Thermal, CA - January 25, 2011- Today marks the beginning of the 2011 show jumping season on the West Coast, as exhibitors from around the world are flocking to Southern California to participate in world-class equestrian competition at the HITS Desert Horse Park in Thermal, CA. This season will be extra special as the HITS is celebrating its 20th Anniversary of hosting world-class equestrian competition in the Coachella Valley. "We are looking forward to showing in the desert," said HITS...

The USEF Annual Meeting celebrated 2010’s champions and Reining superstars Tom McCutcheon and Gunners Special Nite were honored for an outstanding year of achievement. They were the only U.S. pair to win two Gold medals at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Gunners Special Nite, owned by Sarah Wilemen, was voted USEF Horse of the Year for his achievements and the following night, McCutcheon won the top honor (Equestrian of the Year) for himself. It was an outstanding accomplishment...

Fairfield, CT — In poker it’s called re-shuffling the deck, and when the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) announced at the start of the 2010 semester that it had realigned its nine Zones to eight - changing the geography of its competitive regions and impacting coaching strategies - it promised to make the road to the 2011 IHSA National Championships, May 5-8, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, an interesting one. With Regional and Zone Championships, and Western...

Dr. Tim Holekamp was elected President of the American Trakehner Association at its 36th annual convention in Jacksonville, FL. Holekamp and his wife Cheryl own New Spring Farm in Columbia, MO, and are possibly best known for their acclaimed Trakehner stallion Windfall*Pg*, a U.S. Olympic team bronze medalist. “We started in 1984 with two Trakehner mares that we bought at the ATA auction in Columbus, Ohio,” said Holekamp, explaining that it took just one trip to an ATA convention for him to...

Caroline Roffman and Danish horse Lux Stensvang. (Photo courtesy of HorseSportsPhoto.) Wellington, FL (January 18, 2011) – Dressage rider Caroline Roffman kicked off the New Year by competing in and winning the Young Rider Grand Prix on Lux Stensvang at the Wellington Classic Dressage Challenge I Show. Roffman, who was named the 2010 FEI Rising Star by the International Equestrian Federation, won the FEI or Equivalent Test of Choice Open on Lux with a score of 68.605% and also rode Pie to the...

Wellington, FL - Interagro Lusitanos of Brazil, the largest Lusitano export and breeding operation in the world, is pleased to announce that their head trainer, Pia Aragão, will be competing at the Florida winter dressage shows. Aragão will compete horses from Interagro Lusitanos, including several horses that will be taking part in the 2011 Lusitano Collection International Horse Auction in Wellington on February 23–26. Aragão and her horses will be arriving in Florida in late January. “I will...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation urges members who plan to attend any of the following 2011 Licensed Officials Clinics to register by January 31: Hunter Course Design in Houston, TX; Jumper Course Design in Houston, TX; and Stewards Clinics in Houston, TX and Burbank, CA. In the interest of conserving funds, these clinics may be cancelled unless additional attendees register by the end of the month. Because the USEF is offering more than one option for all of these...

January is time for new beginnings. A fresh start. It's also the time each year when the administrators, movers-and-shakers, the USEF general membership and the media gather together for a long weekend of meetings, discussions, debates and several of the year's most anticipated galas. It's known as the USEF Annual Meeting, and it's now underway in Louisville, KY. As is tradition, Wednesday night serves as the Welcome Reception where everyone has a chance to party before the real...

Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister. (Photo by Stock Images. ) Gladstone, NJ - The United States Equestrian Team Foundation is pleased to announce that the recipient of the 2011 Lionel Guerrand-Hermes Trophy will be talented eventing rider Tiana Coudray. Each year this award is presented to a Young Rider in one of the Olympic disciplines who exemplifies both sportsmanship and horsemanship. In 2010 Coudray had a banner year, winning the Jersey Fresh CCI*** and the Galway Downs International...

‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands - During the KWPN Stallion Show 2011 in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands approximately 35 KWPN stallions will be for sale at the KWPN Select Sale auction on Feburary 5. Jumping On Wednesday, February 2, the event kicks off with the first group of jumper stallions performing in the oval viewing pen during the second round viewing. At the end of the afternoon is the third annual KWPN College, an educational session conducted in English and created especially for...