Kent Farrington and Calvin Vanhet Wuttensenfof won the $20,000 Bluegrass Classic at the Kentucky Spring Horse Show. (Photo by Rebecca Walton/PMG). Lexington, KY - Rainy skies greeted exhibitors this Saturday at the Kentucky Horse Park during the Kentucky Spring Horse Shows, but that did not slow down the jumper action in the Rolex Stadium. The competition kicked off at 8 a.m. with the $20,000 Bluegrass Classic. At the end of the seven horse jump-off, it was Kent Farrington and Calvin Vanhet...

Sutherlin, OR - If your goal is to breed, own or ride the next Ravel, Totilas, Judgement ISF, Idocus, or Popeye K, the KWPN-NA Annual Meeting added to your inspiration. With insights from Olympic medalist Steffen Peters and renowned breeder and KWPN judge Cor Loeffen, along with networking with some of the world's biggest and best KWPN horse breeders, the event was the largest in recent years. Two hundred enthusiastic equestrians gathered in Visalia, California to discuss and debate the...

Lexington, KY - Eric L. Straus. (Photo courtesy Eric L. Straus) The National Horse Show Association of America Ltd. announced today that Eric L. Straus has been appointed to the Board of Directors to fill out the term held by the late Eugene R. Mische. Straus brings a wealth of talent and experience to the National Horse Show Board of Directors. Straus is a recognized USEF judge, steward and FEI show jumping steward. Recently, at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Straus served as...

Folks, the drought is over. With a score of 78.542%, Steffen Peters and Akiko Yamazaki's Ravel rode to the first individual dressage world championships medal for the US in...well, a long time. On a day when a number of horses looked a bit tired from the Grand Prix exertions of the past few days -- exacerbated, perhaps, by a temperature spike that pushed the mercury up around 80 -- some of the top competitors actually seemed more relaxed and able to deliver better performances. Ravel was...

Great Britain dominated the second individual qualifying round at the FEI World Reining Championship presented by John Deere, held Tuesday at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. The top qualifying score of 217.5 went to Great Britain’s Lee Rutter riding Setting Off Sparks, while his countryman Doug Allen with Don Julio Whiz had the second highest score of 216.5. Twenty horses had been given this second chance at qualifying for Thursday’s individual finals. Sixteen horse and...

As a member of the press, I especially enjoy press conferences. Of course, prior to these events I try to think of things that I’d like to ask or have explained in more detail than what is on the surface. Today, the World Equestrian Games Foundation held a press conference during a lunch break of the first day of dressage at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event to bring the press up-to-date on preparations for the big event. One thing I especially enjoy about press conferences is the...

The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) was full of top competition during week eight, held March 3-7, 2010. The week featured the USEF Selection Trials for the U.S. Show Jumping Team for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games #3, #4, and #5, presented by Fidelity Investments, and the $75,000 FEI Nations Cup, presented by CN, along with a full schedule of hunter, jumper, and equitation classes. The week eight title sponsor was CN. The $150,000 CN U.S. Open Grand Prix, CSIO**** was...

Courtesy NRHA/Waltenberry (Austria’s Rudi Kronsteiner and Smart Spook) Oklahoma City, OK - The world of reining converged in Oklahoma City on Thursday, December 3, at the FEI World Reining Masters where 20 top riders from 18 nations competed on 20 world-class reining horses for one night of high-caliber competition. From the snow-capped peaks of Switzerland to the rain forests of Brazil, riders from across the globe came on a quest for international glory. The event was held during the 2009...

Two Champions "Three-Peat" as Breed Show Wraps Up When individual breed classes took center stage on day three of Dressage at Devon 2009, two horses who had dominated the news in the prestigious show's first two days continued to grab headlines. Perfect Qredit, a yearling colt by Quaterback, added an 83.80% win in the Oldenburg (GOV) division to his Grand Championship, Young Horse Championship, Colt Championship, and Yearling Colts and Geldings title for owner Michelle Coursin, an air-traffic...

Steffen Peters and Ravel (Shannon Brinkman) Las Vegas, NV – With the anticipation building in the Thomas & Mack Arena for the 2009 Rolex FEI World Cup Final, both the Dressage and Jumping competitors got their final tune up in the main arena on Wednesday. 14 Dressage horses from eight nations and 45 Jumping competitors from 22 will take center stage today, the first day of competition. Two masters are back to defend their titles. Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Shutterfly are looking...