Sydney Collier riding Willi Wesley (SusanjStickle.com) Lexington, Ky. - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased to announce Sydney Collier as the 2014 Junior Equestrian of the Year. Seventeen-year-old Collier is a talented Para-Equestrian who competed at the international level in 2014, including the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. A native of Ann Arbor, Mich., she was diagnosed at the age of seven with a rare congenital birth defect called Wyburn-Mason Syndrome. In spite...

Alenandra Crown & Basic (twitter.com/acrown) Lexington, Ky. – Talented young American rider Alexandra Crown finished her 2014 show season well, earning a second place finish in the Écuries d'Écaussinnes CSI1* Grand Prix at the Gucci Paris Masters on Sunday. With her own Basic and Zafira, Crown qualified for the jump off round. On Zafira, she had a rail down in 36.62s and finished in 13th place. With Basic, she nearly won it all. Jumping a clear round in only 35.74s,...

Lauren and Royalty des Isles (Photo from Lauren Hough's Facebook page) Lexington, Ky. - A strong contingent of Americans was in Paris, France over the weekend competing at one of December's marquee international show jumping events, the Gucci Paris Masters. None had more success than Lauren Hough. On Saturday night Hough (Wellington, Fla.) was only tenths of a second off the wining pace in the Longines Guerre Des Sexes. With Royalty Des Isles she jumped one of only five clear rounds and her...

Caroline Martin and Quantum Solace (Mike McNally Photography) Lexington, Ky. - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) hosted 12 up-and-coming riders in the inaugural Eventing 18 Program in 2014. All Participants put the lessons learned in January’s Training Sessions with U.S. Team Coach David O’Connor and respected eventing professionals to the test throughout the year to reach new heights of excellence in competition and all around horsemanship. Caroline Martin (Miami...

Lexington, Ky. - The organizers of Rio 2016 have extended the registration period for individuals interested in volunteering at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Candidates now have until December 15, 2014 to apply for one of the remaining 70,000 openings. “All within the U.S. Equestrian Teams that will be travelling to Rio in 2016 hopes that as many Americans as possible volunteer to work at Rio,” said Will Connell, USEF Director of Sport. “It is always...

Las Vegas, Nev. - In true Las Vegas style, the final highlight event of the Las Vegas National opened with glitz and glamour. As eager spectators began to fill the stands, forty-four of show jumping's best and brightest prepared to compete in the $75,000 Las Vegas CSI-W Grand Prix. After ten went clean, it was Harrie Smolders (NED) and the speedy Regina Z who outran the rest for the win. Harrie Smolders and Regina Z (Alden Corrigan Photography) The Opening Ceremonies commenced with a Parade...

Lexington, Ky. - One of the highlights of the day Saturday was the presentation of the new Calaveras County Perpetual Trophy (by artist Olva Stewart Pharo) to the very first US Dressage Finals Grand Prix Freestyle Adult Amateur Champion, Janne Rumbough of Palm Beach, Fla. (Region 3). The crowd went wild and clapped to the beat of Rumbough's Mary Poppins-themed music as her gray PRE gelding Junior (by Gaucho III x La Nina by Brioso VI) seemed to relish the electric atmosphere of Alltech...

Lexington, Ky. - Mette Rosencrantz of Topanga, Cal. was grinning from ear to ear as she accepted congratulations for becoming the first Finals champion crowned in 2014. Her long journey all the way from the West Coast ultimately proved worthwhile as she guided Anne Solbraekke's elegant black Hanoverian gelding De Noir 3 (De Niro x Maharani by Matcho) to a resounding victory in the Open Intermediate I Championship, earning the unanimous win under all three judges for a total score of 72.632%....

Aurora, Colo. - The 48th Annual Arabian & Half-Arabian U.S. National Championship Horse Show once again transformed Tulsa Expo Square into an Arabian horse stomping ground. Stall curtains, water fountains, leather couches, and lots of plants transformed concrete floors and temporary stalls into set-ups of comfort, relaxation and style. Three arenas glittered with fancy lighting and red and gold drapes, while the feeling of competition lingered in the air. After all, this show is where the...

Erin Sylvester and No Boundaries (Libby Law Photography) Pau, France - The Les Étoiles de Pau CCI4* came to a conclusion on Sunday afternoon as 19 combinations went forward to contest Jean-Philippe Desmaret’s challenging show jumping track. The United States closed out the competition by securing two spots within the top 10. Leading the way for the Americans was Erin Sylvester (Unionville, Pa.) with her own and Jill Tallman’s No Boundaries finishing in sixth place on 72.9...