Mandy Porter and Lexito jump to a win in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis (©Flying Horse Photography) Thermal, Calif - When Mandy Porter walked into the Strongid® C 2X™ Grand Prix Stadium on Friday, the crowd expected to see her in the tack of her usual stallion, Con Capilot. This time, however, she piloted a 16.3 hand grey gelding named Lexito for Marguerite McAfee of P2 Capital, LLC. Porter, who hails from Encinitas, California, catch rode for Lexito’s...

Chris Ewanouski and Carlos 455 Wellington, Fla. - Out of 50 contenders, Chris Ewanouski rode Carlos 455 to Wellington Turf Tour 1.40m Grand Prix victory at Deeridge Farms today. It came down to a difference of 2/10ths of a second, but Ewanouski set the standard high with his time of 33.367 seconds in an 18-horse jump off. Brazil's Rodrigo Pessoa snatched second place aboard HH Let's Fly, while Jeffery Welles rode to the third place with Antaris S. Jeffery Welles and Bilion set the pace...

Nayel Nassar and Lordan jump to a win in the $33,500 FEI HITS Desert Classic, presented by Zoetis, at HITS Thermal (Flying Horse Photography) Thermal, Calif. - It all came down to the gallop in the $33,500 FEI HITS Desert Classic, presented by Zoetis, at HITS Thermal on Thursday. With only two horses in the jump-off, Nayel Nassar put the speed of his nine-year-old Hanoverian gelding Lordan to the test and bested Bliss Heers by fractions of a second. Nassar of Santa Clara, California represents...

Alvaro de Miranda and AD Uutje (Sportfot) Wellington, Fla. - Week seven of the 2014 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) continued on Thursday afternoon with a shared victory for Brazil's Alvaro de Miranda aboard AD Uutje and Rodrigo Pessoa with Citizenguard Cadjanine Z in the $125,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 7. Held in a "California Split" due to the large number of entries, the competition awarded two sets of placings, each with $125,000 distributed....

Ben Maher and Urico (Sportfot) Wellington, Fla. - Week five of the 2014 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) continued on Thursday afternoon with a shared victory for Ben Maher (GBR) aboard Urico and Tiffany Foster (CAN) riding Victor in the $125,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 5. Held in a "California Split" due to the large number of entries, the competition awarded two sets of placings, each with $125,000 distributed. FTI WEF week five, sponsored by Rolex, runs...

Part 2 in a five-part series about the exciting new discipline of western dressage More and more western riders are thinking about trying the exciting new discipline of western dressage. While the progressive training principles of dressage can be a benefit to any horse's development, riders will discover that trotting down the centerline of a dressage arena is a very different experience than they may be used to for a western pleasure or reining show. The first and most obvious difference...

A five-part series to learn more about the exciting new discipline of Western Dressage Part 1: What is Western Dressage? When most equestrians think of "dressage", they envision the graceful harmony of beautiful horses with riders clad in top hats and tails, dancing together through musical freestyles in an Olympic stadium. But now, an increasing number of competitors entering dressage arenas will be wearing Western hats and boots with their horses outfitted in stock saddles. What's going...

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...

Becky Gochman and Sambalino (Shawn McMillen Photography, www.shawnmcmillen.com) Washington D.C. - The Amateur-Owner Hunter divisions concluded their second day of competition on Wednesday and awarded championship honors as well. The Grand Amateur-Owner Hunter 3’6” championship was awarded to Becky Gochman of New York, NY, riding David Gochman's Sambalino. The pair earned the Frank Counselman Memorial Perpetual Trophy donated by Friends of Frank Counselman. Gochman was also...

Elkton, Md. - The Dutta Corp Fair Hill International came to an exciting conclusion on Sunday with two and three star competitors navigating Sally Ike’s scopey show jumping tracks. At the end of The Dutta Corp/USEF Three-Star Eventing National Championship, Jan Byyny and Inmidair proved to be deserving and popular winners as they claimed their first National Title. While in the morning session Allie Blyskal-Sacksen and Sparrow’s Nio held their nerve to rise one place and claim the...