Denise Wilson and Elenor (Photo by Flashpoint Photography ) The opening week of the 2010 Jacksonville Winter Series kicked off with a warm welcome to competitors, especially Denise Wilson of Dousman, WI, and her brilliant mare For Elenor who won Saturday evening’s Naders $10,000 Jumper Classic. Wilson and the nine-year-old flashy Hanoverian chestnut For Elenor are no strangers to winning, with more than a dozen top five placings in 2009, including the victory lap of the $20,000 Showplace...

Equine Canada is pleased to announce that three FEI Para-Dressage courses will be held in conjunction with the WindReach International Para-Dressage CPEDI3*, which is being held May 28–30, 2010 in Ashburn, ON, and we are pleased to invite individuals from your National Federation to participate. An FEI para-dressage judge course, an FEI para-dressage steward course, and an FEI para-dressage classifier course will be offered onsite at the event. The courses promise to provide a wealth of...

Gulch, the six-time Grade 1-winning son of Mr. Prospector, has moved to Old Friends, the Thoroughbred retirement facility in Georgetown, KY, where he will permanently retire. The 25-year-old stallion has stood at William S. Farish’s Lane’s End Farm near Versailles, KY, since leaving racing in 1988. He was pensioned from stud duty just this year. Gulch (Mr. Prospector x Jameela, by Rambunctious) was owned and bred by Peter M. Brant and trained by Hall-of-Famers LeRoy Jolley and D. Wayne Lukas....

The United States Pony Clubs (USPC), Inc., will hold its 2010 Annual Meeting and Convention from January 27-31 in Houston, TX. The Annual Meeting will be held at the Houston’s JW Marriot located in Uptown Houston. The weekend’s events will include a banquet, a trade fair featuring equestrian products, including the USPC Bookstore, and workshops for volunteer leaders and active USPC members. An exciting highlight of the 2010 Annual Meeting takes place Saturday evening during the banquet, when...

The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) elected a new president and treasurer for three-year terms. George Williams of Delaware, OH, who was vice president of the federation for nine years and a United States high-performance rider, takes the helm as president from Dr. Samuel Barish. Steve Schubert of Methuen, MA, replaces Barb Tuohino Funk as treasurer. Williams also appointed Melissa Creswick of Clovis, CA, as interim vice president for a one-year term. George Williams is currently a...

The Stephens College Department of Equestrian Studies was host to an International Saddle Seat Invitational competition with South Africa. The event, which took place December 11-12, was patterned after the Saddle Seat World Cup competition, which consists of five countries fielding two teams each. Saddle seat is typically an individual discipline, so team competition requires strategy, which enhances the challenge. South Africa brought two teams to Stephens for the event—a three-gaited...

The final shows have been posted and the 2009 Performance Horse Registry’s (PHR) Silver Stirrup Award winners have been announced. One of the Hunter winners include Krishna Buyalos’s beautiful two-year-old filly, Outstanding. This bay filly is by Popeye K and out of Delilah. She was bred in California by Leslie Nelson. She is the winner of the Hunter Breeding Award. The Anglo-Trakehner gelding Unbelievable (Zarr x Rhapsody II) took home the award for the best Green Working Hunter. The Jumper...

Photo by Ken Braddick (Steffen Peters and Ravel) Lexington, KY – Talk about busy. 2009 has been a whirlwind, new champions of all kinds, title defenders, legends and innovators made headlines this year. The line between winning and losing has become increasingly fine as all the USEF competitors in every discipline continue to up their game, hone their skills and make the US Team proud both locally and across the globe. With the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) looming on the...

New equine research, practical veterinary techniques and business education attracted a record 7,611 attendees to the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ 55th Annual Convention in Las Vegas, NV, December 5-9. The previous record was set during the 2007 convention in Orlando, FL. “The economy has affected all aspects of the horse industry in 2009, and I believe our record attendance indicates how strongly equine veterinarians value quality continuing education,” said David L. Foley,...

Mikala Munter Gundersen and Festivo Win Equilite Sponsored Class International dressage trainer and competitor Mikala Munter Gundersen was in the ribbons at the Wellington Classic Holiday Challenge, winning the USEF Third Level Test 3 with Christine DeHerrera’s Westphalian gelding Festivo. The class was sponsored by Equilite, makers of Sore No More, Herbal Blends and Botanical Animal Flower Essences, and Gundersen took home a giant tote filled with Equilite products. “Christine, who owns...