It was quite a weekend of NCEA action, with two of the top three teams losing. My brief recap of each match is below. No.2 Auburn University def No.1 University of Georgia 12-8 Senior Stephanie Rucci helped lead No.2 Auburn over No.1 Georgia on Saturday (Sophomore Danielle Long) It was a little closer than last time they met, when Auburn won 13-7, but the Georgia Bulldogs couldn’t take advantage of being at home to get a win over the Tigers. Auburn jumped out to a quick lead in this one,...

Sigrid Wolff and Kodaly, owned by Alex Holland (Cavallis) Lexington, KY - Two observation sessions for the 2013 Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Program have taken place in Wellington, FL February 13-14 and Burbank, CA February 22-23. Between the two sessions, USEF Young Horse Coach, Scott Hassler, has been able to observe close to 40 young horses. The majority of riders attended the sessions with their personal trainers, allowing them to develop plans for their horses with the help of Hassler....

Praise and Sheila Motley (Anne Gittins Photography) Wellington, FL - World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) Week came to a close Sunday afternoon with the $5,000 Peggy Cone Memorial World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) Adult Hunter Classic. Praise and Sheila Motley bested a field of 56 over two rounds of competition during the fiercest week of competition for hunter divisions during the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF). Praise, an eleven-year-old Royal Dutch Warmblood...

Nepal and Jay Land sail over the Nutrena oxer on their way to the Winner's Circle in the $35,000 Nutrena Grand Prix (Classic Company) Gulfport, MS - Jay Land and his own Nepal galloped away with the win in the $35,000 Nutrena Grand Prix Sunday under perfectly clear skies and seventy degree weather at the Harrison County Fairgrounds and Equestrian Center. Twenty horses took to the course designed by Michel Vailancort but only six returned for the jump-off. Devin Ryan of Long Valley, New Jersey...

Victoria Colvin and Ovation (Anne Gittins Photography) Wellington, FL - Week seven of the 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF), sponsored by Hermès , continued on Saturday with the $50,000 USHJA World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) Peter Wetherill Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular. Fifteen-year-old Victoria Colvin of Loxahatchee, FL, took home her second win in a row in the prestigious class, this year riding Dr. Betsee Parker's Ovation to victory. Previous winners...

Cian O'Connor and Walk Tall II (Sportfot) Wellington, FL - Week seven of the 2013 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival continued on Saturday afternoon with the $25,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic featured on the grass derby field at The Stadium at PBIEC. Richard Jeffery, of Bournemouth, England, is the course designer on the derby field for the week. On Saturday afternoon, Jeffery set the track for 31 entries in the $25,000 Suncast 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic. Only three...

Lauren Hester got her first taste of HITS Thermal grand prix glory this week. She and Abigail were the pair to beat in the $33,000 HITS Desert Classic, presented by Zoetis, as competition returned to HITS Desert Horse Park (Flying Horse Photography) Thermal, CA - It was a slow build to a big finish. Ten made the jump-off in the $33,000 HITS Desert Classic, presented by Zoetis, but it was 25-year-old Lauren Hester of Rancho Santa Fe, California who scored the win, riding Hester Equestrian, Inc....

Chester Weber, the nine-time USEF National Four-In-Hand Combined Driving Champion, will donate two days of training during the silent auction at the upcoming Salute To Driving USET fund raiser. He is shown here competing in 2011 at the CAI Altenfelden (Marie de Ronde-Oudemans ) Ocala, FL – Decorated combined driver Chester Weber will donate a package for Two Days of Training at the United States Equestrian Team’s “Salute to Driving” Fundraiser. The benefit is designed to...

Tracy Fenney and MTM Timon soar to a win in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, to kick off Week VI of grand prix competition at HITS Ocala (ESI Photography) Ocala, FL – Tracy Fenney of Flower Mound, Texas rode to a HITS Ocala hat trick with MTM Farm’s MTM Timon today, picking up her third grand prix win of the winter circuit. She and the13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding that carried her to three top-twenty finishes in the 2010, 2011 and 2012 Pfizer $1 Million...

Quotable and Holly Orlando (Anne Gittins Photography) Wellington, FL - The hunters have officially taken over the International Arena during week seven of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF). Week seven showcases hunter competition at its finest as riders and horses go head-to-head as they battle to qualify for Saturday night's USHJA World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) Peter Wetherill Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular. Holly Orlando and Kelley Farmer took home an...