COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) released its new positioning statement, “amazing awaits,” today in an effort to help communicate the unique values of the Olympic Brand ahead of the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games. “‘Amazing awaits’ is intended to tell the story of how Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls get to the Olympic and Paralympic Games and how that journey is the embodiment of the American spirit,” said Jim...

Missy Ransehousen aboard Critical Decision leads after Day One of dressage at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, Presented by Farnam. (Amy Katherine Dragoo ) The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, Presented by Farnam, began in traditional Rolex style on the first of two-days of dressage—and that was with rain. Spectators came prepared for the typical Rolex wet weather, as they gathered to watch the top competitors in eventing vie for the prestigious four-star title. With 45 horses starting...

The National Horse Show Association of America is pleased to announce the dates and locations for this year’s ASPCA Maclay Regional competitions. The horse shows’ qualifying classes determine which riders will compete in this year’s ASPCA Maclay National Championship, which will be held at the Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament on October 31-November 4, 2007. The ASPCA Maclay Horsemanship class has been held since 1933, and it is one of the most prestigious competitions for junior...

Daniel Geitner, of Aiken, South Carolina’s DFG Stables, dominated GALA’s January Jazz II competition in Folsom LA, last week. The hunter champion and prominent trainer piloted his mount, Trading Places, to top honors in both the opening $5,000 Welcome Stake and the closing $25,000 Grand Prix on January 27. In the days following the Welcome, the weather in Folsom turned rainy and cold. Geitner, nevertheless, turned up the heat for the Saturday Prix, steering Places, an eight-year-old Argentine...

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...