Walking up the steps from the mixed zone to the athlete seating takes 20 seconds. I have done it 29 times, after each ride. 29 times without a medal. Each time - the climb becomes more painful. We are trying, we are working, we are willing - we just aren’t winning. It is immensely frustrating. Our horses look great, our riders are well-coached, you can feel and hear their frustration when they make mistakes. My heart breaks for them when they don’t make mistakes and their best still...

Leigh Cofer and Breaking News made headlines with their NAL/WIHS Adult Hunter Classic victory at the Kentucky Summer Classic. (Ashley N. Williams/PMG) Lexington, KY - August 5, 2012 -It was the championship day for the Adult Amateur Divisions at the Kentucky Summer Classic. Riders and their top mounts approached the Stonelea Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park for the final day of the show, examining the courses as they prepared. The Adult Amateurs did not disappoint as they vied for the top...

New Zealand’s Andrew Nicholson takes over lead in HSBC Rankings. Image: (Kit Houghton/FEI) Andrew Nicholson (NZL) has taken over as world number one in the HSBC Rankings after the London 2012 Olympic Eventing competition in Greenwich Park. Nicholson, captain of New Zealand’s bronze medal-winning team at London 2012, is now 46 points clear of William Fox-Pitt (GBR) who had led the HSBC Rankings since April. London 2012 is Andrew Nicholson’s sixth Olympic Games. New Zealand’s...

Lexington, KY- The U.S. will be represented by two horses this week at the FEI World Dressage Championships for Young Horses held August 1-5, 2012 in Verden, Germany. Sanceo, ridden by Sabine Schut-Kery, and Florentinus V, ridden by Jennifer Hoffman, will both compete in the six-year-old championship. Both horses were deemed sound and fit to compete at today’s Horse Inspection and begin competition Friday in the Prize of Mrs. Madeleine Winter—Schulze. Friday’s test will...

So we got the competition started yesterday. Literally. Boyd was first in on Otis Barbotiere and did a great job with the French phenom. Still green, Otis tried his heart out and coped remarkably well with the atmosphere. Unfortunately the judges weren't all quite on the same page yet, as the caffeine in the coffee was seemingly NOT evenly distributed. There was a 7 point spread in his scores which in the sport of reining, for instan ce, would be cause for an audit.We got over that, but it...

Maria Takacs and Dominus lead the way in the Amateur-Owner 3'3" Hunter Division at the Kentucky Summer Horse Show. (Ashley N. Williams/PMG) Lexington, KY - July 27, 2012 - It was a moist morning as the Stonlea Arena awoke from a stormy night to the Amateur-Owner competitors ready to show off their dime piece horses in over fences this morning starting at 8am. The first division for the day was the Amateur-Owner 18-35 Hunters, where Caruso and Kelli Sherrill took the blue ribbon in the first...

Day One at the 2012 Olympic Games It’s been crazy as I landed from one fire (NAJYRC) into another - trying to get my brain to switch over and into Games mode. So far it has been great. Considering it started by me flying from Lexington to Chicago to Boston to Washington, DC to London in one day. It’s a complicated story without a really logical explanation but ground stops in Chicago = desperate. The UNITED staff couldn’t have been more accommodating and they worked it out...

Coco Fath and Red Robin won the Grand Pony Hunter Championship at the Brandywine Valley Summer Series (AnLi Kelly-Durham/PMG) Devon, PA - The Pony Hunter competitors were glad to see an end to the heat wave as they took center stage in the Gold Ring today at the Brandywine Valley Summer Series, presented by Taylor Harris Insurance Services (THIS). The Large Pony Hunter Champion award went Barbara Ann Merryman and For the Love. Daisy Farish took home division championship honors with Sassafras...

Jaclyn Pepper is on of four young riders selected for the 2012 Olympic Dream Program(Laura Price) Lincoln, NE –Four young riders have been selected for the 2012 Olympic Dream Program that annually sends young riders to Europe for an intensive 10-day dressage experience. The program is administered and funded annually by The Dressage Foundation (TDF). An independent selection committee, after reviewing dozens of applications, chose Nicole DelGiorno (NJ), Catherine Chamberlain (AZ), Jaclyn...

Rebecca Hart and Lord Ludger (SusanJStickle.com) Gladstone, NJ - The 2012 USEF National Para-Equestrian Championships held in conjunction with the USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage Paralympic Selection Trials came down to the slimmest of margins this afternoon as riders performed their Freestyle tests at the Pine Meadow location of the USET Foundation. Heading to the final test of the championships only a few marks separated the top three riders and the remaining 20% of the final score would be...