Holiday & Horses CSI-W/CDI*** opened Wednesday in the made-over Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) with about 200 horses competing in hunter and jumper classes. Dressage begins Thursday. Competitors expressed amazement at the multimillion dollar improvements to PBIEC, especially seating around the showcase International Arena. Spectator seating for the International Club, VIP boxes, rider stands and general admission seating were all rebuilt from the ground up. Opening of the...

Dover Saddlery is pleased to announce that Dobbin, owned and ridden by Dover Saddlery employee Corinne Ashton, has been named 2008 Horse of the Year, by the United States Eventing Association. Dobbin, a 14-year-old Thoroughbred gelding is owned and ridden by Corinne Ashton who works part time in customer service at Dover Saddlery, near her home in Princeton, MA. Ashton enjoys answering customers’ questions about eventing products while her co-workers love to follow Dobbin’s successful career...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The stories of U.S. Paralympians as they prepare for and compete at the 2008 Paralympic Games will be featured once again on NBC this Saturday, December 6 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The documentary, which originally aired November 9, takes viewers on a compelling journey into the lives of U.S. Paralympians as they vie for triumph in Beijing, China. The 90-minute broadcast is narrated by NBC Sports’ Bob Costas. "NBC and GE's broadcast of the 2008 Paralympics provides...

Jacqueline Beck and Kiss of the Zodiak, winners of the USEF Saddle Seat Medal Final-Junior. (Photo by Howard Schatzberg) Lexington, KY – Jacqueline Beck riding her American Saddlebred Kiss of the Zodiac bested 19 other riders to win the 2008 United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Saddle Seat Medal Final-Junior. The championship was held November 22 as part of the United Professional Horsemen’s Association (UPHA) American Royal National Championship Horse Show in Kansas City, MO....

Whitney Weeks, Victoria Birdsall, Josephina Nor and Samantha Harrison emerged as champions of the 2008 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series. The Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series conducted its largest series ever in 2008, with classes at 109 horse shows across the nation. This gave competitors an abundance of opportunities to accumulate points throughout the year. The Series featured separate divisions for amateur-owner and junior riders with standings kept separately...

The audience cheered even more enthusiastically when Will Simpson entered the arena aboard Archie Bunker to contest the $50,000 Los Angeles National Grand Prix. The 2008 Olympic Gold medalist did not disappoint as he piloted Archie Bunker to one of just four clear rounds during the featured class at the LA National, November 12-16. Olaf Petersen, Jr., designed a challenging course for the 34 horse field that served as a West Coast League World Cup Qualifier. "This was a difficult course. This...

The 2008 Trail Blazer Festival took place at the Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara, CA, November 14-16, 2008. The festival had many speakers, exhibits and other events. One of the events participated in by Rocky Mountain, Paso Fino, American Saddlebred, Icelandic, Kiger Mustang, Mangalarga Marchador, Morgan, Arabian, Mustang, Quarter Horse, Peruvian, and Tennessee Walker horses was the “Battle of the Breeds,” which was a unique trail competition held between a select group of horses that...

With little equines on their minds, members of The American Shetland Pony Club (ASPC) and the American Miniature Horse Registry (AMHR) recently met for their 2008 national convention in Branson. The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), who has been strong supporter of the ASPC throughout 2008, hosted a luncheon during the convention for all the attendees and conducted the USEF Shetland Pony Committee meeting. One of the highlights of the convention was a drawing during the awards banquet...

Lifelong horseman Marty Mueller of French Lick, IN, died Friday morning, November 14, 2008, at age 96. During his life, he built a reputation as one of the top trainers of American Saddlebreds. Mueller was raised in the famous resort area of Indiana known as ”The Valley,” where his father was the head gardener at the fabled West Baden Springs Hotel. Marty grew up watching the horses at L. S. Dickey’s French Lick Springs Resort Stables, and he began working at Dickey’s as a stable boy,...

Canada’s Olympians had a rough go of it in the $50,000 Weston Canadian Open for International Jumpers at Toronto’s Royal Horse Show on November 14th. Americans McLain Ward and Laura Kraut, hot off their Team Gold at the Olympics, took first and third respectively, with Britain’s Michael Whitaker narrowly edging into the second position. Ward, with his 16-year-old veteran campaigner Goldika 559, executed the course in style, taking almost the identical route that teammate Kraut had taken 15...