Although the weather threatened to put a damper on the weekend, it held off just enough to allow the first Gold Coast show of the season (February 19-21), held at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, to be the fun event exhibitors knew it would be. There was a great mix of familiar faces and new ones to make the show a big success with a record number of entries. One group of new faces came from Hayden Show Jumping and Riding School of Laguna Hills, riding under the tutelage of Mickey Hayden and...

The Licensed Competition Seminar was held in Louisville, KY, on January 15, 2010. The presentations and handouts for that seminar are now available to view/print online at www.usef.org/_IFrames/LicensedOfficials/clinics.aspx . Included this year are new charts for each breed/discipline outlining the basic requirements you will need to put on that type of competition. The “Licensed Competition Handbook” takes you step-by-step through all the stages of planning your competition. Other useful...

Dressage: Dressage riders on the West Coast battled it out this weekend at the Mid-Winter CDI3* held at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. Jan Ebeling and Rafalca were impressive in both the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle, easily taking home top honors. The pair was the only one to top 70% with a freestyle score of 71.800%. Canadian Sharon Merkel-Beattie and Essence of Glory were first in the Grand Prix Special with a score of 64.042; Adrienne Lyle and Wizard were second. Complete results...

Lexington, KY – Stuck in a blizzard? Stranded in an airport? Or just can’t make it to South Florida? Don’t miss a second of the best show jumping in the country this weekend! The final two USEF Selection Trials for the U.S. Show Jumping Team for the Alltech 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) book end the $75,000 FEI Nations Cup, presented by CN, from the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL. It all takes place March 5 and 7 on UniversalSports.com, a partnership...

The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has selected the following six competitions to require heel measurements be taken from the first place and fourth place ponies in Roadster Pony and Hackney Roadster Pony Championship classes, pursuant to USEF rules HK116.3 and RD112.2. The 2010 competitions include: • Asheville Lions Charity – Fletcher, NC (May 19-22) • Syracuse International – Syracuse, NY (June 16-19) • Lexington Junior League – Lexington, KY (July 5-10) • Kentucky State Fair –...

The American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) is pleased to announce the following AMHA members who received honors at its annual awards luncheon, which took place on February 20, in Lexington, KY. A Master's Certificate is given to individuals older than 60 years of age who have been active with Morgan horses in a variety of ways. Recognized clubs nominate members based on their involvement in breeding, showing, training, promoting, or just generally enjoying their Morgan horses....

Photo by Don Stine (One More Round++// with Alexis Doughty riding, shown with trainer Ben Flynn and Bill Doughty.) One More Round++// (Al Jassur Laddin x Winifred), owned by Bill and Alexis Doughty of Cape Charles, VA, was named the 2009 Arabian Horse Association (AHA) High Point Horse of the Year. The 2004 bay gelding earned 467 points in 2009 by competing in over 200 classes at 20 shows. The rigorous show schedule, which was carefully balanced with rest time, began in January and ended in...

The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) had a fantastic sixth week of competition on February 17-21. The week featured the AHJF Hunter Classic Spectacular of Palm Beach and the $50,000 CN Palm Beach Jumping Derby along with a full schedule of hunter, jumper, and equitation classes. The week six title sponsor was Bainbridge. Charles Jacobs of Boston, MA, captured the top prize in the $50,000 CN Palm Beach Jumping Derby on Quidditch II, owned by Deeridge Farm of Wellington, FL. They sped to...

Photo by Diana DeRosa (Liza Boyd and Brunello) "He is my Olympic hunter," commented Liza Boyd after she nailed her third victory in the 14th Annual American Hunter-Jumper Foundation (AHJF) Hunter Classic Spectacular in Wellington FL, aboard her seasoned mount, Brunello. She won the very first one riding Monday Morning in 1997 and then in 2008 tasted victory again on Fiyero. Now just 3½ months after the birth of her first child (Ellen) it was important to prove she still had what it takes. Yet,...

Randi Muster (Leah Schwendeman and Gisele.) The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) had a great fifth week of competition on February 10-14. The week featured the $150,000 FEI World Cup, CSI*** presented by Spy Coast Farm, along with a full schedule of hunter, jumper, and equitation classes. The week five title sponsor was Spy Coast Farm. Along with their week five title sponsorship, Spy Coast Farm was the presenting sponsor of the $150,000 FEI World Cup, CSI*** on Saturday, February 13,...