With every eye on the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, 2010 was the Year of the Horse in the United States as the world arrived on our doorstep in Lexington, KY, for 16 days of competition, demonstration and fun. It took years of planning and didn't kick off until the end of the ninth month of the year. Here is how 2010 unfolded before, during and after the Equestrian Event that stopped the American Equestrian community in its tracks. Anyone who makes a life with horses knows it's not...

Lexington, KY- December 21 - Two first-place ties in this year’s “Favorite USEF Breeds Competition” attests to the competitive nature of the equestrian sport—and the success of the second running of the United States Equestrian Federation’s one-of-a-kind contest. In 2009, USEF announced the new contest designed to let members vote for their favorite breed competition while awarding and promoting USEF licensed breed competitions that ran a show so well that exhibitors wanted to call it their...

Steffen Peters-Equestrian of the Year in 2009 (Shannon Brinkman/USEF) Lexington, KY - December 21, 2010 - And the winner is: up to you! Voting begins today for the coveted 2010 USEF Equestrian of the Year, which, following decades of tradition comes at the end of the 2010 competition year and is announced when the horse world meets at the United States Equestrian Federation’s annual Pegasus Awards celebration in January. Known as the USEF Equestrians of Honor, eight stars of equestrian...

Columbia, MD- Sport Horse National Payback (SHN Payback) today announced the top winners for the 2010 season. Mirage V+++// with two Reserve Championships and three Top Ten wins narrowly captured Super Stallion honors. Beth Conti of Catori Creek Arabians in Arizona received a trophy, ribbon and custom embroidered cooler. The prizes were donated in memory of the 2008 Top SHN Payback Sire, Bey Oro, owned by Mark and Tania Dunlap. KB Omega Fahim+++//, Al-Marah Asterisk++, and Annapolis++/ rounded...

Aiken, SC - December 17, 2010 - The Salute to Driving fundraising event that is being held in Aiken, and Windsor, SC, February 19-21, 2011, will benefit this country's High Performance Driving programs. The exciting weekend event will feature a beautiful dinner and auction on Saturday evening, multiple driving clinics with some of the world's top trainers throughout the weekend, and a Combined Test Competition for all on Monday. In addition to supporting the United States Equestrian Team (USET)...

San Antonio, TX - A record number of attendees gathered in San Antonio, TX, for the sixth annual United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) Annual Meeting, presented by the Texas Hunter Jumper Association. There they discussed a number of issues, including standardizing zone children’s and adult specifications, a revamped amateur definition and whether or not money won in derbies and classics should be counted toward Horse of the Year Awards. The 346 attendees traveled to the Westin La...

The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) is pleased to announce the results of the Executive Board elections that were held at the 2010 Adequan/USDF Convention in Jacksonville, FL. Elections were held for USDF Vice-President, Secretary, and Regional Director in Regions 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. Officers and Regional Directors of the USDF Executive Board serve a three-year term, starting the first day of January after the election. Beth Jenkins, of Boston, MA, is the new USDF Vice-President....

Dressage In Frankfort, Germany the 2010 FEI World Cup Dressage Final for Young Riders is set to get underway December 15-19. Meagan Davis and Bentley will represent the United States. The pair had great success this year, winning the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF National Young Rider Dressage Championship and sweeping the young rider divisions at the CDIs at Saugerties and Dressage at Devon. For more information on the 2010 FEI World Cup Dressage Final for Young Riders please click here and here ....

New AQHA executive director of shows Patti Carter-Pratt (Photo courtesy AQHA) As part of an effort to foster and guide the American Quarter Horse show industry in a direction that will ensure its continued success and longevity, the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) is excited to announce that Patti Carter-Pratt of St. George, Ontario, has been named to the new position of AQHA executive director of shows. "When I was tapped to manage and oversee AQHA's multifaceted competition and...

California dressage rider Dantia Benson (Photo courtesy of Dantia Benson) Somis, CA – December 8, 2010 - California dressage rider Dantia Benson flew from her home in California to Florida to attend the annual United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Convention and watch her four-year-old Dutch horse be awarded the Materiale Horse of the Year. What Benson didn’t expect was to fly home from the convention as the second winner of a custom made dressage saddle from Custom Saddlery as part of their...