The American Hanoverian Society (AHS) is pleased to announce that a Young Horse Dressage Symposium with USEF Young Horse Dressage Coach Scott Hassler will be held at the Jacksonville Equestrian Center on January 27, 2007, in conjunction with the Society's Annual Membership Meeting. The 2007 AHS Annual Meeting will be held January 26-28 at the Hyatt Regency Riverfront in Jacksonville, FL. The meeting will offer three days of educational programs featuring seminars on raising stallion prospects,...

The First International Combined Festival of Dressage for Para Equestrian held last weekend in Moorsele, Belgium is an important qualifying competition for the Paralympics in 2008. The United States placed riders in the top ten in both the Grade III Individual and the Grade III Freestyle. Three U.S. riders and their horses traveled to Belgium, Barbara Grassmyer from Placerville, California with Mibis, a 12 year old Dutch Warmblood; Rebecca Hart of Erie, Pennsylvania on her Norteassa, a 14 year...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation® (USEF) dressage tests for training through fourth level are now available. These new editions become effective with the beginning of the 2007 USEF competition year (December 1, 2006) and will remain in use for the next four years. “We are very excited about this new generation of USEF dressage tests,” said Jennifer Keeler, National Director of Dressage. “We would like to thank the members of the USEF Test Writing Subcommittee, including...

Lexington, KY – With a score of 118.41, Diane Kastama of Arroyo Grande, CA, won the Grade 1 Individual Gold medal at the 2006 FEI World Carriage Driving Championships for Drivers with Disabilities in Mensport, Hellendoorn, The Netherlands. Kastama drove Jasper, her 11-year-old Welsh Cob gelding. They were first in the dressage phase and first in the cones phase. She and her teammate Mary Gray competed alongside athletes from 60 different countries. The event was held September 6-10, and occurs...

The EQUUS Foundation, Inc., recently awarded $250,000 in grants to charitable organizations that promote the positive use of the horse for the benefit of the general public and the equestrian sport as a whole. The “all volunteer” EQUUS Foundation raises funds from two annual events—one held in February during the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL, and the the Benefit Luncheon held in June in conjunction with the Fairfield County Hunt Club June Benefit Horse Show in Westport, CT....

Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation® announces the formation of the USEF Youth Council, designed to encourage and support existing affiliate youth programs. The goal will be to create the most varied board possible with members from each and every USEF national affiliate. This first-ever council will be made up of youth members, 21 years of age and under, and they must be active in their affiliate’s youth club, organization or young rider program. Applicants should also have...

It was hot in St. Louis on August 2-5 for the American Shetland Pony Club (ASPC) National Shetland Pony Congress, but the ponies who came to compete were even hotter. Some 480 ponies trekked to the new show site, the National Equestrian Center in Lake St. Louis. After almost a decade of hosting the show in Rantoul, IL, show officials were very pleased with the number of entries the new show location attracted. “With a new location, soaring gasoline prices and record temperatures, we were...

(Aachen, Germany)—The United States Equestrian Federation announced today that Brentina and Debbie McDonald will withdraw from the remainder of the dressage competition at the World Equestrian Games due to a veterinary concern. Team vet Dr. Tim Ober said, “Brentina had a slight swelling after the competition on Wednesday. While a diagnosis is pending further evaluation by USEF veterinary staff Debbie McDonald and Klaus Balkenhol have decided it is not in the best interest of Brentina to ask her...

Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation® (USEF) announced the newest addition to www.usef.org – the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) content area. Found online at www.usef.org/weg2006, this interactive media tool includes a description of each of the seven international disciplines that will be represented at the WEG in Aachen, Germany, August 20-September 3, as well as bios on the more than 40 U.S. athletes. The U.S. athletes range in age from 10 to 63. In addition, more...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation® (USEF) is pleased to announce the team headed to Mensport, Hellendoorn, The Netherlands, for the 2006 FEI World Carriage Driving Championships for Drivers with Disabilities. This year's event will be held September 6-10 (the event is staged every two years). This year, the USEF Para-Equestrian High-Performance Committee has been working closely with the United States Driving for the Disabled (USDFD) in preparing for the competition. Team...