The Extreme Mustang Makeover will offer two of what has become the definitive test of horsemanship when it debuts the Gatorland Extreme Mustang Makeover during Lynn Palm’s Women Luv Horses event, April 3-5, 2009, and returns to the Midwest Horse Fair for the second consecutive year, April 17-19. Applications must be received no later than December 1 for both events. “The Midwest Horse Fair and the people of Wisconsin welcomed our Mustangs with wide open arms and we’re thrilled to be going...

The United States Hunter Jumper Association’s (USHJA) “Building For Growth” Capital Campaign officially launched on Thursday, September 25, at the Kentucky Horse Park. The launch event, held at the historic “Farmhouse” within the horse park, hosted over 300 guests and included Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear, United States Equestrian Federation CEO John Long, and Director of the Kentucky Horse Park John Nicholson. Plans were unveiled to highlight the new building and provide for its...

In a tune up for Sunday's $100,000 United States Grand Prix League (USGPL) Invitational Grand Prix, Laura Bowery and her mount Indy Star II posted the fastest double-clear round to capture the $25,000 Devoucoux Wild Card Grand Prix at HITS Culpeper. Bowery outlasted a starting field of 26 riders to challenge course designer Olaf Petersen's first-round route and an additional six pairs that advanced to the jump-off to collect $7,500. However, coming into the $25,000 Devoucoux Wild Card Grand...

The University of Kentucky’s (UK) College of Agriculture is celebrating national championships by two of its collegiate equine teams. Riders from its equestrian and dressage teams nabbed top honors in their respective competitions. The UK equestrian team bested 17 other hunt seat teams from across the country at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) National Championships, May 8-11, in Burbank, CA, to take home UK’s first team championship. This was only the second year the team’s...

After winning the Hunter Derby at Pin Oak, Peter Pletcher and Argentum took home the Gold for the second time in two weeks, winning the $10,000 United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) International Hunter Challenge Derby Classic at the Spring Gathering Horse Show in the Houston suburb of Katy, TX. The class was held under the lights in the main arena at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center. An enthusiastic crowd cheered their favorites as 23 entries competed over the first round-track...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) released its new positioning statement, “amazing awaits,” today in an effort to help communicate the unique values of the Olympic Brand ahead of the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games. “‘Amazing awaits’ is intended to tell the story of how Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls get to the Olympic and Paralympic Games and how that journey is the embodiment of the American spirit,” said Jim...

Silver medalist Lauren Sammis, Gold medalist Christopher Hickey and Bronze medalist Yvonne Losos de Muniz (Diana DeRosa) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil—It was a double-medal day for Team USA at Deodoro Stadium as Maryland’s Christopher Hickey aboard Regent won the coveted Gold medal on a two-day averaged score of 70.725% after performing his freestyle before an appreciative crowd. New Jersey’s Lauren Sammis, who had led the scores at the end of the Team competition, finished in...

Diana DeRosa (Team USA's Christopher Hickey, Katherine Poulin-Neff and Lauren Sammis) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil—Gold is definitely a color that looks good on the necks of Americans equestrian athletes, and Team USA’s dressage squad were the first to have the honor to wear it among the three disciplines invited to the XV Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. The three-member team comprised of Lauren Sammis, Katherine Poulin-Neff and Christopher Hickey finished their combined work to...

Gabe Hutchins and Juiced Up Doc (Waltenberry) Lexington, KY – The 2007 Adequan/USEF National Open Reining Championship boasted a small but talented field, and there was a strong showing from the youths in the USEF Youth Reining National Championship presented by Hagyard Equine Medical Institute at the Kentucky Horse Park. When the dust settled, Gabe Hutchins and Juiced Up Doc were the clear winners bringing home the loot on a score of 226. In his first year of FEI competition and his...

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...