The First International Combined Festival of Dressage for Para Equestrian held last weekend in Moorsele, Belgium is an important qualifying competition for the Paralympics in 2008. The United States placed riders in the top ten in both the Grade III Individual and the Grade III Freestyle. Three U.S. riders and their horses traveled to Belgium, Barbara Grassmyer from Placerville, California with Mibis, a 12 year old Dutch Warmblood; Rebecca Hart of Erie, Pennsylvania on her Norteassa, a 14 year...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation® (USEF) High-Performance Dressage Committee has appointed Debbie McDonald to the position of USEF Dressage Developing Coach for the remainder of 2006 and through December 31, 2007. This appointment is one of many steps being taken toward expanding the USEF Dressage Developing Program. In this new role, McDonald’s responsibilities will include increasing awareness and visibility of the USEF Dressage Developing Program and furthering the...

Productions East Video, in association with the United States Equestrian Federation® (USEF), GoMobileBroadband.com and LiveBroadcast.tv will present live webcasts of the Pessoa/USEF National Hunt Seat Equitation Medal Finals presented by Becker College and the Adequan/USEF National Junior Jumper Championship as well as other classes from the Pennsylvania National Horse Show. The Pennsylvania National Horse Show is one of the nation’s premier horse shows. It takes place October 12-21 at The...

Lexington, KY – With a score of 118.41, Diane Kastama of Arroyo Grande, CA, won the Grade 1 Individual Gold medal at the 2006 FEI World Carriage Driving Championships for Drivers with Disabilities in Mensport, Hellendoorn, The Netherlands. Kastama drove Jasper, her 11-year-old Welsh Cob gelding. They were first in the dressage phase and first in the cones phase. She and her teammate Mary Gray competed alongside athletes from 60 different countries. The event was held September 6-10, and occurs...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The U.S. Olympic Committee today announced equestrian athlete Megan Benjamin and swimmer Brendan Hansen as its August Athletes of the Month. The USOC Team of the Month was awarded to the USA National Baseball Team. Benjamin (Saratoga, Calif.) won the gold medal in women's vaulting at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany on August 27. She was the first American woman to win the title. The Germans have won 20 of the last 32 World Championships. Benjamin was also...

For Morgan enthusiasts, October means more than just the introduction of fall; it also features the Grand National and World Championship Morgan Horse Show held annually at the Oklahoma Fairgrounds in Oklahoma City. The Grand National promises to be another spectacular event this year, taking place October 7-14. Each year the American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) selects one USEF Class “A” Morgan Show from each region to be its American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) Regional Championship...

The 34rd Annual Paso Fino Horse Association (PFHA) Grand National Championship Show and Sale brings together the best of the Paso Fino breed to compete head-to-head for various titles during the week-long event, which takes place September 17-23, at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agri-Center in Perry, GA. The schedule includes 120 classes ranging from versatility and Western, to performance and Fino. In addition to the competition, with amateur, youth and open divisions, the event...

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) announced equestrian athlete Megan Benjamin as the female August Athlete of the Month, along with male swimmer Brendan Hansen. The USOC Team of the Month was awarded to the U.S.A. National Baseball Team. Benjamin of Saratoga, CA, won the Gold medal in women's vaulting at the FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, on August 27. She was the first American woman to win the title. The Germans have won 20 of the last 32 World Championships. Benjamin...

Linda Wachtmeister’s and Plain Dealing Farm’s Winsome Adante has taken the lead on the U.S. Eventing Association’s (USEA) All-time High-Point Leaderboard with a record career score of 1,184 points. Giltedge (1,114 points), who represented the U.S. on five international teams with David O’Connor, and who is owned by Mrs. Jacqueline Mars, has headed the all-time high-point leaderboard since his win at the Kentucky CCI**** in 2003 and is now in second place. Hannigan, owned by Bruce Duchossois has...

It was hot in St. Louis on August 2-5 for the American Shetland Pony Club (ASPC) National Shetland Pony Congress, but the ponies who came to compete were even hotter. Some 480 ponies trekked to the new show site, the National Equestrian Center in Lake St. Louis. After almost a decade of hosting the show in Rantoul, IL, show officials were very pleased with the number of entries the new show location attracted. “With a new location, soaring gasoline prices and record temperatures, we were...