Schaefer Raposa wins the Pessoa/USEF Hunter Seat Equitation Medal Finals at Pennsylvania National Horse Show. Photo: Phelps Media Group. Harrisburg, PA – Capping off an eventful junior weekend at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, the Pessoa/USEF Hunt Seat Equitation Medal Finals presented by Randolph College saw Schaefer Raposa of Wellington, FL, earn the coveted championship honors. Edging out some of the most skilled young riders in the nation, Raposa smoothly tackled the first two...

The U.S. Dressage Team's Gold medal never looked in doubt today at the 2011 Pan American Games. They started off confidently and with each ride, the margin improved. They stormed to victory and won their fourth consecutive Pan American Games Team Gold medal - a first in the sport of Dressage. Their combined average score of 74.421% left them well clear of the Canadians who won Silver with a combined average of 70.413%. Colombia put in a valiant late effort to surge into the top three with...

The eventers landed without incident, bringing two mares and three geldings in hopes of defending the Gold Medal the U.S. won in 2007. They handled the trip and the transfer to Club Hippica easily. Club Hippica is currently hosting Modern Pentathalon so there is a temporary pool in the covered arena. That ends today and then it’s all eventing out there. The U.S. horses are a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. Little Absolute Liberty is a nippy little bay mare by Aberjack that Buck...

Elkton, MD - Sunday brought an action-packed slate of show jumping at the 2011 Dansko Fair Hill International. With the top riders in both the CCI3* and CCI2* divisions tremendously close, clear rounds were at a premium. Boyd Martin and Kylie Lyman rose to the occasion producing fault-free rounds to win their CCI3* and CCI2* divisions as well as claim 2011 USEF National Eventing Championships. The leaderboard in both the divisions at the Dansko Fair Hill International saw great fluctuations as...

Its 6 PM and Weltino’s Magic is hungry. He has been staring at his groom Eddie Garcia Luna for five minutes nodding his head begging for a snack. Turns out, he’s always hungry. “He eats everything. Carrots, apples, chips,” said Eddie. “He really likes potato chips – I always give them to him and now he’s drinking Gatorade. He likes sugar too.” He’s picked up that habit from his addict teammate Grandioso who has been hooked on the stuff for...

Meg O'Mara and Sinatra IV. Photo: Phelps Media Group. Harrisburg, PA – An action-packed junior weekend continued to wow the crowd at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show tonight, as Phase III of the Randolph College/USEF Individual Championships culminated in a triumph for junior jumper Meg O’Mara. Riding out of Romson, NJ, O’Mara and Sinatra IV had one of only two clear rounds of the evening, emerging victorious through a steady, controlled approach. Earning the silver medal...

Things are getting busy now. We went to the village at 730 this morning to try to buy some tickets and drop some stuff off for the eventers. The latter was successful but the ticket office doesn't open until 11 according to the lady in the Starbucks. Speaking of Starbucks, being that it is Saturday, the one at the hotel doesn't open until 8.00 so we actually had two successful missions at the village. We then checked in at the grooms hotel and we had to do a little maneuvering as there...

Elkton, MD - Clear jumping and quick trips across the country were the name of the game Saturday at the 2011 Dansko Fair Hill International. The rain that plagued the first two days of competition was nowhere in sight as the sun shone over Derek di Grazia’s tracks. Heavy going resulted in time faults for many of the competitors and a shake-up on the leaderboard in both divisions. Jan Bynny and Kylie Lyman produced two of the quickest rounds of the day in the CCI3* and CCI2* to lead their...

Cesar Parra and Grandioso at the Jog. Anthony Trollope/stockimageservices.com. Dressage, the first equestrian discipline of the 2011 Pan American Games, begins Sunday, October 16, at the Guadalajara Country Club. The four American dressage horses were presented this morning to the Ground Jury and looked spectacular in the Mexican sunshine. All were accepted without incident. The U.S. has drawn sixth out of the 12 teams vying for Team medals. They will ride the Prix St. Georges test in the...

Katie Dinan and Belle Dame D. Photo: Phelps Media Group. Harrisburg, PA - It was an exciting night of jumper action at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show tonight, as the $15,000 USEF Prix de States Team Championship and Individual Championship Phase II took place in Harrisburg, PA. The team from USEF Zone 2 swept the top spot for the second year in a row with excellent rides by Meg O'Mara of Rumson, NJ, Katie Dinan of New York, NY, Charlotte Jacobs of Buffalo, NY, and last night's...