Wellington, FL - February 25, 2012 - California's Richard Spooner and Show Jumping Syndications International's 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding Cristallo (Caretino x Cicero) galloped to victory in Saturday night's $100,000 Fidelity Investments ® CSI 3* Grand Prix at the 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival. The pair was the fastest by over two seconds over Katie Dinan (USA) and Grant Road Partner's Nougat Du Vallet, who finished second, and Great Britain's Ben...

Steffen Peters won the Grand Prix Special at the Burbank CDI-W/Y/J and showed why "Legolas" could be his next superstar. (Jennifer M. Keeler) Burbank, CA - A curious crowd gathered to watch Steffen Peters and his potential new superstar "Legolas" passage to victory for the second day in a row at the Mid-Winter Dressage Fair CDI-W/Y/J in Burbank, CA, the first Olympic Games qualifying competition of the year on the West Coast. In the shortened Olympic Grand Prix Special Test, Peters and Four...

Steffen Peters and "Legolas" made their international competition debut a winning one. (Jennifer M. Keeler) Burbank, CA - West Coast riders began their journeys toward qualification for the Olympic Games today in Burbank, CA as part of the Mid-Winter Dressage Fair CDI-W/Y/J. Contesting the FEI Grand Prix Test, a very competitive field of eleven international riders and horses impressed the FEI judges Jean-Michele Roudier (5* FRA), Linda Zang (5* USA), Cara Whitham (5* CAN), Eddy de Wolff (4*...

Keenan and Jacobs Take USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Wins Nayel Nassar and Lordan (Sportfot) Wellington, FL - Egypt's Nayel Nassar proved to be the best in Friday night's $15,000 Artisan Farms Young Rider Grand Prix, presented by Dutta Corporation in association with Guido Klatte. Nassar and Lordan, owned by Nayel and Sharaff Nassar, won in a jump-off of three over a challenging course for victory. Katie Dinan (USA) and Grant Road Partners' Sandro were second, while Caitlin...

Hayley Barnhill and Caliber Raise the Bar in WEF Open Hunter 3' Kent Farrington and Voyeur (Sportfot) Wellington, FL - Kent Farrington earned a victory for the United States on Thursday with his brand new mount Voyeur, owned by Amalaya Investments, in the $32,000 WEF Challenge Cup Round 7 in Wellington. Showing in the International Arena of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, the pair out jumped fellow Americans Katie Dinan and Grant Road Partner's Nougat Du Vallet, who...

Jason Canton and Supremat OLD (Susan J. Stickle) Wellington, FL - Jason Canton, 45, scored an amazing 80.714% on Supremat OLD at the Global Dressage Festival National 1 Horse Show on Wednesday. Canton achieved this high score in the USEF Training Level Test 2 - Open with only a week's preparation in Florida. "I just got him out of quarantine last week," said Canton of his stallion. "We bought him at the auction in Vechta, Germany. I was very pleased with him today, it was a good ride."...

Quiet Easy 4 and Ben Maher (Sportfot) Wellington, FL - Great Britain's Ben Maher finished first and second in today's $32,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Classic aboard his horses Tackeray and Quiet Easy 4, both owned by Mrs. Emma Phillips. Held as a Rolex FEI world ranking competition, the class was the feature event on Wednesday as the seventh week of the 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) got underway. Sponsored by Fidelity Investments® , week seven will host the...

It’s a blissfully warm day in January, and my horse Nicolai is galloping alongside crashing surf as cars roll by. The passengers stare –wistful or shocked, I’m not sure – as we hop over piles of seaweed. This, I think, is the greatest thing I’ve ever done. The week before, Nicolai and I rode out among cattle. We chased calves along the creek and followed the ridge to a quiet spot above the barn. Usually, we are show jumpers, but sometimes we ride for miles along...

Declaration and Glen Senk/Tivoli and Lyn Pederson Win Adult Hunter Classics; Pony, Children's, and Adult Champions Are Named Beezie Madden and Prima (Sportfot) Wellington, FL - The FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival closed out week 6 competition today with action at two parts of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. At The Stadium, Beezie Madden of Cazenovia, NY, rode Neapolitan Holding Co., LLC's Prima over the challenging course to win the $50,000 G&C Farm Jumper...

Todd Flettrich and Otto (Susan J. Stickle) Wellington, FL - Todd Flettrich of Wellington, FL won the FEI Olympic Grand Prix Special at the $50,000 Florida Dressage Classic CDI-W, presented by the United States P.R.E. Association, on Sunday. Riding Otto, his 2010 World Equestrian Games (WEG) partner, Flettrich scored 71.422%. Ashley Holzer of Canada finished second on Breaking Dawn with 70.800% and Heather Blitz came in third on Paragon by a fraction of a percent less scoring 70.756% Flettrich...