund to assist NARHA Centers in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida which were affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Seventy-pound toppled arena lights, flooded barns and several equine deaths are just a sampling of the devastation NARHA Centers faced in the wake of this year’s hurricanes. NARHA’s 2005 Annual Meeting and Conference was held in...

Lexington, KY —Aaron Ralston captured the win in the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Open Reining Championship Qualifier at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, CO on Monday, January 10. The International Reining Competition (CRI) was the second in the USEF series, but the first for the Carbondale, CO resident, who defeated a group of veterans on Smart Paul Olena. “It’s amazing to be able to compete with the likes of these guys,” said Ralston. “I...

Washington DC —United States Equestrian Federation rider and 2004 Olympic Team Silver medalist McLain Ward adds 20 World Cup qualifying points to his standing in the East Coast League, after a first place finish atop Goldika 559 at the $100,000 Washington International President’s Cup in Washington DC on October 30. One of three horse and rider pairs to finish with double clean rounds, Ward and Goldika 559 (Bay Holsteiner mare; Cor de la Bryere—Zelena II; Double H Farm) kept...

Riesenbeck, Germany – One of the United States’ most accomplished drivers, Chester Weber of Ocala, Florida, has become the first American to win the CAI Riesenbeck, one of the most prestigious titles in four-in-hand driving known as the “Fahrderby.” He won by a considerable margin despite deep footing in the dressage and muddy footing in the marathon. His final score was 525.10. Peter Tischer of Germany was second with a score of 568.34 and Ludwig Weinmayr of Germany was third with 596.20. The...