Kevin McCarthy claiming top honors with Jeffrey Welles (left) and Darren Granziano (Alex Lynch) Halifax, Mass. - Friday was speed day at The Silver Oak Jumper Tournament, but although many were speedy, few were clean in our main event. With an exciting Welcome Stake ending the day yesterday, today's featured class was the 1.30m Cross Insurance Speed Derby. Olaf Peterson Jr.'s unique Speed Derby course design made for an exciting afternoon at Silver Oak. In a field of 29 horse and rider...

Owens & Messick (Shawn McMillen Photography) Lexington, Ky. - Amateur rider Kyle Owens picked a good day to break into the 90s for the first time in his riding career. And, his excellent timing and performance aboard Messick paid impressive dividends, as he tied professional John Barker with Carlotta for the blue ribbon in the Second Round of the USHJA Pre-Green Incentive Championship, August 12-14 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. "This was so exciting. I'd never even gotten a...

Lexington, Ky . – A week of competition at the 2014 US Pony Finals came to a close Sunday with the most coveted award of the championship. The Marshall & Sterling/US Pony Medal Finals took place in the Alltech Arena with 159 riders vying for top honors in front of judges Karen Healey and Stacia Madden. After riding Finders-Keepers to the Regular Medium Hunter Pony Championship title the day before, Taylor St. Jacques earned a Championship title of her own on Sunday. Taylor St....

Alissa Kinsey closed out the 2014 Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT, by winning the $15,000 Child/Adult Jumper Classic, presented by Ariat, on August 10 with Grisset (Photo by David Mullinix Photography) East Dorset, Vt. - Alissa Kinsey of Danville, NH, and Grisset saved the best for last to win the $15,000 Child/Adult Jumper Classic, presented by Ariat, on the final day of the Vermont Summer Festival. The six-week equestrian competition ran from July 2 through August 10 at Harold...

Julie Welles and Twan won the $50,000 Vermont Summer Celebration Grand Prix on August 9 (David Mullinix Photography) East Dorset, Vt. - Julie Welles of Wellington, FL, and Twan triumphed in the $50,000 Vermont Summer Celebration Grand Prix on August 9 during the final week of the Vermont Summer Festival horse show in East Dorset, Vt. The six-week equestrian competition runs July 2 through August 10 at Harold Beebe Farm in East Dorset, Vt. A total of 10 entries found their way to a clear round...

U.S. Olympic gold and silver medalist Leslie Howard guided Tic Tac to victory in the $100,000 CSI2* Synoil Energy Services Cup on August 9 at the CSI2* Summer Festival at the Caledon Pan Am Equestrian Park in Palgrave, ON. (Ben Radvanyi Photography) Palgrave, Ontario – U.S. Olympic gold and silver medalist Leslie Howard topped an international starting field to win the $100,000 CSI2* Synoil Energy Services Cup at the CSI2* Summer Festival held August 6 to 10 at the Caledon Pan Am...

Waco, Tex. – The National Collegiate Equestrian Association has hired Rob Peterson, Consulting Associate for CarrSports Consulting, LLC, and former Senior Associate AD at South Dakota State University, as its Emerging Sports Consultant, NCEA President Meghan Cunningham announced Tuesday. Peterson’s duties will focus on assisting the NCEA achieve its goal of reaching NCAA Championship status. He will be the primary architect of the NCEA’s strategic plan and will author a...

Lexington, Ky. - The 2014 US Pony Finals are ready to begin at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. From August 5-10, over 700 ponies from across the country will compete with their youth riders in hunter, jumper, and equitation classes. Through Saturday, competition for the US Hunter Pony Championships presented by Sallee Horse Vans will take place. Riders will vie for championships in Small, Medium, and Large Regular Hunter and Green Hunter divisions. The Hunter Pony competitions are...

Shannon Dahmer and Lakota Lace (Phelps Media Group) Parker, Colo. - A horse of a different color has been attracting notice at Dressage in the Rockies for more than just his spots. Lakota Lace, an 11-year-old Appaloosa/Percheron/Quarter Horse gelding, picked up back-to-back wins in the Intermediaire I at the Colorado Horse Park. In his first time out at that level, Lakota Lace scored 68.816 percent on Friday, winning the FEI High Percentage Championship, and 67.895 percent on Saturday. Trainer...

Shelburne, Vt. - Through a series of transactions between the American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA), American Morgan Horse Institute (AMHI), and American Morgan Horse Educational Charitable Trust (AMHECT), the AMHA will acquire and operate the National Museum of the Morgan Horse (NMMH) effective August 1, 2014. AMHA Board President Jeff Gove stated, "We are pleased to continue the legacy of the Museum under the AMHA banner. This is a unique opportunity for 'all things Morgan' both...