Lexington, KY – With the 2008 competition season just beginning, the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) recognizes that the rising cost of show expenses can often hinder breed shows. To assist competitions with expenses, the USEF offers the Outreach Grant program, which provides financial assistance to various USEF breed competitions. The USEF grant program assists financially challenged breed competitions that meet the grant requirements and are approved by the USEF. The grants are...

Ocala, FL ­- Sterling Graburn of Bonifay, Florida won the first USEF Selection Trial for the 2008 World Singles Driving Championships held at the Sunshine State CDE (CAI-B Ocala) in Ocala, FL February 28-March 2. The World Championships will be held in Jarantow, Poland August 28-31. Besting a field of 11, Graburn and Dante an 8-year-old Sport Cob owned by Graburn and Wendy Ying, narrowly beat Donna Crookston of Saltsburg, PA. Prior to Sunday's cones competition Graburn's score of 121.28 gave...

The World Games 2010 Foundation recently announced that John Long of Shelbyville, KY, has been selected as chair of its board of directors. Long is the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF). He replaces interim Board Chair Tandy Patrick, who will continue to serve as an active board member. “I am looking forward to being a very active chairman,” said Long. “The 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games provide an unprecedented opportunity to showcase both...

$350,000 Purse to Any Rider Who Wins The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, The Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials and The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials in Succession By Joanie Morris When the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing was first offered in 2002 it seemed like an impossible feat. Many of the world’s top riders spend their entire career trying to win just one CCI**** event. To win three in succession would be historical. Then, in 2003, British rider Pippa Funnell rewrote history. She...

The Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP) announced the results of its December 7 stallion season auction. The grand total for the fundraising effort when all seasons are totaled is estimated to be approximately $4,000,000. The live and silent auctions combined totaled approximately $3.9 million. When KEEP finalizes all of the private seasons, the total will top $4 million. “What a tremendous success for KEEP and the horse industry. I want to thank all of the stallion managers, farm managers...

On October 22, members of the International Olympic Committees (IOC) Coordination Commission for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad - Beijing 2008 and of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) toured the Olympic Village and equestrian venues in Sha Tin and Sheung Shui on the last day of their visit to the Olympic co-host city of Hong Kong. The IOC delegation, headed by Commission Chairman Hein Verbruggen, arrived on October 21 for a two-day visit to see for...

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced the approval of Digital Angel Corporation’s (formerly Destron Fearing) Life-Chip equine radio frequency identification (RFID) injectable transponder for use in horses. The industry expects that in the future additional companies will apply for USDA approval of equine microchips to be developed and sold in the U.S. Microchips are a valuable tool to the equine industry to identify horses, whether as proof of ownership if lost or...

At the New York State Fair Horse Show in Syracuse, NY, Jennifer Reid of Wellington, FL, took home the Adult Amateur 18-35 Hunter championship on her mount Sweet Emotion. Reid and the talented black mare won three out of five classes in the division. They were third and fourth in the remaining two classes. Sweet Emotion won the under saddle class in the adult hunter division as well as the $500 open hunter under saddle class. Reid also piloted Playtime to the reserve championship in the division....

Lexington, KY—The United States Equestrian Federation is seeking an individual to fill the position of Endurance Chef d’Equipe. The successful candidate will be provided with a contract for the 2008-2010 biennium and possibly longer. A Search Committee has been appointed: -James Wolf - Executive Director, Sports Programs -Mark Phillips - USEF Chef d’Equipe for Eventing -Tony Benedetti - Endurance High Performance and Active Athlete Committee member. -Kathy Brunjes - Endurance High...

Beezie Madden and Authentic made the final four cut in show jumping's Rolex World Championship. (Bob Langrish) The show jumpers returned to day four of five in a hotly contested race to the medal podium. America’s Beezie Madden and Authentic have dazzled the legions of show jumping fans that have traveled to Aachen to witness the very best of the best. Today’s two-round go was the decisive test of which four horse-and-rider pairs were asked to return for one last round on Sunday....