The 121st National Horse Show & Family Festival opened today with the first rounds of the Open Division of the $150,000 National Horse Show Hunter Championship in the Internationale Arena. The next two rounds of Phase One will be contested December 1-2 to determine the top 12 that will move on to Phase Two, the final two rounds on December 4 that ultimately determine the National Horse Show Hunter Champion. A highlight of today’s hunter competition--Shachine Belle aboard In Disguise won the...

Now is the time to nominate an individual or a horse to be considered for induction into the Paso Fino Hall of Fame. Individuals must be in good standing with the Paso Fino Horse Association (PFHA) and must have been inactive in PFHA-sanctioned events for a period of five years or must be age sixty or older as of September 1, 2005. If deceased, the nominee must have been in good standing at the time of death. The nominee must have invested a minimum of five years, regionally or nationally, in...

The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation officially announced that it has retained GráficaGroup as its Public Relations Agency of Record. The USET Foundation, based in Gladstone, New Jersey, supports American equestrian athletes competing in national and international competitions, including the World Equestrian Games, the Pan American Games, and the Olympics. Gráfica ( www.grafica.com ) is a nationally ranked, full-service, fully integrated advertising and public relations agency...

Syracuse, NY —David Raposa bested a field of 2004 Olympic athletes and fellow international riders to claim the highest score for the United States at the $75,000 Budweiser World Cup of Syracuse over the weekend. Coming in second place overall, atop Audi’s Fanny de la Tour, (Bay Selle Francais mare; Trias Du Gue—Alicia De La Tour; Shalamar Farm) Raposa jumped double clear rounds to secure his title. His jump-off round clocked in at a mere 31.21 seconds, less than two-tenths of...

The International Friesian Show Horse Association (IFSHA) holds the first United States Equestrian Federation (USEF)-recognized national championship competition at the Los Angeles, CA, area City of Industry Equestrian Center; showcasing the Friesian Horse and its' derivatives. On October 22-24, Friesians will compete for national championship titles throughout the weekend in various competitive disciplines. Starting Friday morning with recognized dressage, and continuing with Western...

The Dressage and Jumping World Cup Finals will light up Las Vegas like never before when they come together at the Thomas and Mack Center, April 20-24, 2005. Individual tickets go on sale November 1, and they will go quickly, so spectators are advised to purchase early. Series tickets have been selling at an almost unbelievable rate, already surpassing the total ticket sales from 2003, the last time the Budweiser Jumping World Cup Final took center stage in Las Vegas. The start of individual...

Lexington, KY — The top reining horses and riders in the country are set to begin competing in the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) 2004/2005 Reining Qualifying Season as they gear up for the 2005 championship season. The first qualifying reining competition will be hosted in Columbus, Ohio, on October 9th, during the All American Quarter Horse Congress. As one of the largest equestrian events in the world, the Congress typically sees more than a half a million people every year....

Show jumping action got underway on September 22 at the five-day "A"-rated Los Angeles International Jumping Festival (September 22-26, 2004) at the world class Los Angeles Equestrian Center. The $40,000 Grand Prix of Los Angeles, set for 7 p.m. Saturday night, looks to be an exciting class. Last night, 21 horses and riders competed in the $5,000 Welcome Stake. Typically, the grand prix riders use this class as preparation for the grand prix. Olympian Mark Watring piloted his Olympic mount,...

Del Mar, CA – This weekend in Del Mar may have seemed a bit more like the last leg of the Triple Crown, instead of the Finals of the U.S. Olympic Team Show Jumping Trials as American jumpers vied for a spot on the team headed to the 2004 Athens Olympics in August. Beezie Madden, who some might label as the jumping world’s Smarty Jones (the lead racehorse in the running for a Triple Crown victory), is America's highest ranked jumper on the international computer list. Madden showed up on the...

The Committee on Selections of the United States Equestrian Federation, Inc., has approved the unanimous recommendation of the Show Jumping Selectors, and of the Show Jumping High Performance Committee, to name Chris Kappler to the “Short List” for the 2004 Olympic Equestrian Team. According to the USEF Show Jumping Athlete Selection Procedures, it is possible for one or two horse/rider combinations to be named to the Short List by the selectors without competing in the Olympic Selection Trials....