June 15th, the second day of the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions, got underway with the Brentina Cup. Organized for young adults and named for Debbie McDonald's World Cup Champion mare, the Brentina Cup is open to Steffen Peters (phelpsphoto.com) riders 21-25 years of age. Performing the Intermediaire II test, the horses in the Brentina Cup are developing their skills for the highest level of dressage competition. The second horse of the day filled up the ring with...

Amy Dragoo (Bonnie Mosser on Merloch winning the Jersey Fresh Three-Day Event CCI***. ) The rain held off for most of the day for the finale of the Jersey Fresh Three Day Event, but everyone appreciated the break in the weather. Sally Ike’s show jumping tracks proved challenging yet fair and major changes in the standing of each division would unfold as the day went on. There were plenty of surprises in the Advanced Horse Trials division which was serving as a selection division for the...

The five-year-old champion in the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Central Selection Trials was Solaris Hit, ridden and owned by Rebecca Knollman, of Maineville, OH. (PhelpsPhotos.com) Lexington, KY – Some of the most promising dressage prospects in the country were showcased in the quest to qualify for the FEI World Breeding Championships in Verden, Germany, as the 2007 Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Program kicked off with two of the three official selection trials. The first...

Waltenberry (Shawn Flarida aboard Tinsel Nic during his win of the 2006 World Reining Masters. ) National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Two-Million Dollar Rider and 2007 NRHA Open Derby Champion Shawn Flarida can add yet another accomplishment to his already lengthy list. Following his spectacular win at the NRHA Derby, Flarida, of Springfield, OH, is now the NRHA’s all-time leading money earner. Including Flarida’s winnings from the Derby, he has won $2,268,825 in NRHA lifetime...

Paralympian Lynn Seidemann added yet another championship to her list of accomplishments when she won the 2007 USEF National Para-Equestrian Championship. (BobTarr.com ) Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has named the horse-and-rider combinations that will represent the United States at the 2007 FEI World Para-Dressage Championships. The announcement follows the 2007 USEF National Para-Equestrian Championship and World Championship Selection Trial, which was...

Bob Langrish (Kim Severson and Winsome Adante competed in the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials for the first time. ) “I can’t believe it—to lead from the front and win—it’s unreal,” said an emotional Lucinda Fredericks after winning the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials with Headley Britannia. After the second-placed American pair of Kim Severson and Winsome Adante (Dan) took two poles out, Fredericks' mare—the first to win Badminton...

Aussie Clayton Fredericks and Ben Along Time took home the top honors. (Amy Dragoo) Riding for the first time under the U.S. flag, former Australian rider Phillip Dutton finished second at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Farnam, for the fifth time. But, this year, it was former Aussie teammate, Clayton Fredericks, aboard Ben Along Time, who put in the best score to take the Rolex Kentucky four-star championship on a score of 54.0. Dutton, as the highest-placed U.S. rider aboard...

Amy Dragoo (Kristin Bachman and Gryffindor stand on a score of 48.2 heading into Sunday's show jumping phase.) Nearly 47,000 people turned out for a spectacular day of cross-country at the 2007 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Farnam. A variation of last year’s course greeted horses and riders, and at the end of a tumultuous day, Kristin Bachman, riding in only her second four-star on her own Gryffindor found herself on top of a very classy heap of horses and riders with a...

Amy Tryon and Le Samurai sit atop the leaderboard going into the cross-country phase of the 2007 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Farnam. (Amy Dragoo) (Lexington, KY)—Day Two of dressage during the 2007 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Farnam, welcomed much drier skies than the previous day, and it provided a much nicer environment in which to wrap up the dressage phase and head into cross-country. At day’s end, Amy Tryon (U.S.) aboard Le Samurai, a...

Missy Ransehousen aboard Critical Decision leads after Day One of dressage at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, Presented by Farnam. (Amy Katherine Dragoo ) The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, Presented by Farnam, began in traditional Rolex style on the first of two-days of dressage—and that was with rain. Spectators came prepared for the typical Rolex wet weather, as they gathered to watch the top competitors in eventing vie for the prestigious four-star title. With 45 horses starting...