Calgary, Alberta, Canada - Two-time Olympic Gold medalist McLain Ward (USA) bested an international entry of 52 to score his first victory of the Spruce Meadows “Canada One” Tournament in the WESTJET Cup. Riding his 10-year-old Dutch gelding, Pjotter, Ward piloted two clear rounds, with a blazing trip around the jump-off course of 42.52 seconds to defeat American teammate Mario Deslauriers. Fourteen horse/rider combinations had advanced to the jump-off over the technically demanding...

Eastern Selection Trial 5-year-old champion Lauren Chumley and Somer Hit (Photo by Pics of You). The Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Selection Trials 2011 qualifying season concluded last week at the Eastern Selection Trials in Leesburg, Va. The top five 5-year-olds and top five 6-year-olds that earned a minimum score of 7.8 from the three competitions will make up the short list of horses moving forward to the 2011 Markel/USEF Dressage National Championship at Lamplight in Wayne,...

Reims, France - The USEF European Young Rider Tour continued its successful trip through Europe with another second-place finish in the Nations Cup at CSIOY Reims. Runners-up in Belgium the previous weekend, the Young Riders continued their successful European effort. Catherine Pasmore led off the U.S. team, rebounding from a 13-fault first round on My Boy to improve to eight faults in round two. Karen Polle rode With Wings in the second position to a six-fault effort in the first round but...

Sinead Halpin was awarded the USET Foundation's Pinnacle Cup Trophy as the highest placed American rider at the 2011 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI**** (Photo by Amy Dragoo). Lexington, KY - The USET Foundation is pleased to announce that this year's recipient of the Pinnacle Cup Trophy at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI**** is Sinead Halpin of Gladstone, NJ. Halpin rode Manoir de Carneville to a third-place finish at the top event and was the highest placed American rider, which...

Ireland won the opening leg of the 2011 FEI Nations Cup™ series in a nail-biting thriller at La Baule in France today. On an afternoon when the form-book was turned on its head, Robert Splaine's side of Shane Sweetnam (Amaretto Darco), Billy Twomey (Romanov), Cian O'Connor (Larkhill Cruiser) and Cameron Hanley (VDL Southwind) produced superb jumping to finish with a two-fault advantage over the runners-up from Belgium, while the mighty German side had to settle for third spot in...

Leipzig, Germany - The Rolex/FEI World Cup Final saw a shuffle throughout the standings after the conclusion of the second round this afternoon. With 44 World Cup points up for grabs and the chance to head into the final round on zero faults, clear rounds were at a premium. Forty horse/rider combinations jumped Frank Rothenberger’s impressive track, with seven riders representing six different nations returning for the jump-off. In Sunday’s final only the top 29 riders from the...

Leipzig, Germany - The EY Cup, held in conjunction with the Rolex/FEI World Cup Final, came to a close in Leipzig this morning with the final round of the CSI2*. The six Americans riders that have been contesting the competition all week looked to complete their time in Germany on a high note. With each competitor limited to riding one horse, there was all to play for over Frank Rothenberger’s 1.45m course. Twenty-nine combinations would start the first round with six returning to the...

The Netherlands' Gerco Schroder will be first into the ring as the 2010/2011 Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final gets underway in Leipzig, Germany, tomorrow afternoon. A total of 43 riders will compete for the coveted title which crowns the champion of the indoor international jumping season and which draws the best horse-and-rider combinations from all around the world. The order-of-go in the first of the three deciding competitions is as follows: 1, Eurocommerce New Orleans (Gerco...

Eventing Tamra Smith stormed to victory with Mar de Amor by nearly 14 points in the CIC3* at the Twin Rivers Ranch in California. The pair won the dressage and never looked back, adding just a few time faults on both the cross country and the show jumping. Their final score was 53.6. Barbara Crabo and Eveready II were second on a score of 67.3 after picking up 13.6 time faults on the cross country, and Pam Fisher and Sea Lion rounded out the top three on the strength of a clear show jumping...

Cyndi Jackson and Strauss (USEF Archives) Lexington, KY - Dressage riders on the West coast had their opportunity to work with USEF Technical Advisor, Anne Gribbons in the first USEF Observation Session held in California in 2011 on April 5 and 6. Steffen and Shannon Peters kindly hosted the session at their Arroyo Del Mar training facility in San Diego, CA. Over two days, Gribbons worked with each combination individually, fine tuning movements with the veteran pairs and introducing new...