The River Glen Horse Trials over the weekend of August 4-6 in New Market, TN, held one of the final United States Eventing Association (USEA)/Spalding Labs Young Event Horse competitions of the summer before the championships take place Friday, October 6, at the Morven Park Three-day Event and Advanced Horse Trials in Leesburg, VA. Pikadilly and Dorothy Crowell, of Maplewood Farm in Frankfort, KY, dominated the five-year-old division with a score of 80.7 to take home the blue ribbon. Sired by...

Bob Langrish (American Kathryn Downs was the highest-placed American in 17th in endurance.) Long before the sun rose over the first day of competition at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Aachen, a flurry of activity was going on as the stage was set for the first medal decisions made in the equestrian discipline of endurance. The consensus is that today’s championship served as the biggest in the sport’s interesting development and history, and the fact that temperatures...

After four long years of waiting, an anxious equestrian world watched the clock roll down to the moment everyone had their eyes turned to – the Opening Ceremonies of the 2006 Aachen FEI World Equestrian Games. And while gray skies and wet and windy weather welcomed the crème of the equine world to the picturesque town located in the westernmost corner of one of Europe’s most powerful horse countries, not even a downright deluge could have dampened the excitement and energy that was waiting to...

In somewhat of a renaissance, the French stormed to victory in the third leg of the Samsung Super League with FEI series in Rome, Italy today and while the Germans maintain the lead at the head of the table, their advantage has been significantly reduced after a disappointing performance at the Italian fixture. Finishing joint-fifth along with Italy, Switzerland, Sweden and Holland, Germany only collected 1.5 points but the Americans, who shared second place with the much-fancied British, added...

Marc Manning (Darren Chiacchia and Windfall II) Call it a day! The dressage phase of the 2006 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Farnam ended with a second day of unprecedented beautiful weather and sun-kissed crowds who were witness to two days of the expert dressage tests. And with American riders siting in seven of the top 10 placings, it was a particular triumph for the U.S. eventing world. 2004 Modified CCI**** Rolex Kentucky Champion Darren Chiacchia and his black Trakehner...

Showcase, Ltd., based in Canton, GA, ended their 2005 show season on a high note as owner-rider Terry Brown, partnered with her 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding Sequel, were awarded Farnam®/Platform™ USEF National Horse of the Year titles in Second Year Green Working Hunter, Regular Working Hunter and Horse of the Year Grand Champion in Regular Hunters. They seem to be headed right back to the top in 2006 as their winning continued with the championship in the Regular Working Hunter division for...

Show jumping fans from around the world gathered for opening day of the final week of action at the 2006 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington and were greeted with beautiful sunny skies and mild temperatures. The CN Wellington Finale CSIO*****, the last week of show jumping before the festival moves on to Tampa for the final two weeks of competition, got underway on Wednesday at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club. Wednesday’s mid-morning featured event was the 1.45 m Time First Round...

Richard Spooner couldn't catch his breath. The Indio Desert Circuit's all-time leading money winner had five mounts in the $30,000 Ariat Grand Prix, and he brought three into the jump-off. Quirino 3 delivered Spooner another victory, posting the jump-off's best time of 39.36. Ezrah also had a clean-round at 40.08 giving him second place in the competition. His third mount, Airtime, smacked into jump 12, a white and blue vertical jump near the end of the course, leaving him sixth. In the opening...

Mike Ferrara (Lexington, KY) - Throughout the year there are many competitions which are extremely valuable to the various USEF breed organizations but are a challenge to organize due to required expenses. The USEF wishes to support the widest possible network of shows for its breed members and enthusiasts by announcing a new Outreach Grant program. A total of $125,000 has been budgeted in 2006 for grants to financially challenged breed competitions which meet the grant requirements and are...

For the second year in a row, the United States hosted the FEI Children’s International Jumping Final. Held at the lovely Hummingbird Nest Ranch, just north of Los Angeles, 32 of the highest ranked riders aged 12-14 congregated for a week of competition and camaraderie from November 22-27. Venezuela’s Noel Vanososte conceived of the idea to have children’s jumper riders compete in a championship format as he watched developing riders in South America. After experimenting with various formats,...