Becky Holder and Courageous Comet (Ken Braddick) Hong Kong, China -- Before the 2008 Olympic Games officially begin, the US Eventing riders had another important task at hand: all five American horses sailed through the first horse inspection. The horses jogged by team, in alphabetical order by horse. Connaught (Phillip Dutton), Courageous Comet (Becky Holder), Mandiba (Karen O'Connor), McKinlaigh (Gina Miles) and Poggio (at Olympic Games number two) all looked very fit and sound when they...

Region 5 Junior Dressage Team (Kenneth Braddick) By Joanie Morris Parker, CO - After all the dressage horses sailed through the first horse inspection on Tuesday, Wednesday brought the first championship day at the 2008 FEI CN North American Junior and Young Rider Championships at the Colorado Horse Park Presented By Gotham North. The junior dressage riders led the way and their division showcased stylish performances throughout the junior team test. Region 5 prevailed in a close battle that...

Kentucky Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center (KESMARC) and Main Street Management Services, Inc., (Main Street) proudly announces the formation of a joint venture to build a world-class equine sports medicine facility in Ocala, FL, as an integral part of the redevelopment of the 426-acre Farnsworth Farm into a unique equestrian community. Groundbreaking is scheduled for second quarter of 2007 with targeted completion by the beginning of 2008. Dedicated to the recovery and...

Randi Muster (McLain Ward and Sapphire) It came down to a four-rider jump-off speed round at the 2006 Rolex/USEF National Show Jumping Championship at the 123rd National Horse Show in Wellington, FL, on Sunday afternoon. And in a finish befitting the championships sponsor—Rolex—the crowds counted split seconds in the final speed test. When the last rider left the course and the points were tallied, McLain Ward and his Sapphire bested all challengers to win the title in a suspenseful, yet...

Team USA does it again by bringing home the Team Gold medal in reining. Pictured are: Dell Hendricks, Tim McQuay, Aaron Rahlston and Matt Mills. (By Ceci Flanagan-Snow) More than 38,000 fans of reining and driving descended on the 2006 World Equestrian Games on Friday to watch the exciting marathon phase of four-in-hand driving and the Team medal competition in the Western discipline of reining. It was a Gold-medal day for Team USA’s reiners, while three American drivers took to the...

By Bob Langrish (Beezie Madden and Authentic in the Main Stadium in Aachen, Germany.) (Aachen, Germany)— The 16 efforts put in front of the 116 show jumpers going round during the 1st qualifier and speed class for the individual and team FEI World Championships in Aachen were a bit more than a few could handle. And for Team USA, there were few bumps along the road translating into less than a handful of downed rails in a windy Main Stadium. Over the day, six horses were eliminated, and...

Bob Langrish (Steffen Peters aboard Floriano finished in fourth place in the grand prix special during Friday's dressage competition in Aachen.) (Aachen, Germany)—To say it was tough competition today in the dressage grand prix special at the 2006 World Equestrian Games (WEG) would be a gross understatement. But two Americans made it look like a walk in the park. American’s Guenter Seidel and Steffen Peters, who are now both poised to enter a showdown among the top 15 dressage...

For the eighth time in her career, and for the third year in a row on Hidden Creek’s Wapino, Margie Engle raced to victory in the $65,000 Merrill Lynch Cleveland Grand Prix, the nation’s oldest show jumping classic. The class is still held at the beautiful Metropark Polo Field in Moreland Hills, OH, the site of the original Cleveland Grand Prix, first held in 1965. An enthusiastic crowd of over 5,000 braved a blistering hot 90-plus degree Sunday afternoon in the steamy Chagrin Valley. Twenty...

The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation is pleased to announce that their 2006 Limited Edition Breyer Model horse will be based on show jumper and Olympic Team Gold Medalist Authentic. Authentic, an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, is ridden by Beezie Madden, and together they have accumulated huge victories in the past two years. Authentic was a member of the 2004 Athens Olympic Gold Medal Team. In 2005, his clutch performance in Aachen, Germany, secured the victory for the...

Robyn Fisher, 26, of Topanga, CA, was the wire-to-wire winner of the FEI World Cup Qualifier (CIC***-W) at Galway Downs, CA, on April 2, on her 11-year-old Holsteiner Thoroughbred gelding, Le Samurai, with a score of 75.6. Fisher finished each of the three days as the top rider in dressage, cross-country and jumping. She also won the CIC** on Lady Calido, a 10-year-old Holsteiner, and received prize money totaling more than $6,000 for winning both classes. "I had a great day," said Fisher, who...