I started this blog this morning with the aim of completing by the start of the jumping competition and extolling the virtues of the Glorious 12th. However it is now evening and the blog is only just being started due to the time consuming shenanigans of the Annoying 14th. It has been one of those days that Rio 2016 have perfected the art of creating; frustrating and unnecessary. Casting my mind back to the Glorious 12th, I still get goosebumps combined with deep reoccurring nervous tension...

Piber Köflach, Austria – The U.S. Driving Team of Donna Crookston, Sterling Graburn, and Suzy Stafford, along with individual Leslie Berndl, made a valiant effort at the 2016 FEI World Driving Championships for Singles, which proved to be a true championship test. The strong international field consisted of 75 combinations from 23 countries, and after four days of competition, the U.S. team finished 14th. Sterling Graburn and Mannkato (Krisztina Horváth/Hoefnet.com) Graburn (Paris,...

Early nights all round for the dressage and eventing teams; and I bet there are a ton of people out there that wish they could turn in to their slumber pits early as well. Overnight equine arrivals plus the huge amount of work that the equestrian experts supporting the Rio 2016 Organising Committee have had to undertake, has ensured that there are many tired people out there. But these experts have done an excellent job getting the venue ready and whilst there remain frustrations and areas...

This is stressful. Sitting in the Team tack room watching a procession of athletes destroying our supplies of snacks, drinks, and other culinary delights: Clearly they do not get fed at home and this is an enjoyable adventure for them. Ok, I get it, they and the grooms are who matter most but all the bottles and snacks were lined up in regimental rows and now a tornado has destroyed the illusion of order. Rewind. Monday morning (Europe time) Clan Dressage deployed to Rio; horses from Liege...

This may not be a photo likely to win any photographic competitions but it was taken at 2:30 a.m. from my bedroom. No, I am not some weird stalker or peeping tom but this is a photo of the merry bunch of selfish insomniacs that decided to have a very loud speaker (top right quarter of the photo) playing until about 3:30 a.m. Yes, I kinda wish I had something more persuasive to hand than a Canon camera… in fact a canon would have done very nicely. The eventing horses have settled in very...

Giavanna Rinaldi and Dulf Van Den Bisschop (Devaney Iglesias/Phelps Media Group) Wayne, Ill. - Giavanna Rinaldi was the last of four riders to qualify for the jump-off in the Finish Line $50,000 Grand Prix Saturday afternoon. When she entered the SmartPak arena aboard Dulf Van Den Bisschop she was aiming for a double-clear round, but did not anticipate having a two-second advantage over the top time to earn the victory. "I knew there was only one other double clear," Rinaldi explained. "I was...

Mill Spring, NC - July 23, 2016 - Todd Minikus (USA) and Quality Girl rode to victory in the $216,000 Tryon Estates Grand Prix CSI 4* at Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC), taking the final tour around the jump-off course and finishing as the only pair to earn a double clear effort on the night. Minikus and Quality Girl crossed through the timers in 41.093 seconds to secure the win, while Marilyn Little (USA) and Clearwater collected second place, finishing the track in 41.473 seconds...

Best Young Horse Arbor Hill with Handler Richard Taylor (Rebecca Walton/Phelps Media Group) Devon, Pa. - For the second year in a row, Richard Taylor and Arbor Hill stood front and center in the Dixon Oval on the final day of the Devon Horse Show and Country Fair. Owned by Kenneth Wheeler and handled by Taylor, Arbor Hill took home the Kenneth Wheeler Perpetual Trophy for Best Young Horse. Taylor and Arbor Hill (Redwine - Paisley), kicked off the day by winning the Three-Year-Old Other Than...

Taylor Land and Nepal (Flying Horse Photography) Mill Spring, N.C. - Taylor Land of Atlanta, GA, and Nepal collected a first place finish in the $25,000 Under 25 Grand Prix at Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC) today, completing the jump-off in 40.795 seconds for the win. Luis Larrazabal of Wellington, FL, finished in second place aboard Quintus Fabius, crossing through the timers in 41.623 seconds, while Bryn Sadler of Santa Fe, NM, and Cezarro earned third with a time of 42.012...

Rome, Italy – Members of the Short List for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Show Jumping Team will compete this week in the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup presented by Longines at CSIO5* Rome in Italy. The competition is a designated observation event that will help determine the 2016 U.S. Olympic Show Jumping Team. Led by Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland, the Hermès U.S. Show Jumping Team will include Kent Farrington, Laura Kraut, Callan Solem, and McLain Ward. The U.S. has drawn second in the...