Lexington, KY - With the sunshine came the first day of dressage at the 2011 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Bridgestone. After a week of rain, the sun shone brightly and the wind blew through the Kentucky Horse Park. Spectators that were here first thing were treated to the best test of the day as Allison Springer took the lead with Arthur. The pair was first in the ring - and their score of 42.3 rewarded an elegant effort for a pair that frequently lands atop the dressage...

Shawn Flarida and KR Lil Conquistador. Photo by Anthony Trollope. Lexington, KY - Cool and breezy weather provided a welcome change at the Kentucky Horse Park Thursday - perhaps the calm before the proverbial storm we'll see Friday and Saturday nights as the 2011 Ariat Kentucky Reining Cup gets ready to unleash a roster of star-studded talent in the Alltech Arena. Twenty horses were presented during Thursday's reining horse inspection at the Alltech Arena; all horses were accepted and...

Leipzig, Germany - The Leipzig Exhibition Center hosted the first round of the Rolex/FEI World Cup Final - the speed leg - this afternoon and all 10 American combinations looked to get a head start on the competition. Frank Rothenberger set a scopey yet technical course that tested all 43 competitors in the 2011 Final and allowed for a number of different lines and options to be ridden. With the faults converted format, finding the correct balance between forward and efficient riding and...

During the Sponsor’s Welcome Party, Allison seemed to be on a roll. Not only did she pick up the prize for the Style Award for the best dressed woman at the first horse inspection for which she won a pair of new Dubarry boots. Later in the evening, she proved just how aligned the stars were for her when during the lucky draw for a new Rolex watch, she happened to win that, too! “So far, so good!” Allison laughed. “But, I do want to win one of these the hard way,...

Callan Solem was victorious in the $40,000 Grand Prix with Magic Cruise at HITS Culpeper. (Photo by Rebecca Walton/PMG). Culpeper, VA - Callan Solem took both first and second place in the $40,000 HITS Grand Prix on Sunday, April 24. Solem was the only rider to complete double-clear efforts in the Commonwealth National Park finale. The Chester Springs, PA-based rider advanced to the jump-off in the show's highlight event after riding fault-free first-rounds over Danny Foster's course...

East Dorset, VT — The annual Vermont Summer Festival will return to East Dorset, VT, for six consecutive weeks of competition running July 6 through August 14, 2011. Frequent Vermont Summer Festival competitor, Hillary Dobbs, won the $30,000 Manchester & The Mountains Grand Prix, presented by Hand Motors, at the 2011 Vermont Summer Festival. (Photo by David Mullinix Photography). New England’s largest hunter/jumper competition, the 2011 Vermont Summer Festival will...

Today looks like it will be a whirlwind of a day here in Leipzig. I suppose I should not mention wind or make any other bad weather reference, as I am sure everyone in Lexington is still recovering from yesterday’s foul weather/ tornado warnings. Anyway, back to the task at hand. The US riders have a lot of horseback riding to do today, between the two World Cup Finals, The EY Cup and the CSI3* I count that the US will make 27 trips into the competition arena. Yesterday all the US riders...

Leipzig, Germany – Beezie Madden kicked off the 2011 Rolex/FEI World Cup Final with a win for the U.S. Wednesday morning in the Opening Competition. Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo bested the field of 24 as the only combination to jump faultlessly in the first round. Beezie Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo. (Photo by Rebecca Walton/PMG) Madden (Cazenovia, NY) was the first U.S. rider in the ring and set the tone immediately. The Belgian Warmblood mare owned by Coral Reef Ranch jumped...

Buck Davidson and Titanium at the jog. Photo by Joanie Morris/USEF Archives. Lexington, KY - The weather has been the topic of conversation at the 2011 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Bridgestone as a rain-plagued Kentucky was battered once again on Wednesday morning. But the show goes on at the Kentucky Horse Park. The first horse inspection was delayed one hour from its rescheduled 10 a.m. start time and about halfway through the inspection the sun even began to shine. Due to...

One of the things I always find interesting during the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event (hencefo rth referred to as – RK3DE) is the first horse inspection, or the jog. Not just the presentation of the horses for the inspection, but on a more free-spirited level, I find it fun to see what the eventers wear. I think it says a bit about their personalities and what they seem to feel fits their own personal style. Take a look at Buck Davidson's bright red and yellow polka dot socks that he...