Male against female. Husbands battling wives. Established stars challenged by sparkling newcomers. Olympic Gold versus Olympic Gold. The winners were thousands of spectators who turned out Saturday night for the Battle of the Sexes at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival, the first time for such an event in the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center that has been completely remodeled at a cost of $10 million. For the record, the team of 10 women scored 31 points to win $50,000 shared between...

A meeting of the Eventing Safety Officers, appointed by the National Federations in the framework of the global Eventing Safety Programme the FEI is developing, took place on January 24-25 at Hartpury, United Kingdom. The meeting was very productive as it allowed the representatives of 25 National Federations to make presentations on the integration of the 2008 Copenhagen Safety Forum recommendations, new safety ideas, practical actions and level of development of the sport and concerns typical...

One of the top hunter breeders in the country will now have a place to store the coolers and saddle pads her horses have been awarded throughout the year thanks to winning a brand new Oakcroft Tack Trunk at the recent USEF Annual Convention. Dr. Paula Pell of St. Petersburg, FL, was the lucky winner of the “Win An Oakcroft Trunk,” which took place during an Oakcroft sponsored breakout session at the annual convention in Cincinnati, OH, and was open to all attendees. Pell and her husband were at...

Caitie Hope's winning momentum from last year has followed her into 2009, and last week she rode her way into the winner's circle once again. Hope of Barrington, IL, competed at the Lake St. Louis Horse Show in St. Louis, MO, and executed consistent rounds for top ribbons. She trains with Diane Carney at Telluride Farm, based in Hampshire, IL. Hope piloted Cinch, owned by Kathleen Hope, in the Large Junior 16-17 Hunter division and came away with the overall championship. The pair earned two...

Lexington, KY – The USEF has allocated the following dates and locations for the 2009 Eventing Training Sessions. Riders named to the 2009 Eventing Training List are invited to participate in these sessions with US Chef d’Equipe, Mark Phillips. Where specified, those riders named to the USEF Developing Rider List for 2009 will be afforded the same opportunity. The dates and locations are as follows: February 5-7 El Campeon Farms, Thousand Oaks, CA w/ Developing Riders February 11-12 Overlook...

Negro (Ferro x Variant), the KWPN licensed stallion bred by Mr. Borgers and owned by GertJan van Olst, has earned the prestigious title of Keur stallion. The KWPN awards this predicate to stallions who earn an index over 140 points and who have offspring competing at grand prix. Easily surpassing these requirements with the dressage index of 159 points, Negro will accept this honor at the KWPN Stallion Licensing in Hertogenbosch this February. Negro had a very successful show career under Anne...

Gene Mische and Jessica Montezuma (Geoff Oliver Bugbee/USEF) Cincinnati, OH – The philosophy is pretty simple: “If you take care of this sport, it will take care of you.” Gene Mische is a lifetime of living proof. Mische was honored by legions of fans and friends for decades of involvement in the equestrian world. At the Pegasus Awards Ceremony, Mische was presented with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement award at the 2009 USEF Annual Meeting. “I’m...

Farnam®/Platform™ USEF Horse of the Year, Jamaica (My Elisabeth Weber) Cincinnati, OH – Every year the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) honors the best horses across all breeds and disciplines at the Farnam®/Platform™ USEF Horse of the Year Awards dinner at the USEF Annual Meeting. In 2008, there were some fantastic horses to honor. Five were singled out and recognized for their achievement as Horses of Honor. Jamaica took the night’s biggest accolade. Jamaica,...

Mavis Spencer (USEF/ Jennifer Haydon) Lexington, KY – The US show jumping riders got off to a fantastic start at the 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival on January 16, 2009. Led by 16-year-old Kylie Wright from Sparks-Glencoe, MD, the US filled the top two spots in the Individual Qualifier. She went first out of the 24 riders and produced one of only six clear rounds. No one went clear in the jump off but Wright, riding Pacific Wave, was the fastest of the four faulters with a time of...

Margie Engle rode Hidden Creek's Tosca in the Dutch Warmblood mare's sixth grand prix Thursday to claim the inaugural $30,000 Braman Motorcars WEF Challenge Cup at the 2009 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. The nine-year-old mare on whom Engle, of Wellington, FL, won the seven- and eight-year-old championship in Kentucky last year, won by 1/10th of a second over Georgina Bloomberg and Curius at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. Laura Bowery on Henry Jota Romano placed third....