Lexington, KY — May in Kentucky was all about the catch-ride. One ride. One horse. One shot at history. At Louisville, it meant a late-replacement jockey, John Velazquez, would win his first Kentucky Derby with Animal Kingdom. At Lexington’s Kentucky Horse Park that same weekend, it meant students facing their own last-minute leg-ups, with just minutes to assess a horse before entering the Alltech Arena and their date with destiny at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association...

Washington, D.C. – Let the horses inspire you! The Washington International Horse Show (WIHS), the leading indoor equestrian event in the U.S., is seeking an original poster design for its 53rd annual event, to be held Oct. 25-30, 2011, at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The six-day equine extravaganza features the country’s leading horses and riders in exciting jumping competition. The poster contest is open to U.S.-based artists, both amateur and professional, 18 years and...

Fairfield, CT — The Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, will host the 37th annual IHSA National Championships, one of America’s oldest and largest collegiate equestrian competitions, bringing together approximately 400 students from 25 of the top hunter seat and western teams across American and parts of Canada. May 5-8 they will vie for titles including the prestigious Cacchione Cup and American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) High Point Western Rider awards. Among the teams...

Bridget Love Meehan. (Photo courtesy Washington International Horse Show.) Washington, D.C. - The Washington International Horse Show (WIHS), the leading indoor championship horse show in the country, is pleased to announce Bridget Love Meehan as the new executive director. Meehan joins the executive leadership of WIHS - Juliet W. Reid, President; Greg W. Gingery, Chairman; and Anthony F. Hitchcock, Chief Operating Officer - as the show prepares for its 53rd annual event taking place October...

Lexington, KY — The USA Equestrian Trust is pleased to announce it is now accepting applications for financial grants to non-profit equine organizations to be funded in 2011. Go to https://www.trusthorses.org/grant/request.html and fill out a grant application for the USA Equestrian Trust Grant Program. The deadline is May 2 at 5 p.m. (EST). Despite the continued economic struggles, the Trust's board was pleased to grant nearly $135,000 to seven applicants in 2010. Past recipients of grants...

Fairfield, CT - The Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) has announced a realigning of its National Zones, compressing nine Zones into eight, and reflecting several new changes. In brief: * Former Zone 7 was absorbed into Zones 8 and 5 * Zone 9 was renamed Zone 7 * New regions were created in Zones 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 (former Zone 9) * Zone 1 sent a region to Zone 2 * Zone 2 shifted a region to Zone 3 * Zone 3 lost two regions - one to Zone 4 and another to Zone 6 * Zone 4 shifted a...

Beezie Madden Victorious in the $80,000 Syracuse Sporthorse Cup (Photo © 2010 Lauren Fisher/PMG.) Cazenovia, NY - November 7, 2010 - Beezie Madden piloted her horses Mademoiselle and Coral Reef Via Volo to the win in the $80,0000 Syracuse Sporthorse Cup presented by Copernicus Stables. She seems to own this Cup as she was victorious in 2006 and 2008 as well. The final Sunday event of the Syracuse Invitational Tournament in downtown Syracuse is always an audience favorite and today was no...

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Just ask Miami University of Ohio freshman, Tom Schoen, the 2010 recipient of the Jon Conyers Memorial Scholarship. Schoen rides on the Miami University Equestrian Team (MUET), representing his Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) teammates in the Walk Trot division, under coaches Heather Pinnick and Lori Cramer. Remarkably, the English Education major was not a rider before college. But it’s clear after listening to him talk about his passion for...

George Lukemine, Director of the Intercollegiate Equestrian Foundation (IEF), has announced the following recipients for 2010: Joan Johnson Memorial Scholarship Award 2010 Winner Ethan McRee Hefner - North Carolina State University This scholarship is in memory of Joan Johnson who served the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) for 36 years and took pride in serving as its Director of the Scholarship Foundation. It is awarded to one applicant who has shown excellence in all of the...

Peter Cashman was born the youngest of nine in 1951. He was raised in Garden City, NY, where his father, John Cashman, Sr., a harness racing judge, introduced him to horses. He began to ride at the age of six. It was not until he was 12 that he fell in love with harness racing. His brother-in-law, Billy Popfinger, saw Peter's interest in Standardbreds and hired him as a groom at Monticello Raceway. He spent his summers at the raceway getting familiar with the care and maintenance that a barn...