The Board of Directors of the American Shetland Pony Club (ASPC) announced that they will again offer a $10,000 scholarship to any registered American Shetland Pony who earns the title of Champion Small Pony Hunter at the United States Equestrian Pony Finals to be hosted August 13-17 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. “The $10,000 incentive prize was designed to encourage participation of Shetland Ponies in a variety of competitions.” explained Zona Schneider, Operations Director of...

The American Horse Council’s (AHC) 2008 National Issues Forum will be held June 15-18, 2008, at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Monday, June 16 will include various committee meetings and an opening reception, with the National Issues Forum, and an awards luncheon and Congressional reception on Capitol Hill to be held on Tuesday, June 17. This year’s National Issues Forum will focus on how the horse industry and individual members can be involved in the 2008 federal...

Attendees of the 2008 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day will have the opportunity to walk the only four-star cross-country course in America with two of the country’s top event riders. Kim Severson and Jan Byyny, veterans of four-star competition, will be hosting the SmartPak Course Walk at the event. For Severson, this will be her third year leading the popular walk and for Byyny, her second. Both riders will be addressing their strategies in riding the challenging cross-country course from start box...

Lexington, KY --The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Executive Committee has approved two important high-performance driving initiatives for 2008. USEF National Championships Announced Dates and Locations for the 2008 USEF National Driving Championships are as follows: the 2008 USEF National Four-in-Hand Championship and the USEF National Single Horse Championship will be held simultaneously at the Live Oak Combined Driving Event in Ocala, FL, March 27-30. Please visit the Live Oak...

The American Horse Council (AHC) is reminding all members of the horse-owning community to participate in the 2007 Census of Agriculture being conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA census, taken every five years, is a count of U.S. farms, ranches and the people who operate them. A link to the Census can be found on the front page of the AHC’s website at www.horsecouncil.org or at https://www.agcounts.usda.gov/cgi-bin/counts . The USDA reports that the 2007 Census of...

The FEI does not report the existence of a positive case until the earlier of the following: the results of an initial (“A”) test are accepted by the person responsible, or the results of a confirmatory (“B”) test also return a positive result. This policy is grounded in the principle that athletes’ rights must be respected in the fight against doping. “It is understandable that an athlete or an athlete’s attorney may try to influence public opinion prior to receipt of final results in an...

The American Horse Council (AHC) wants to ensure that the American horse industry is properly accounted for in the upcoming census. There are three ways in which horse owners can participate in the USDA’s 2007 Census of Agriculture: 1. If a farm received a survey for census participation in the past (the last census was taken in 2002), the farm will be mailed a survey that can be filled in and mailed back. 2. If a farm was not part of the 2002 Census, the owner can fill out a basic USDA census...

The American Saddlebred Horse Association is offering live streaming video of the Lexington Junior League Horse Show via its website at www.saddlebred.com . The webcast began with the show’s first session on Monday, July 9, and will include each session through the show’s conclusion on Saturday night, July 14. The same video feed that goes out to the Red Mile’s jumbotron and other video monitors will be broadcast worldwide on www.saddlebred.com . Plans are also underway to webcast the American...

The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) announced that competitors now have access to a rider score check for the 2007 competition year, available on the USDF website. This new feature allows individuals to track all scores earned during the current competition year, no matter the number of different horses ridden. A reference tool for members, this score check is also an acceptable form of score verification that can be submitted with the USDF Rider Award Report Form when applying for the...

Each zone’s and United States Pony Clubs’ Adequan/USEF National Pony Jumper Championships standings will be complete as of Friday, June 15. Please check your standings and make any necessary corrections by close of business Wednesday, June 20. No corrections will be accepted after June 20, 2007, for the 2007 Adequan/USEF National Pony Jumper Championships standings. Standings are located on the USEF website under 2007 Points & Awards . More information about the 2007 Adequan/USEF National Pony...