Lexington, KY – Bracket-style national championships are well-known in the NCAA basketball world and will soon be second nature in the NCAA equestrian world as well. The Varsity Equestrian Steering Committee recently announced that the 2006 Varsity Equestrian National Championship will take on the bracket-style format, a welcomed change by fans, competitors and coaches. Visit www.varsityequestrian.com to view the 2006 Western and English (Hunter Seat) brackets. In the past, each individual...

2004 Olympic Show Jumping Gold Medalists: McLain Ward, Beezie Madden, Chris Kappler and Peter Wylde. (Photo by Kenneth Kraus/PhelpsSports.com) Wellington, FL – It was a perfect star spangled afternoon in the Internationale Arena at the Palm Beach Polo and Equestrian Club as Silver turned to Gold when the 2004 Olympic Team Gold medals were awarded to the United States Show Jumping Team. The 2004 Athens Olympic team of Peter Wylde, residing in Maastricht, The Netherlands; McLain Ward of...

Mike Ferrara (Lexington, KY) - Throughout the year there are many competitions which are extremely valuable to the various USEF breed organizations but are a challenge to organize due to required expenses. The USEF wishes to support the widest possible network of shows for its breed members and enthusiasts by announcing a new Outreach Grant program. A total of $125,000 has been budgeted in 2006 for grants to financially challenged breed competitions which meet the grant requirements and are...

The first American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA) regional champions were named from the Northeastern regions made up of USEF Regions 11 and 12 at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg, PA, October 19-October 22. In the open divisions, Whimsicality and Michael Richardson won the Five-Gaited Regional Championship, I’m Sky High and Francis A. Garone won the three-gaited championship and Definitely Dianna and Kaye Bowles Durnell won the fine harness championship. In the amateur...

CBS Sports, a division of CBS Broadcasting, Inc., will televise the inaugural Las Vegas World Invitational (LVWI), the world’s richest equestrian show jumping event, on a tape-delayed basis currently starting at 2 p.m. (EST) on Saturday, December 31. “We are proud to be a partner with CBS Sports in our first event, and we feel the network has provided an excellent time slot for our 90-minute show leading into the national telecast of the Denver Broncos – San Diego Chargers NFL game on New...

(Lexington, KY) – All donations made to the USEF Equine Relief Fund from today, September 23, 2005, forward will be used to assist victims of any 2005 hurricane including Katrina, Rita or any others that could occur. The Fund will assist those agencies working directly with the equine victims and refugees from hurricanes. Every dollar of the money donated to the fund will be used to support efforts to deliver food, veterinary services, and shelter for horses and ponies in the stricken areas....

After 30 of 33 events on the 2005 tour, it all comes down to one class in this year’s race for the titles of American Grand Prix Association (AGA) Rider, Horse and Rookie of the Year. Entering its 27th year, the AGA Grand Prix Series of Show Jumping is the world’s richest and longest running series of equestrian show jumping events. The AGA offers over $3 million in prize money on a tour that encompasses 30 events and 20 different equestrian market locations across the United States....

Iron Spring Farm has just imported one of the most popular young stallions in Holland, UB40. A four-year-old son of Olivi by Jazz, UB40 placed third in the championship keuring for dressage horses at the 2004 KWPN stallion show in Holland and received excellent scores for his gaits and dressage potential during his performance test. UB40's first foals were recently inspected and also received excellent scores and remarks from the inspectors. His foal, Armstrong M., was the high-selling foal...

Ramiro Quintana won the testing Speed Challenge at the American Gold Cup last year, and he will return with the same mare, Carousel, to defend his title at this year’s event, September 15-18, at the Devon show grounds in Devon, PA. The Speed Challenge is a very exciting class, which pits professionals against juniors and amateurs, and Quintana, who also won this event four years ago, placed first and third in last year’s event. The five top professionals from their qualifying class on Fast...

The Equus Projects, a company that partners professional dancers with horses and their riders, will perform three original works for dancers, horses and equestrians at the 2005 Ox Ridge Summer Dressage show, one of the most elegant and prestigious dressage shows in the nation. This three-day international competition, held August 19-21, will draw riders from all over the world to earn qualifying scores for the Olympic Games, the World Equestrian Games and the World Cup Finals, as well as for...