The USEF is supportive of the rule change allowing certain non-steroidal medications included on the “Progressive List” passed at the FEI General Assembly in Copenhagen earlier this month. The list includes medications that would be allowed in FEI competitions and which are already permitted in USEF competitions. These medications are not considered by WADA to be performance enhancing in human athletes and because of this distinction, they are not prohibited. While it is the human athlete that...

McLain Ward and his Beloved Sapphire at the 2009 Rolex/FEI World Cup Final (Shannon Brinkman for USEF) Gladstone, NJ -The USET Foundation is pleased to announce that the Whitney Stone Cup has been awarded to McLain Ward of Brewster, NY. The Whitney Stone Cup is awarded annually by the USET Foundation Executive Committee to an active competitor who displays consistent excellence in international competition, high standards of sportsmanlike conduct, while also serving as an ambassador for the...

The 2010 schedule of the Exquis World Dressage Masters, the globe's richest line up of competitions each with €100,000 (US$149,850) in prize money, was announced Monday. A WDM Rider Ranking award of €25,000 (US$37,000) is also offered by Nürnberger Versicherungsgruppe at WDM in Munich in 2010. Munich will also be the venue for a WDM gala celebration. The 2010 schedule of confirmed competitions of the Exquis World Dressage Masters, founded by Exquis and also sponsored by Moorland Stables and...

The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) is pleased to announce that Charles “Chuck” Smith has received the 2009 USDF Volunteer of the Year Award, presented by The Paddock Saddlery. This award recognizes a USDF member who, through consistent and cumulative volunteer activities, has demonstrated exceptional commitment towards carrying out USDF’s mission. As the winner, Smith will be presented with a perpetual trophy, which is permanently on display in the Roemer Foundation/USDF Hall of Fame,...

Photo USEF Archives (Top equestrian athletes sign autographs at the USEF booth.) This weekend the USEF highlighted its new National Affiliation with the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) during a presentation of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) disciplines at the AQHA World Championship Show. Bobby Murphy of Kentucky Horse Shows, LLC, was brought in as the producing director for the USEF showcase, which was held on Friday, November 20. The event showcased the...

The Old Dominion Horse Show in Manakin Sabot, VA, was the site for the inaugural competition for ponies nominated to the North American Pony Futurity (NAPF) Registry incentive program. A parade of lovely young ponies competed in hand, divided by ages and genders. USEF “R” Hunter Breeding judges Joe Dotoli (of Vermont) and Beth Neilsen (of Colorado) evaluated the youngsters at the walk and trot prior to standing for conformation. Amateur and pro handlers were equally represented with Tim Foster...

The international sport of reining will host the world’s premiere event for reiners—the 2009 National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Futurity & Adequan® North American Affiliate Championship Show, November 26 through December 5, at Oklahoma State Fair Park in Oklahoma City, OK. The $1.9-million show features the NRHA Futurity—the premiere event for three-year-old reining horses. At the end of the Open Finals on Saturday, December 5, one entry is guaranteed a check for $125,000 as...

Ivanhoe FQ is undoubtedly one of the most decorated purebred Friesian stallion's of our time, and he will now be standing at stud at Heavenly Gaits Farms, owned by Deb Goldmann, in Elkhorn, WI, for the 2010 breeding season. Ivanhoe FQ is bred and raised by four-time USEF Leading Friesian Breeder Friesian Quest, located in Murrieta, CA. Ivanhoe FQ is by the deceased KFPS World Champion Wicher, also two-time USEF Leading Friesian Sire, out of Jaclyn a Ster Friesian Mare. As quoted by Friesian...

During the weekend of November 5-8, 25-year-old Kerry Tracey of Watkinsville, GA, led the victory gallop at the final SmartPak Equine/United States Eventing Association (USEA) Training Three-Day Event aboard her homebred Thoroughbred/Appaloosa gelding Chasing The Music. Although the entries were low for this long-format division, which was held in conjunction with the Rocking Horse Fall Horse Trials (Altoona, FL), the competition was fierce, and Tracey moved up from fourth after dressage to...

Dana Fiore and her eight-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Redford, rode away with the victory in the Prix St. Georges class at the Gold Coast Fall Fling show, the kick-off show for the Gold Coast Dressage Association’s winter dressage series. Equilite, the makers of the award-winning Sore No More products and Botanical Animal Flower Essences, sponsored the Prix St. Georges, and Fiore took home a giant tote bag filled with Equilite products. “Redford was very supple, and he was forward. He did the...