In a tune up for Sunday's $100,000 United States Grand Prix League (USGPL) Invitational Grand Prix, Laura Bowery and her mount Indy Star II posted the fastest double-clear round to capture the $25,000 Devoucoux Wild Card Grand Prix at HITS Culpeper. Bowery outlasted a starting field of 26 riders to challenge course designer Olaf Petersen's first-round route and an additional six pairs that advanced to the jump-off to collect $7,500. However, coming into the $25,000 Devoucoux Wild Card Grand...

Laura Chapot took advantage of the enviable last-to-go spot in the jump-off of Thursday's final $25,000 Ariat Grand Prix of the season at HITS Saugerties on September 4, as she captured the blue aboard Church Road to rev up an exciting weekend of show jumping. Chapot and Church Road got the best of 16 pairs to challenge course designer Jerry Dougherty's first-round track and the five combinations that advanced to the jump-off to win $7,500 in prize money for horse owners Sarah Becker and B&B...

Even tropical storm Hanna could not stop the competition at The Laurels at Landhope, September 5-7 in West Grove, PA. With hard ground from a dry summer, drivers in the advanced, intermediate, and preliminary divisions got through dressage, but some had concerns that the hard going would be too rough for them. "If there was anything that had me worried, it was that we wouldn't get the rain. I would have scratched. I was not going to sacrifice my 'A' team to the ground," said Lisa Stroud after...

The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) is pleased to announce that Laura Noyes and her Trakehner gelding, Syncro, were awarded this year’s Fiona Baan Pursuit of Excellence Memorial Trophy. Noyes is originally from Falmouth, ME, but now lives in Delaware, OH, where she is a student at Ohio Wesleyan University and trains with George Williams. When asked how she felt about being awarded this prestigious trophy Noyes exclaimed, “Winning the Fiona Baan trophy is more than I ever expected of my...

Jimmy Torano of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, topped the $10,000 Open Jumper High Score Awards, presented by Sir Ruly, Inc., at the six-week Vermont Summer Festival held July 9-August 17 in East Dorset, VT. Offered for the second year, the $10,000 Open Jumper High Score Awards, presented by Sir Ruly, Inc., awards $10,000 in bonus money to the most consistent open jumper competitors throughout the six-week circuit. For the second year in a row, it was Torano who came out on top. Torano is one of the...

Grand prix dressage rider Suzanne Dansby Bollman has returned to the FEI arena with her equine partner Cooper with great success. Bollman is a top international competitor that has been long- or short-listed with the USET for seven consecutive years. Cooper and Bollman have accumulated many impressive wins in their six years together. Two years ago, the pair was the U.S. team alternate at the FEI World Equestrian Games in Germany. This summer, Bollman and Cooper competed for the first time in...

Phillip Dutton and Connaught in Hong Kong (Ken Braddick) Hong Kong, China – The second day of dressage got underway bright and early at Sha Tin and the overnight leaders, the Australians, never looked in danger of having their lead threatened. The same three scores the team used yesterday (out of the five riders) held their lead on a total mark of 102.80. The U.S. continued to well orchestrated plans, and their two most experienced riders put in very solid performances to leave the U.S....

The feature classes of the week at the Kentucky Summer Horse Show were the $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic, the ASG Software Solutions United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) International Hunter Derby, and the $40,000 Kentucky Summer Grand Prix. Top honors in both grand prix events went to Debbie Stephens. Aaron Vale won the International Hunter Derby by just one point. The Kentucky Summer Horse Show started with an exciting opening day at the Kentucky Horse Park. The Walnut Arena...

Jimmy Torano could not have been happier with his winning performance in the $10,000 Escada/Theory Open Welcome Stake, Presented by Manchester Designer Outlets, on Friday, August 1, at the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT. Magic Cruise, an eight-year-old Belgian-bred mare owned by SCNC Investments, Inc., has been knocking on the door of the “big” classes for some time now. According to Torano, Friday’s win marked a highlight for this special mare. “She is a very straightforward horse....

With only two more FEI World Cup™ qualifiers to run in the 2008 season, Australia’s Kevin McNab has sensationally swept into a huge lead in the FEI World Cup™ rankings, after scoring a one-two at his local qualifier at Warwick, Australia. A popular member of the local Queensland Eventing Committee, McNab, 30, now has 220 points, 60 clear of his nearest rival, Clark Montgomery (USA) with 160. McNab won at Warwick on Hufflepuff, his Melbourne runner-up, and finished second on Game Play. He is now...