Breaking US Equestrian news releases contain the latest information regarding the organization, national championships, U.S. athletes and teams in international competition, breed news, and important member alerts. Manage the news you receive at the US Equestrian Preference Center.

It's Official: Saddle Seat Has Been Approved by the Interscholastic Equestrian Association for the 2010–2011 Year

by By Lark R. Henry | 7/22/2010 9:51:00 AM

The Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) has officially announced that saddle seat is approved as an emerging discipline of the IEA, and teams are starting to form all over the United States. Hundreds of teams and thousands of members have enjoyed participating in IEA hunt seat and Western competitions for the past eight years, but this will be the first year for the saddle seat offerings. The mission of IEA is to introduce students in private and public middle and secondary schools...

Riders4helmets National Helmet Awareness Day Announced for July 10, 2010; Helmet Manufacturers to Offer Discounts Through Participating Retailers

by By Lyndsey White | 6/22/2010 9:57:00 AM

Equestrians showing their support for the campaign. (l-r) Leigh Ann, USEF; Samantha Clark, 2010 Radio Show; Event Rider Cathy Wieschhoff; Dressage Rider Reese Koffler-Stanfield; Glenn Hebert, 2010 Radio Show, and Lyndsey White, Freedom Health. The riders4helmets campaign, operated by helmet advocate Jeri Bryant and supported by SUCCEED®, has organized a National Helmet Awareness Day endorsed by the United States Equestrian Federation, to be held on July 10, 2010. riders4helmets has teamed up...

Hart Breaker! Kelsey Hart Wins Her Second $10,000 Devoucoux Hunter Derby at HITS Saugerties

by By the HITS Media Team | 6/17/2010 11:10:00 AM

Photo by ESI Photography (Kelsey Hart and Agostino in the $10,000 Devoucoux Hunter Derby. ) Kelsey Hart continued to break the hearts of the other exhibitors competing in the $10,000 Devoucoux Hunter Derby when she rode her horse Agostino to the top prize in Saturday's feature class for hunters at HITS-on-the-Hudson, in Saugerties, NY. The Junior Rider from Albany, NY, rode against 30 other starters on a course set by Rian Beals. In the first round, Hart scored a 77.5, which put her in fourth...

High Prairie Spring Final Wrap-Up

by By Marnye Langer | 6/11/2010 11:41:00 AM

Hunters had a big week at the High Prairie Farms Spring Final. More than 20 horse-and-rider combinations competed in the $2,500 United States Hunter Jumper Association National Hunter Classic on a perfect May evening in the main hunter ring. When it was all over, Libby Copeland claimed the championship riding Remember When (Jennifer Wallen, owner). Copeland, a Kansas City native, rides and trains out of Michael Dennehy’s Bridlewood Farms. She has been there for a little more than a year after...

Howe and Smith Light Up the Crowd in $30,000 Preliminary Challenge at the Spring Event at Woodside

by By John Strassburger and Heather Bailey | 6/4/2010 12:15:00 PM

Before a crowd of more than 500 people, as the bright sun set over the San Francisco Bay on Saturday evening, Tamra Smith and Kelly Loria jumped to victory in the two divisions of the $30,000 Preliminary Challenge, the feature of the Spring Event at Woodside. Loria, 16, of Lafayette, CA, rode Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds to top the 15-horse field in the Preliminary Rider Challenge, earning a check for $2,500 and a CWD Custom Saddle. Smith, 34, of Hemet, CA., rode CSI to top the 11-horse field...

HITS-on-the-Hudson I Week in Review: Olympians Take Aim at Qualifying for the Pfizer Million, Star Quest Serenade Rises to the Top, and Exhibitors Have Fun Out of the Ring

by By the HITS Media Team | 6/4/2010 10:36:00 AM

Photo by ESI Photography (Kelsey Hart and Agostino in the $10,000 Devoucoux Hunter Derby. ) Two of the most decorated high-performance riders in the country became serious contenders to qualify for the unprecedented Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix after a pair of impressive outings at HITS-on-the-Hudson I in Saugerties, NY. First, in Friday's $25,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, it was Olympian Margie Engle and Hidden Creek's Pamina L that took the blue ribbon in her first...

Certified Jumper Schooling Supervisor FAQ’s

by By the USEF Jumping Department | 5/20/2010 4:32:00 PM

Question: I’m a Category 1 (C1) Steward. Do I need to become certified? Answer: No. The Certification is not meant to be an addition to the C1 Steward’s license. The purpose of the certification is simply to educate the designated individuals assigned to supervise schooling areas as required by JP 103.2. Q: How will the Certified Schooling Supervisors help the Competition Stewards? A: Certified Jumper Schooling Supervisors (CJSS) are only supervising the schooling area and therefore, will allow...

This Week in International Disciplines

by From the USEF Communications Department | 5/11/2010 4:50:00 PM

CCI3* Winners Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister (Stockimageservices.com) Eventing It was a smooth weekend at the Jersey Fresh CCI3*, CCI2* and CIC3* all held concurrently at the Horse Park of New Jersey. Tiana Coudray guided her distinctive grey gelding Ringwood Magister to a convincing win in the CCI3* with a final score of 45.6. Coudray led after dressage by a huge margin of 16.8 points. She then rode carefully on the cross country and picked up just 4.8 time penalties, meaning she went...

Garden State Horse Show to Host Devoucoux Hunter Derby; $50,000 Grand Prix dedicated to Jack Benson

by By Nancy Johnson | 5/7/2010 11:25:00 AM

Photo Courtesy Garden State Horse Show (Jack Benson's Memory will be honored during the $50,000 Grand Prix at the Garden State Horse Show.) Now in its 59th year, Garden State Horse Show (GSHS) constantly strives to add special classes and incentives for its loyal exhibitors. This year, the show, which runs May 5-9 at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta, NJ, has been selected to host one of the new Devoucoux 3’3” Hunter Derbies. Debuted at HITS Saugerties last spring, the class received...

This Week in High Performance #3

by From the USEF Communications Department | 3/10/2010 9:42:00 AM

Mario Desluariers and Urico (Randi Muster/Mustphoto.com ) Dressage The prestigious Palm Beach Dressage Derby got underway on Thursday, March 4th with some of the nation’s top riders competing in Loxahatchee, FL. Tina Konyot and her Danish Warmblood Calecto V triumphed over the field of elite horse and rider combinations in both the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special. In the Grand Prix Freestyle Mikala Gundersen and Leonberg put in a winning performance with a score of 72.250%; Canadian...