The horse industry is huge, competitive and powerful. But do you know just how huge and powerful we are? According to the American Horse Council's 1996 industry study, the horse industry impacts the United States Gross Domestic Product by $112.1 billion. It provides 1.4 million jobs and pays $1.9 billion in taxes. How competitive is our business? There are approximately 87 breed registries and associations; the largest of which has more than 161,000 members. So how does the 10,000-member...

In the past five years, Over the Walls Horse Trials at Great Meadowbrook Farm has become one of the premier horse trials in the world. However, due to increasing costs and a lack of adequate sponsorship, Erik Fleming and Torrance Watkins have decided to cancel their event. “It’s a bittersweet decision as we have loved working with the finest people to create the finest event for the finest horses,” said Watkins. In its five years of running, Over the Walls has attracted national and...

United Arab Emirates — The four horse and rider teams and two individual teams riding for the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) at the 2005 FEI World Endurance Championship (WEC) have passed the fitness inspection—now it’s a waiting game as each rests up for an early morning start on January 27. The four riders named to the U.S. squad: Carol Giles of Prineville, OR; Beverly Gray, of Park City, UT; Michele Roush, DVM, of French Corral, CA and Dennis Summers of Gifford,...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce that it has awarded more than $128,000 in USEF Opportunity Fund grants to 13 USEF Community Outreach Organizations in the fund’s second year. The 2023 USEF Opportunity Fund grants will support a range of projects, from expanding programming and purchasing safety equipment to infrastructure improvements and business operations support. Grantees are listed below in alphabetical order: Beachwood Center for Wellbeing (Charlestown, R....

As we enter the summer months, we all must be aware of the weather around us. We have had a watchful eye on the wildfires spreading throughout Canada, and the resulting worsened air quality throughout Canada and the eastern coast of the United States. We know concerns over air quality are ever-present as both humans and equines can be equally impacted. USEF believes the decision by organizers to operate, suspend, or cancel competitions due to compromised air quality is best made by each...

Alex Waldrop, the former Chief Executive Officer of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), shared U.S. horse racing’s history and recapped some of the challenges that horse racing has faced in the past 15 years. The challenges affected horse racing’s social license to operate and required earnest changes to improve horse welfare. “An old adage comes to mind: ‘If you can’t be a good example, you’ll just have to be a horrible warning.’...

Daniel Clasing and Olney Uncle Sam. ©Leslie Potter/US Equestrian Elkton, Md. – The final 25 combinations completed their dressage tests on Friday morning at the 2021 USEF CCI3*-L Eventing National Championship, and the top three from Thursday held their ground on the leaderboard with Kurt Martin and D.A. Lifetime keeping the lead. In the Maryland 5 Star, Great Britain’s Oliver Townend and Cooley Master Class kept the top spot, but Friday brought a shakeup to the rest of the top...

With the 2021 competition year winding down, we continue to face challenges in the equestrian community with the impact on the West coast due to the tragic wildfires affecting California, and other states in the West. In light of these devastating wildfires, concerns over air quality are ever-present since both humans and equines can be equally impacted. USEF believes the decision by organizers to operate, suspend, or cancel competitions due to compromised air quality is best made by each...

Lexington, Ky. – The USEF Pony Finals presented by Honor Hill Farms will take place August 10-15, 2021, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. Members of the media who would like to request credentials to cover the event should submit a completed application form by July 26, 2021. In 2019, over 800 ponies from across the country came to the Kentucky Horse Park to compete with their youth riders in hunter, jumper, and equitation classes. The 2021 USEF Pony Finals presented by Honor...

The FEI would like to warn the equestrian community that some batches of Marstall feed containing apple pomace were contaminated with caffeine, a Controlled Medication and Specified Substance on the FEI Equine Prohibited Substances List. Bernhard Kreiling GmbH, the manufacturer of Marstall, identified apple pomace, an ingredient in the feed, to be the source of contamination. Measures have been taken by Bernhard Kreiling GmbH to prevent further contamination with caffeine and other substances...