Josephina Nor Lantzman and Chello Z were the only pair to ride clear over Olaf Petersen Jr.’s first-round track to secure an early victory in the $30,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, at HITS Thermal (Flying Horse Photography) Thermal, Calif. - As the dust settled from World Cup week at HITS Desert Horse Park, Josephina Nor Lantzman piloted her own Chello Z to the top of a 29-horse field in the $30,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis. The highlight for Nor Lantzman was that...

Wellington, Fla - The Grand Prix Field at the Ridge at Wellington was alive with excitement today as the third week of the Wellington Turf Tour got underway. The 1.30m-1.35m Jumpers stole the show with Chile's Samuel Parot and Thea capturing the first win of the day, and Matt Williams, aboard Jameson, riding to the top of the ranks in the second. The Wellington Turf Tour will continue this Friday at the Ridge at Wellington as the 1.40m Invitational Grand Prix gets underway. Hailed as the...

Christian Heineking and NKH Selena (Flying Horse Photography) Thermal Calif. - With the 2014 HITS Desert Circuit set to open its gates to seven weeks of competition on Tuesday, Christian Heineking is riding high as he makes his debut in Thermal, California as the leading rider on the AIG $1 Million Grand Prix Rider Standings. With a barn of 15 horses making their winter home at HITS Thermal, Heineking is primed to leave his mark on the Desert Circuit and is hopeful that his early leverage will...

Lexington, Ky. - To reach the highest level of excellence in equestrian sport requires talent, perseverance, a tremendous spirit and often, unwavering courage. In 2013, six horses have shown the world these qualities and more. On January 11, the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) will bestow two of them with the prestigious title of Horse of the Year, the highest honor the USEF awards a horse. Again this year, both a national and international horse will be crowned. The six champions...

Lillie Keenan piloted Clearway to the 2013 ASPCA Alfred B. Maclay Finals Championship at the Alltech National Horse Show (Shawn McMillan Photography) Lexington, Ky. - In many ways, it came as no surprise when the champion of the 2013 ASPCA Alfred B. Maclay National Finals was announced as Lillie Keenan of New York, NY. The young phenom has been at the top of the sport since she was a pony rider, and this has been an exceptional year for her career. It began with the 2013 North American Junior...

Wendy O'Brien (Mary Phelps-phelpsphotos.com) Pau, France - The 2013 FEI Pony World Driving Championships came to a conclusion Sunday with the cones phase and saw the United States secure a seventh place finish on a total of 452.1. The Netherlands capped off a banner weekend earning Team Gold on a score of 332.3, with Germany claiming Silver on 365.9, and Hungary cruised to a Bronze medal on a score of 388.3. In the Single Pony Championship, Tracey Morgan (Beallsville, Md.) led the way for the U....

Buck Davidson and Absolute Liberty (McCool) Temecula, Calif. – Competition for the CCI3* began Friday at the Galway Downs International Event and Horse Trials with the field of 17 performing their dressage tests. Buck Davidson holds the top two places on the leaderboard with The Apprentice and Absolute Liberty with scores of 48.9 and 50.6, respectively. Davidson (Ocala, Fla.) received a USEF Land Rover Competition Grant to bring Sharon Will’s Absolute Liberty to the West Coast for...

Tim Gredley and Unex Valente clear 2.10m. (Shawn McMillen Photography) Washington, D.C. - The 55th annual Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) continued on Friday, October 25, with a exciting day of hunter, jumper, and equitation competition at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The $25,000 Open Jumper Puissance, presented by The Boeing Company, was the highlight class of the evening with a win for Great Britain's Tim Gredley and Unex Competition Yard's Unex Valente, clearing the...

Shane Sweetnam and Solerina (Shawn McMillen Photography) Washington, D.C. - The $20,000 International Open Jumper Gambler’s Choice Costume Class is always an exciting event at WIHS, especially with Barn Night and thousands of young fans cheering on the riders. In tonight’s class, Irish rider Shane Sweetnam jumped to victory dressed as a keg of beer riding Sweet Oak Farm's Solerina. The duo earned 960 points over the course and jumped clean over the Joker fence for an additional...

Welcome to the fourth installment of a different kind of blog from WDAA! The purpose of this post is to allow the reader "into the heads" of both a trainer/judge/competitor, Karen Abbattista and her student, Deborah Herbert, a Florida WDAA member. We would like to share with you some moments in Deb's journey as she pursues her riding goals with her AQHA mare "GenuineArcticSpring", barn name "Belle". Please enjoy as you follow along with these posts that we consider interesting or...