The Washington International Horse Show will begin a new tradition at the MCI Center during the week of October 25-30, 2005. This year, the illustrious show introduces the $10,000 Washington International Invitational Dressage Championship. The participants in this championship will include two riders chosen from the United States Equestrian Federation High Performance Dressage Grand Prix Ranking List and two riders invited through “Wild Card” invitations. The USEF High Performance Dressage...

“America’s Horse,” the American Quarter Horse Association’s award-winning television series will be heading to Manerbio, Italy, for the 2005 FEI World Reining Masters Finals presented by the Arcese Group and the Italian Equestrian Sports Federation (FISE) this coming September. The show will air October 23 on www.aqha.com and on the United States channel, TVG Network. “America’s Horse” has been at the forefront of reining competition television coverage, including the 2002 World Equestrian...

Ramiro Quintana won the testing Speed Challenge at the American Gold Cup last year, and he will return with the same mare, Carousel, to defend his title at this year’s event, September 15-18, at the Devon show grounds in Devon, PA. The Speed Challenge is a very exciting class, which pits professionals against juniors and amateurs, and Quintana, who also won this event four years ago, placed first and third in last year’s event. The five top professionals from their qualifying class on Fast...

It was a surefire win for American eventing athlete Stuart Black as he rode Fleeceworks Pacific Storm to victory at the Surefire Horse Trials II in Purcellville, VA. In the one-day event held Sunday, July 24, Black opened the dressage phase with an impressive score of 29.50 penalty points to place second in the Open Intermediate, Division C, standings. With the show jumping held next in the order of the three-phase test, Black guided Fleeceworks Pacific Storm to a clear round, despite being the...

Following the sold out, three-show Woodside Summer Circuit, John Bragg leads the point standings for the 2005 Woodside Hunter Incentive. At each of the seven USEF “A”- and “AA”-rated hunter/jumper shows at the Horse Park at Woodside, each trainer’s five highest scoring hunters are counted toward his or her Hunter Incentive points. All hunter sections count toward the points: junior, amateur, children’s, adult, ponies and open. This year’s contest ends at the Woodside Fall Finale (September...

Photos.com (The city of Hong Kong, China. ) The Secretary for Home Affairs, Dr. Patrick Ho, welcomed the International Olympic Committee's decision to name Hong Kong as the venue for the equestrian events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The announcement came on June 8. Dr. Ho also thanked the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) for its confidence in Hong Kong. "I believe that Hong Kong people are taking a favorable and positive view towards this...

The Reining Horse Sports Foundation (RHSF) recognizes the importance of growing reining worldwide. That growth begins with great leaders. Great leaders begin with our youth, which is why the National Reining Horse Youth Association (NRHyA) delegate elections and Youth Team Tournament Scholarship Reining are being held this year at the NRHA European Affiliate Championship in Deurne, The Netherlands. “Having European representation among the officers of the NRHyA is truly a milestone in the...

Rapid growth of vaulting in the eastern United States has resulted in more recognized vaulting competitions for area athletes this season. Region IX of the American Vaulting Association (AVA), covering all states from Maine to Mississippi, will be hosting the first East Coast Regional Vaulting Championships July 15-17, 2005, at Fairfax County’s Frying Pan Park, in Herndon, VA. The competition is recognized by the United States Equestrian Federation and the AVA and will contribute to national...

Allentown, NJ — Jessica Blackmon of Valley View, Texas, and Marlee O’Neil of Chester, Vermont, were named champions in their respective age divisions at the 2005 USEF Dressage Seat Medal Finals in Allentown, New Jersey, May 27-29. The third-annual Finals took place at the Horse Park of New Jersey, and played host to 23 of the country’s best junior dressage riders, who competed in two age divisions: 13 & under and 14 to 18 years of age. The 17-year-old Blackmon and...

FEI representatives met with leading footing specialists in Windsor, England, on May 16 for a brainstorming session which will likely provide the criteria upon which all future championship arena footing is to be based. The meeting, which drew riding surface experts from around the world, was a proactive response to the report of the FEI Working Group assigned to assess problems associated with footing after the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. The round table discussion covered many areas, including...