More changes are being announced for the 2009 HITS Desert Circuit, including a new entry policy. The HITS Desert Circuit will run from January 20 to March 22 with eight weeks of competition at the HITS Desert Horse Park in Thermal, CA. After meeting with the Thermal Advisory Committee, which consists of riders, trainers and owners who compete at the HITS Desert Circuit, one consistent theme raised by the members was the challenge that trainers and exhibitors face when attempting to enter their...

Content from a FEI Press Release The FEI press release contained an update on two issues: doping / medication cases at the 2008 Olympic Games and the report by the second FEI Vice President on Dressage. DOPING CASES The following combinations will not be competing in the Jumping individual final competition held tonight (Thursday, 21 August). They have been provisionally suspended by the FEI further to doping/medication control tests that indicated the presence of capsaicin in each horse. Rider...

The American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA) has announced plans for a new online auction to be held on EBay during early August prior to the Kentucky State Fair. In addition, a new live auction will be held on Friday evening at the Kentucky State Fairgrounds. According to Mary Anne Cronan, President of the ASHA, changes in the association’s schedule of traditional fundraisers at the World’s Championship Horse Show were made because of ongoing remodeling and construction at the Executive...

In the world of the Pure Spanish Horse, a new era has begun. The president of the National Spanish Breed Organization, Javier Conde, and his delegation, flew this week from Madrid to Wilmington, OH, to attend the Fiesta Midwest P.R.E. Breed Show and to meet with the United States PRE Association (USPRE) and American breeders. USPRE is the only American organization that represents the PRE Studbook, which is newly managed by ANCCE by order of the Ministry of Agriculture in Spain. In prior years,...

From a Baylor University release WACO, Texas — The seventh annual Varsity Equestrian National Championships (VENC) are slated to begin on Thursday, April 17, at the Heart O’ Texas Fairgrounds. South Carolina enters the show as the defending overall national champion. For the second straight year, the varsity collegiate riding national championships are being hosted by Baylor University. Baylor is in its third year as a fully funded varsity program after the university’s athletic department...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 3, 2008 By Joanie Morris and Stacey Meier Lexington, KY - Continuing the successful partnership that delivered a host of dressage championships last year for the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), Collecting Gaits Farm renew their commitment to dressage as the title sponsor of the 2008 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions. To be held in San Juan Capistrano, CA on two separate weekends, June 20-22 and June 27-29, this year the Dressage...

In an effort to support the needs of the horse and horse owner in Kentucky, the Kentucky Horse Council (KHC), in partnership with the Kentucky Association of Equine Practitioners and the Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association, has established a hotline (866-634-0030) for Kentucky horse owners. The hotline is a network to connect resources—hay and other equine feed, vet and feed funding, rescue facilities—with Kentuckians who need those resources. Designed as a tool for all horse...

In the first 10 days since the launch of a new web-based volunteer registry system, nearly 4,000 new volunteers have already signed up online for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. The World Games 2010 Foundation estimates that at least 6,000 volunteers will be needed to work before and during the Games, to be held at the Kentucky Horse Park from September 25-October 10, 2010 in Lexington, KY. “The response we have received is heartwarming and overwhelming,” said Cathy Rutter,...

In recent years, the months of the show season have included news of disease outbreaks that can pose a threat to the health of performance horses. More and more, horse owners are searching for simple and effective techniques to help protect their horses from these threats year round. Knowledge and practice of basic biosecurity has become critical for horse health. Whether traveling, accepting new horses into a facility or performing day-to-day tasks around the farm, an eye to sanitation and...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation has approved the following modifications to the Selection Procedures for CSIO/CSI Competitions, aka “the USEF Computer List”. These changes will become effective on January 15, 2008. The following additions or changes have been made to the selection procedures: • The results of European CSI2*s will now be included. • An exception for FEI Table C and USEF Table III classes will be made to the criteria, which currently states that...