The Florida Horse Park will be having a month of firsts come April. It will be the first time an internationally-recognized combined driving event will be held on the grounds, the first time a show jumping competition will be held, the first time an internationally-recognized two-star eventing competition will take place there, and the first time polo tournaments will be held. Competitors from at least five countries will be at these events, two of which are sanctioned by the Federation...

William Woods University (WWU) will host the tryouts for the Saddle Seat Equitation World Cup,March 17-18. Many of the top saddle seat riders in the country, including a rider from WWU, will compete for the opportunity to represent the United States in the World Cup competition next December. The trials are free and open to the public and will be held in the equestrian science UPHA indoor arena. Both three-gaited saddle seat riders and five-gaited riders will compete. One of the five-gaited...

Lexington, KY –The United States Equestrian Federation® has partnered with U.S. Bank to offer members a new way to support USEF equestrian teams in their quest to compete in international competition, including the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games, with the new United States Equestrian Federation Visa® Platinum Card from U.S. Bank. “When our members sign up for a new card under the USEF—U.S. Bank credit card partnership, they can rest assured our USEF equestrian athletes will benefit...

The vacated position on the Kentucky State Fair Board of Directors occupied for the last nine years by Mary Anne Cronan, and before her for 28 years by Joseph Stopher, is to be filled at the earliest opportunity by appointment of the Governor of Kentucky from a list of six nominees provided to him by the American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA). The Kentucky State Fair is the site of the World’s Championship Horse Show each August, highlighted by the American Saddlebred breed’s most...

“Wow, this feels really good. I think I am still in shock,” said a proud Sandy Ferrell of Bernville, PA, after negotiating Sarah Chovnick’s Late Entry to win the 2006 AHJF Hunter Classic Spectacular at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL, on Saturday evening, February 18. A record crowd witnessed the 38-year-old professional negotiate the seven-year-old bay Hanoverian gelding to their first Hunter Classic victory. Started in 1997, the Hunter Classic was celebrating its 10th...

Bob Tarr (TCE Balastrana+++// with Mercy Burwell) TCE Balastrana+++// (TC Expression x Brooklynn), owned by Mercy Burwell of Brentwood, MO, ranked as the top horse among a field of more than 3,000 Arabians, Half-Arabians and Anglo-Arabians to become the 2005 Arabian Horse Association (AHA) High-Point Horse. To reach this pinnacle, the mare accumulated 388 points in Horse Achievement Awards (HAA), the Association's premier rewards program for actively competing horses. The Arabian horse...

Lexington, KY - The Florida Classic horse show in Wellington will host a qualifier for the 2006 FEI Children’s International Jumping Final this Saturday and Sunday, February 18 and 19. Please note that, unlike the past two years, the 2006 Children’s Final will NOT be held in the U.S. What this means is that U.S. riders are considered “foreign” and will be invited according to the FEI Children’s International Jumping Competition rules using the worldwide standings listed on the FEI’s web site at...

The United States Eventing Association has announced that the 2006 Maui Jim Horse Trials in Wayne, IL, will again be part of the Adequan Gold Cup Series of events, thus designating it as one of the 12 “premier” eventing competitions in the United States. Maui Jim Horse Trials, who recently entered into a five-year sponsorship agreement with Maui Jim, Inc., the Peoria-based manufacturer of high-end sunglasses, will offer riders a new look for the July 7-9 competition. A long unused parcel of...

The 2005 USEF/Markel Young Horse Dressage National Championships turned into a landmark for the ISR-Oldenburg Registry N.A. and its breeders. The prestigious FEI final of the five-year-old dressage horses was dominated by U.S.-bred and even more by ISR-Oldenburg N.A. horses. In the past, most of the horses which made it to the National Finals were imported. For the first time ever in 2005 the majority of the finalists were U.S.-bred horses (eight of 13). "I think I was more excited about the...

(Lexington, KY) – USEF members are invited to obtain updates and weigh-in on issues at an International Forum, Saturday, February 4 in Wellington, FL. The forum will provide updates on news concerning upcoming international events and issues. Among the topics of discussions are the following: • 2006 World Equestrian Games planning and hospitality • 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong • 2010 World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky • 2012 Olympic Games in London • FEI Strategic Planning...