The signature first turn at Churchill Downs (Churchill Downs photo). Louisville, KY - What an extraordinary moment in history. Arabian horses will be racing on June 18 at Churchill Downs, the home of the Kentucky Derby, most popular and widely televised horse race in the world. It’s a moment that has the potential to bring great notoriety to the Arabian breed globally. It’s a doorway to another level that is waiting to be opened so that both the general public and horsemen of all...

Lexington, KY - The United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) is now accepting nominations for the 2011 Jane Marshall Dillon and Lifetime Achievement Awards. The Lifetime Achievement award was first presented in 2008 to honor members who dedicated their lives to furthering the hunter/jumper discipline on a National platform and whose involvement in the sport and the USHJA has benefited the industry. The Jane Marshall Dillon award was created in 2010 to recognize the dedication of...

Lamprechtshausen , Austria - Building on their win in the Nations Cup at CSIOY Lamprechtshausen, the U.S. Young Rider Show Jumping Tour capped off a successful weekend with a one-two finish in the Young Rider Grand Prix. Reed Kessler took the top spot for the U.S. on Ligist, she jumped the only clear round in the jump-off for the win. Jessica Springsteen was second on Cincinnati La Silla, she had the fastest short-course round by more than five seconds, but had one rail to settle for second....

Wilmington, Ohio - The Buckeye Baroque Summer Jubilee Horse Show will be the first time two of the most romantic and baroque breeds - Friesians and Andalusians - will hold a show together in Ohio. The USEF “A”-rated event for Friesians, part-bred Friesians, Andalusians and part-bred Andalusians will be held June 25-26, 2011, at the Roberts Arena in Wilmington, Ohio. The show is the Inaugural Region 5 Championship for the International Friesian Show Horse Association. Friesians and...

Team USA Celebrates (Photo by Murray Kessler). Lamprechtshausen, Austria - In an incredible finish, the U.S. Young Rider Show Jumping Team scored their first Nations Cup victory of their summer tour, triumphing over the Swiss with a total of five faults. The U.S. and Switzerland were tied after the first round, each country carrying only one time fault forward to the second round. Catherine Pasmore led things off for the U.S. - she had one rail in the first round on My Boy, but bounced back to...

Susan Dutta rode Currency DC into the winner’s circle at the 2011 CDI3*Y/J Capital Dressage Classic in Raleigh, NC. The duo won the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Freestyle (Photo courtesy of Sue Stickle). Raleigh, NC – International dressage rider Susan Dutta, a member of the Gold Medal 2007 Pan American Games team, rode into the winner’s circle at the 2011 CDI3*Y/J Capital Dressage Classic in Raleigh. Dutta and her long-time equine partner, Currency DC, competed in the Grand Prix...

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,...

Cathy Vecsey rode Mandaley Bay to roses in the Park ATR Championship. Ferrara Photography Inc. Columbus, Ohio - The first Ohio Buckeye Show was held in 1964. It lasted two days, featured 49 classes and was rife with horses bred by Al-Marah, Lewisfield and Cedardell Arabians. Al-Marah Laurie was the 1964 Buckeye Champion Halter Gelding, won the English Pleasure Championship with Bob Hart Sr. in the irons and the Western Pleasure JTR with Bob Hart Jr. Bob Jr. was 13 at the time. Arabian horses...

Kenneth and Sally Wheeler Devon, PA - The $25,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby was a labor of love. The class was presented by the Wheeler family in honor of their parents, Kenneth and Sally Wheeler, whose names alone bring back images of phenomenal Hunters exploding over huge solid natural jumps on outside courses. Doug Wheeler spoke on behalf of the family. "This is in honor of my mom and my dad. Devon has been a part of our family's tradition and history for years. I was there as a...

Rich Fellers and Flexible place second at Longines Grand Prix of Switzerland. Photo by Beatrice Scudo. St. Gallen, Switzerland - Switzerland's CSIO St. Gallen ended successfully for the show jumping riders who have been representing the United States at the first three shows of the 2011 FEI Nations Cup Series. In Sunday's Longines Grand Prix of Switzerland, Rich Fellers and Flexible defied both the tiny chestnut stallion's size and the weather, jumping impressively to second place...