Photo by Flying Horse Photography (McLain Ward and Phillipa) Two-time Olympic Gold medal winner McLain Ward raised the roof during the $50,000 Strongid® C 2X CSI-W Grand Prix when he rode Sagamore Farm's Phillipa to the triumph before an enthusiastic crowd that filled the indoor arena at the HITS Desert Horse Park in Thermal, CA. Ward traveled from Brewster, NY, to get a jump start on qualifying for the Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix that will take place at HITS-on-the-Hudson, in Saugerties, NY,...

Photo by Sport Fot/Thierry Billet (Louis Jacobs on Kachina in the 1.45m.) The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) had a successful third week of competition on January 27-31. The week featured the $75,000 Nespresso Grand Prix, CSI** and the $55,000 Nespresso Battle of the Sexes, along with a full schedule of hunter, jumper, and equitation classes. The week three title sponsor was Nespresso. In order to provide the best coffee to riders at the FTI WEF, Nespresso is the official coffee at...

Photo by Robbi Meisel (Aaron Vale and Platinum) The $25,000 Jacksonville A-Z Grand Prix sponsored by North Florida Hunter Jumper Association on January 30 closed out Week IV of competition with one of the most successful riders in show jumping, Aaron Vale, adding another win to his illustrious career. After a week of observation, course designer Allen Rheinheimer put all he learned about the starting field into a lengthy and technical 13 obstacle-16 effort test with a time allowance of 96 tight...

Photo by Flying Horse Photography (Keri Potter and Rockford I) The all-new Devoucoux Hunter Derby kicked off with a bang at the 2010 HITS Desert Circuit when one of the top hunter riders in the country, John French, piloted Victoria Komisar’s Over the Moon to the inaugural win in the $10,000 Devoucoux Derby on the West Coast. French of Gilroy, CA, had the highest score in both the first and second rounds of the popular 3'3" class that featured 29 starters on a course set by John Manning, which...

Photo by Robbi Meisel (Wilhelm Genn and Happy Z) The third week of competition at the 2010 Jacksonville Winter Series got in full swing with the $5,000 Open Jumper Classic being won by Lebanon, Ohio’s Wilhelm Genn, as both owner and rider, piloting the brilliant mare Happy Z. Presented by Farm House Tack, the Jumper Classic served as a prelim to the next evening’s featured event, the $25,000 Marco Family Foundation benefitting H.O.R.S.E. Therapies, a nonprofit therapeutic equine program to air...

Photo by Brenda Carpenter Photography Lexington, KY—The Devon Horse Show, a historic Pennsylvania equestrian event that has become a part of the fabric of the American showing scene, is the fourth American horse show to be honored with the United States Equestrian Federation’s designation as a USEF Heritage Competition. Devon has now received the highest honor that can be given to a Federation horse show. The designation of a USEF Heritage Competition is reserved for those...

Steffen Peters, Jessica Ransehousen, Maxance McManamy (Geoff Oliver Bugbee) Louisville, KY – In January of 2009 Steffen Peters was honored with the USEF’s Equestrian of the Year Award for his uncanny sportsmanship and his achievements on the field of play throughout 2008. In 2010, at the USEF Pegasus Awards dinner he was bestowed the title again – this time for simply blowing the doors off the dressage world in 2009. Made even sweeter by the fact that the beloved horse who made it all possible...

Photo by Randi Muster (Pablo Barrios and La Gran) The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) began their competition on Wednesday, January 14, with opening jumper classes in the International Arena. The first week of the FTI WEF is sponsored by G&C Farm and runs through Sunday, January 17. The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of competition that conclude on April 4, 2010, and almost $6 million in prize money will be awarded through the circuit. This week's course designer is...

Denise Wilson and Elenor (Photo by Flashpoint Photography ) The opening week of the 2010 Jacksonville Winter Series kicked off with a warm welcome to competitors, especially Denise Wilson of Dousman, WI, and her brilliant mare For Elenor who won Saturday evening’s Naders $10,000 Jumper Classic. Wilson and the nine-year-old flashy Hanoverian chestnut For Elenor are no strangers to winning, with more than a dozen top five placings in 2009, including the victory lap of the $20,000 Showplace...

Capt. Mark Phillips (Photo USEF Archives) Lexington, KY - At the conclusion of 2012 the US Eventing Program will undergo a significant change. After 20 years, Capt. Mark Phillips has announced his retirement as Chef d’Equipe and Technical Advisor following the London Olympic Games to "give someone else the opportunity to put their stamp on the program." To date, Capt. Phillips has led the Eventing Team to 23 Team and Individual medals during his time at the helm of the program. Highlights...