Lauren Crooks and Navare D'Oriolles (Spruce Meadows Media Services) Calgary, Alberta - The finish of the $33,000 Westjet Cup 1.45m could not have been any closer, with only one-thousandth of a second separating first and second place. With the slimmest margin of victory, Lauren Crooks (USA) and Navare D'Oriolles, a 12-year-old Selle Francais gelding by Derby Rouge x Le Gregol owned by Beatrice Mack, scored their first international victory at Spruce Meadows. Crooks was one of eight...

Lexington, KY – Starting Friday at 5pm ET three- and five-gaited saddle seat equitation teams from the U.S. and the Republic of South Africa will go head to head in the second of two U.S. Saddle Seat Invitationals of 2013. This event is being held at Cascade Stables in New Orleans, LA's historic Audubon Park and will feature three- and five-gaited competitors riding unfamiliar horses in rail work and pattern phases. It will be the second ever competition for the newly formed U.S....

McLain Ward and Zander (Spruce Meadows Media Services) Calgary, AB - The Spruce Meadows Summer Tournaments are in their third week and the competition is as tough as ever. Two FEI-level events were held Thursday at the 'Canada One' Tournament, which runs through Sunday, June 30. Olympic gold medalist McLain Ward and Wannahave sped to their second win in the summer series in the $33,000 AKITA Drilling Cup 1.45m. Ward won his sixth FEI competition of the Summer Tournaments in the $33,000...

John Pearce and Johnny B Good (Mary Adelaide Brakenridge) Parker, CO - A crowd of spectators gathered to watch spectacular show jumping at the much-anticipated $30,000 Nutrena Summer in the Rockies III Grand Prix in the Kathy and Brad Coors Family Grand Prix Arena at the Colorado Horse Park on a perfect Colorado Saturday afternoon. In the first round of the event, 19 horse and rider combinations battled it out over international course designer Alan Wade's track, attempting to progress to...

Katie Dinan and Sandro (Spruce Meadows Media Services) Calgary, Alberta -The $10,000 CN 'Fast Track' Junior/Amateur 1.40m Derby had 34 entries attempt a long derby course, and there were 18 that proceeded on to the jump-off. There were eight double clear in the lengthy jump-off course, but the fastest of those were Katie Dinan and Sandro, a 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Larino x Casimir owned by Grant Road Partners. They finished in 50.89 seconds. Second place went to Wilton...

Wannahave stretches over the open water with McLain Ward (Spruce Meadows Media Services) Clagary, Alberta - The $33,000 McDaniel & Associates 1.45m Derby had 24 entries, and six of those were able to clear the course without faults. The track, designed by Werner Deeg of Germany, featured 16 numbered obstacles and 19 jumping efforts, including the grob, open water, dry ditch combination, and jumping off a bank. Speeding around by six seconds faster than the next competitors were McLain Ward...

Like the tale of a great cowboy story, a monumental journey began in the kitchen of a house in a small town in Texas. It was there that a gathering of horsemen and women begin to discuss the merits for the use of Dressage for the Western horse; “Western Dressage” emerged. Understanding the need for an organization to provide education and resources for this discipline, the Western Dressage Association® of America (WDAA) was formed as the first national entity for Western...

Katie Dinan and Sandro (Spruce Meadows Media Services) Calgary, Alberta - Katie Dinan (USA) brought home the win as the last horse in the jump-off in the $10,000 ConocoPhillips Junior/Amateur Cup 1.40m. They sped through and made a daring jump up the bank to save time in a rollback turn, which helped them stop the timers in 42.88 seconds. Second place went to Kara Chad (CAN) and Alberto II in 43.49 seconds. Meagan Nusz (USA) and Vesuvius were third in 44.42 seconds. Dinan explained her jump-off...

Jonathan Holling of the United States, pictured here riding Downtown Harrison, will attempt to defend his title at the Volvo Bromont CCI*** Three Day Event to be held June 6 to 9, 2013, in Bromont, Quebec. (Cealy Tetley, www.tetleyphoto.com) Bromont, Quebec – The 2013 Volvo CCI3* Bromont Three Day Event, The Todd Sandler Challenge, gets underway at the Bromont Olympic Horse Park in Bromont, Quebec, on June 6, concluding on June 9. Over the past 27 years, Bromont has attained elite status...

(Lindsay McCall) Lyman, ME - One term often used in reference to future medal winning U.S. high-performance equestrians, is the word 'development'. By further educating and integrating the athletes, judges, trainers, and supporters from all levels will help develop and evolve each discipline. The 2013 U.S. Para-Equestrian Dressage Symposium created the platform to accomplish this task. At the Carlisle Academy Integrative Equine Therapy & Sports in Lyman, Maine, internationally...