$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...

Doug Prather (New York's McLain Ward and Sapphire finish in eighth place in the Rolex FEI World Cup Show Jumping Finals in Las Vegas) Las Vegas, Nevada—On the last day of the 2007 Rolex FEI World Cup for show jumping, it came down to a battle between the Germans and Swiss. In the end, it was a win for Beat Mandli and Ideo du Thot, the 11-year-old Selle Francais gelding after putting in two rounds where they downed only one rail to finish on a score of five World Cup points. Some 15...

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....

Bob Langrish (Schuyler Riley on Ilian during the Samsung Super League competition in Rome, Italy.) Samsung Super League at Rome, Italy Rome, Italy – It was another close-call head-on attack by U.S. lady riders in a near-repeat performance that ended with a strong second place finish in Rome, Friday. Together, Beezie Madden, Anne Kursinski, Schuyler Riley and Laura Kraut gave us something to cheer about again—a performance that now puts them in a face-off challenge with Great...

Despite a previous week of sunshine when the field of 30 competitors began the Gulf Coast Mid Winter $10,000 Open Welcome, Mother Nature decided to add another challenge to Anthony D’Ambrosio’s course. A deluge of rain began as the first horse passed judges Fred Brown and Mike Christian. David Q Wright’s Step Right Up did just that. After a clear first round the 14-year-old Thoroughbred gelding from Murfreesboro, TN, gave a repeat performance in a jump-off field of eight with a speedy 34.494...