The USEF/Markel Young Horse Dressage Selection Trials concluded the 2006 qualifying season for the FEI World Breeding Championships at the CDI***/Y Raleigh and Capital Dressage Classic, June 2-4 in Raleigh, NC. Champion of the five-year-old division with an overall two-test score of 8.592 was Unitas, a bay Dutch Warmblood gelding (Niagara - Nellyzora by Harald; bred in The Netherlands), ridden and owned by Teresa Butta-Stanton of Glen Burnie, MD. Winning both the Preliminary and Final Tests...

When the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) announced its 2005 champions, the list included Hilltop Farm's elite Hanoverian stallion Contucci as the 2005 USEF Leading Sire Dressage Breeding. Contucci's accumulated points of 766 were more than double the #2 ranked sire, who accumulated 331 points. The title of USEF Leading Owner Dressage Breeding was also awarded to Hilltop Farm, likely due to many of Contucci's offspring successes. Since 2004, Contucci has been represented in the USEF...

The Colorado Horse Park Two-Star Three-Day Event has been postponed. The event, usually held over the Memorial Day weekend holiday, typically draws several hundred horses and riders from beginner novice to Olympic medalists. Yet, even with its success, the volunteer Eventing Committee recommended postponement of the event in order to upgrade the footing, update the course and to find funding to make these improvements. Ideally, enough enhancements can be made to hold the Fall Horse Trials,...

The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Dressage Committee is pleased to announce the launch of a new dressage championship program in 2006, the "Passage Cup." Designed to assist and encourage today's Young Riders as they transition to the Senior Grand Prix, the Passage Cup will shed much-needed light on tomorrow's stars--today. "With this exciting new program, we're looking to 'bridge the gap' for our talented dressage riders who are graduating from the Young Rider ranks to High...

The Welsh stallion Carolinas Red Fox passed away on the morning of November 15 due to complications from Cushings disease and laminitis. The 1985 Welsh Section B stallion by Carolinas Purple Emperor (Solway Master Bronze x Eden Blue Bunting) out of Downland Dresden (Downland Chevalier x Downland Dignity) was imported from Wales as a yearling by Nancy Jane Reed of Land's End Farm in Centreville, MD. Red Fox had numerous wins on the line in England before arriving in the States. With limited...

The multi-U.S. National Champion Andalusian stallion, Davido MC, died on May 2, 2005, of an aortic aneurism, while breeding a mare at Selwood Park Stable, in Elkhorn, WI. Davido MC was owned by Gareth A. Selwood for 12 of the horse's 15 years and was bred by Music City Andalusians of Nashville, TN. He was sired by the imported 2000 USEF Leading Andalusian Sire, Ofendido VII, and out of the imported Poseido V daughter, Huerfana. Davido MC qualified for and showed at a record 11 consecutive...

The stars, both equestrian and celebrity, were out at the 2005 Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows. Among the celebrities on hand were rock stars Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, former National Football League star and current television sportscaster Ahmad Rashad, and CNN anchor Lou Dobbs to name just a few. The top stars of the equestrian competition were Kent Farrington of Southport, CT, who won the $60,000 Budweiser Grandprix of Lake Placid CSI** for the Whitney Perpetual...

Burbank, CA — R-E-S-P-E-C-T. That’s exactly what Debbie McDonald earned from officials, competitors and spectators alike as she rode Brentina to victory in the 2005 U.S. Grand Prix Freestyle Championship and U.S. League Final in Burbank, California this weekend. Strutting through a freestyle program to the sound of Aretha Franklin, Olympic Team Bronze medalist McDonald and Brentina earned the winning score of 77.975% and a standing ovation in defending her 2004 title. Riding her...

Cheryl Van Deusen and JG General. ©Liz Gregg/FEI Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian congratulates the winners of the year-end awards for endurance. As the top-ranked senior endurance athlete, Cheryl Van Deusen (New Smyrna Beach, Fla.) will receive the Maggy Price Endurance Excellence Award. Avery Betz-Conway (Kingsland, Ga.) will receive the Brunges Junior/Young Rider Trophy as the top U.S. junior or young rider endurance athlete. With this year’s win, Van Deusen has now won the...

Rancho Murieta, Calif. – Murieta Equestrian Center, located just east of Sacramento, is hosting the USEF/Equestrian Vaulting USA National Championships this weekend, bringing together vaulters from the 1*, 2*, and 3* levels to compete for national champion titles. ©Lyndsey Lamell Photography This national championship offers divisions for individuals, pas de deux, and teams. Individual vaulters at the 2* Young Vaulter/Gold and 3* levels compete in three rounds: compulsories, where...