Elkton, MD ­ – Unsettled weather continued on Friday for the second day of dressage at the USEF Eventing National CCI*** Championships at Fair Hill International, and Thursday’s leader Boyd Martin (Australia) staved off challenges for almost two entire days on a score of 46.1. It wasn’t until the second to last rider of the day, Phillip Dutton, Martin’s employer, put an end to his reign. Dutton, who is riding for the first year under the American flag put in a...

The American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) is joining in Oklahoma’s 100th Centennial Celebration with a special flag ceremony on Friday, October 12, at 7 p.m. at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds. The salute takes place in the Fairgrounds Main Coliseum during the annual Grand National & World Championship Morgan Horse Show. Admission is free to the ceremony. AMHA youth and their Morgan horses will participate in the flag presentation representing individual states, Canada, England and Austria...

Highlights of both the Platform® Shetland Pony Congress and the Platform® American Miniature Horse National Championships will be aired on two TV shows coming up this month on RFD-TV. The Platform® AMHR National Championship Show and The Platform® Shetland Pony Congress are the equivalent of the Super Bowl for Miniature Horses and Shetland Ponies. The shows attract the top small equines from throughout the U.S. On October 14, at 4 p.m. (EST) RFD-TV will be airing the American Shetland Pony...

SmartPak announced that they have joined the blogosphere with two new blog forums—Ask the Vet and A Peek at the Pak. "Blogging is a perfect fit for SmartPak because as a company, we are all about sharing our culture and personality, while also providing horse owners with the most up-to-date horse health care information," said President Paal Gisholt. "Our employees are horse and dog owners, too, and they’re excited to share their experiences with our customers.” A Peek at the Pak will...

Lexington, KY Most of you familiar with Irishman, Niall Grimes, are also aware of the heart attack he suffered last Friday, September 28th, while in Lexington, at the Kentucky National Horse Show. You may have also heard or read intermittent updates since and wondered about their validity. The number and variety of these reports speak to Niall's popularity, our hopes for his recovery, and our fears otherwise. With that in mind we regret to report that his battle has been lost. Most likely a...

Mansfield, ON, Canada - If Phillip Dutton keeps up this winning business, they'll have to stop him at the Canadian border next year so that someone else can have a shot at winning. For the second year in a row Dutton, from West Grove, PA was the overall winner at the Wits End CIC-W*** in Mansfield, ON September 28-30. Last year he won the event riding Tru Luck and this year he was partnered with Acorn Hill Farm's handsome chestnut gelding Woodburn, who was previously successful with Emily...

The 61st Annual Buffalo International Horse Show concluded on Sunday afternoon at the Buffalo Equestrian Center in Buffalo, NY. Jennifer Alfano swept the professional hunter divisions, Wednesday and Thursday, proving to be unbeatable. She started off her morning with the tricolor in the First Year Green Hunters aboard Violets Are Blue, owned by Helen Lenahan. In the Second Year Green Hunters, Alfano and Rock Star proved again that they were the pair to beat. Over the two days of competition,...

The American Horse Council (AHC) wants to ensure that the American horse industry is properly accounted for in the upcoming census. There are three ways in which horse owners can participate in the USDA’s 2007 Census of Agriculture: 1. If a farm received a survey for census participation in the past (the last census was taken in 2002), the farm will be mailed a survey that can be filled in and mailed back. 2. If a farm was not part of the 2002 Census, the owner can fill out a basic USDA census...

Four more qualifiers were held this past weekend as junior riders around the country try and qualify for this year's ASPCA Maclay National Championship, which will be held on October 31-November 4, 2007, at the Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament in Syracuse, NY. Hanna Botney of St. Louis, MO, was the winner of Region 5, while Alisha Davis of Littleton, CO, captured the win in Region 6. The top spot in Region 7 went to O.J. Berkes of Bellevue, WA. Tina DiLandri of La Jolla, CA, won the...

The inaugural Evergreen Invitational hosted a high-performance hunter demonstration on Friday, September 14, and six horses and riders showed spectators what the true sport of hunters is all about. Diane Carney, a Chicago-area trainer, has taken a special interest in the high-performance hunter movement and is part of the United State Hunter Jumper Association's High-Performance Hunter committee. She, along with others, including trainer Rush Weeden, coordinated this weekend's event. M.K....