Tracy Magness and Tarco Van Ter Moude won the $5,000 Open Jumper 1.40m class on Wednesday, August 8, at the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT. (David Mullinix Photography) East Dorset, VT – Week six of the 2012 Vermont Summer Festival kicked off on Wednesday, August 8, with its Vermont Summer Celebration Horse Show at Harold Beebe Farm in East Dorset, VT. The $5,000 Open Jumper 1.40m was the highlight class of the day with a win for Tracy Magness, of Hughesville, MD, riding Tarco...

Rich Fellers and Flexible (Shannon Brinkman) Greenwich, UK - Rich Fellers and Flexible put in a valiant effort in the Individual Show Jumping Final at the Olympic Games and came up with a top 10 finish on just five faults. Swiss rider Steve Guerdat put forward an immaculate effort to take Gold on Nino des Buissonnets while Gerco Schröder's clear jump-off round meant he takes Individual Silver home to Holland with the appropriately named London. Irishman Cian O'Connor would have...

Richard Rinehart and Julio Zionsville, IN - August 7, 2012 - The 2012 Traders Point Hunt Charity Horse Show and Country Fair got underway today at beautiful Wild Air Farm in Zionsville, IN. The popular, festive show is located on a spectacular backdrop nestled amid Indiana hills and woods. The Jumper classes in the Russell Fortune Grand Prix Arena got underway with challenging courses designed by Steve Stephens, which tested horses and riders strength, going from long gallops to tight turns and...

Walking up the steps from the mixed zone to the athlete seating takes 20 seconds. I have done it 29 times, after each ride. 29 times without a medal. Each time - the climb becomes more painful. We are trying, we are working, we are willing - we just aren’t winning. It is immensely frustrating. Our horses look great, our riders are well-coached, you can feel and hear their frustration when they make mistakes. My heart breaks for them when they don’t make mistakes and their best still...

Leigh Cofer and Breaking News made headlines with their NAL/WIHS Adult Hunter Classic victory at the Kentucky Summer Classic. (Ashley N. Williams/PMG) Lexington, KY - August 5, 2012 -It was the championship day for the Adult Amateur Divisions at the Kentucky Summer Classic. Riders and their top mounts approached the Stonelea Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park for the final day of the show, examining the courses as they prepared. The Adult Amateurs did not disappoint as they vied for the top...

Diederique Van Der Knaap and Clive won the $10,000 SJHOF High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic on Sunday, August 5, at the 2012 Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT. (David Mullinix Photography) East Dorset, VT – Week five of the 2012 Vermont Summer Festival concluded on Sunday, August 5, with two exciting Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classics featured in the grand prix ring at Harold Beebe Farm. Diederique Van Der Knaap, of New York, NY, rode Clive to victory in the $10,000 SJHOF...

Paul O’Shea and Instant Karma won the $30,000 Manchester & the Mountains Grand Prix on Saturday, August 4, at the 2012 Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT. (David Mullinix Photography) East Dorset, VT – Ireland’s Paul O’Shea and Instant Karma were the winners in the $30,000 Manchester & the Mountains Grand Prix, sponsored by Purina Horse Feed, on Saturday, August 4, at the 2012 Vermont Summer Festival. In a three-horse jump-off, O’Shea and Instant Karma...

Dougie Hannum doesn’t stress. But when the red foam finger feeding frenzy kicked off today - he may have gotten slightly agitated. It didn’t last long. The SmartPak/USEF Foam Finger “Dressage is #1” Initiative has really taken off. These things are everywhere and everyone wants one. The British are so polite. They say please, they insist on paying, they ask if they can have their photo taken with Sarah Paull who is actually running around wearing a giant foam finger...

Steffen Peters and Ravel led the U.S. team with a score of 77.705% (Shannon Brinkman) Greenwich, UK - Steffen Peters (San Diego, CA) returned to the Olympic Games with Ravel and proved that the 14-year-old KWPN gelding still has what it takes to be competitive at the highest level of the sport of dressage. Four years after they were fourth individually in Hong Kong at the 2008 Games, Peters and Ravel scored 77.705% in Greenwich Park's main arena to lead the U.S. Team to fifth place at the...

Kelley Farmer: Ovation Leading Professional Hunter Rider. Traverse City, MI - Consistency was rewarded during the 2012 Horse Shows by the Bay Equestrian Festival, and the coveted Ovation Leading Rider Awards were announced during the final week of competition at the scenic Flintfields Horse Park in Traverse City, Michigan. The Ovation Leading Rider Awards Program has been part of the Hunter/Jumper awards program since 2007, and the circuit awards are given to the high-point riders in each of...