SusanJStickle.com (Young Rider Dressage Team Gold) Lexington, KY - July 28, 2010 - It was dueling dressage riders today in the gleaming parallel lines set on the field of the Kentucky Horse Park’s new Main Stadium. Junior competitors (ages 14-18) and Young Riders (ages 16-21) performed side-by-side to kick off the 2010 Adequan FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North. Today’s event, The Platinum Performance/USDF Dressage Championship Team Test represented...

Photo by Flying Horse Photography (Mandy Porter and LaMarque) The $30,000 Copa de Amistad Grand Prix, presented by EquiFit, Inc., welcomed 24 horse-and-rider teams onto the Peter Holmes-designed course at the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park. With seven riders, six of them women, earning spots in the jump-off, it was the second to last duo of Mandy Porter and Wild Turkey Farm’s young stallion, LaMarque, who led the victory gallop. Porter also qualified her other mount, Chesapeake (Wild Turkey...

The wind tried to take center stage during the High Prairie Spring Classic, but nothing could unseat Bjorn Ikast, who continued to take the High Prairie jumper division by storm. A virtual fixture at the Colorado Horse Park, Ikast brought back a stunning six horses to the jump-off in the $10,000 Riders Choice High Prairie Grand Prix on Saturday. “I am very pleased to have eight grand prix horses to ride now,” Ikast said. “They are all going very well. It’s great!” Of the 16 horse-and-rider...

Before a crowd of more than 500 people, as the bright sun set over the San Francisco Bay on Saturday evening, Tamra Smith and Kelly Loria jumped to victory in the two divisions of the $30,000 Preliminary Challenge, the feature of the Spring Event at Woodside. Loria, 16, of Lafayette, CA, rode Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds to top the 15-horse field in the Preliminary Rider Challenge, earning a check for $2,500 and a CWD Custom Saddle. Smith, 34, of Hemet, CA., rode CSI to top the 11-horse field...

Allison Springer and Arthur (Shannon Brinkman/USEF) Lexington, KY – William Fox-Pitt made a monumental effort to get to the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event presented by Bridgestone and so far, after the first phase of the competition – it had returned the favor. Delayed by the Icelandic volcano, Fox-Pitt arrived later than planned, but in plenty of time to put in a winning effort in the dressage ring. The British rider rode Cool Mountain to a beautiful effort in the Johnson Arena under very...

Rich Fellers and Flexible Lead the Way (Rebecca Walton/Phelps Media Group) Lexington, KY – American Rich Fellers held nothing back and continued to prove the US domination in the Palexpo Arena at the 2010 Rolex/FEI World Cup Final. Riding Flexible, Fellers (Wilsonville, OR) had the fastest round of the day to take the lead after the first leg of the 2010 Final. Flexible crossed the finish line ½ second faster than teammate (and 2009 runner-up) Sapphire, ridden by McLain Ward. Owned by Mollie...

Photo by Erica Larson (Hannah Sue Burnett and St. Barths) It was a nail biter to the end at the Fork Horse Trials this weekend as the United States Eventing Association (USEA)/Adequan Gold Cup Advanced division and the CIC*** wrapped up with show jumping. Neither overnight leader was able to hold on to their lead, and even the winners were pleasantly surprised with the outcome of the competition. In the USEA/Adequan Gold Cup division, the "little horse that could" came from behind to take home...

Photo by SusanJStickle.com (Canada's Belinda Trussell and Anton won the opening class in the WEF Dressage Classic, the FEI Grand Prix CDI***. ) The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) featured four disciplines in its tenth week of competition on March 17-21. The week featured the $75,000 Equine Couture/TuffRider Grand Prix CSI** and the WEF Dressage Classic, CDI***, along with a full schedule of hunter, jumper, and equitation classes. The week ten title sponsor was Equine...

Photo Courtesy FEI (Mara Dean and Nicki Henley) Mara Dean has become the first rider to post a winning score on the HSBC FEI World Cup™ Eventing leaderboard, following an emotional pillar-to-post victory in the Florida sunshine at the Red Hills International CIC***-W in Tallahassee, FL. Riding her veteran 15-year-old Irish-bred Nicky Henley, who was coming back into competition after sustaining a tendon injury at the 2007 Pan American Games, Virginia-based Dean held off the always serious...

Photo by Diana DeRosa The atmosphere at the fourth annual Bowling for Equestrians was electrifying. From the thunder of the bowling balls as they sped down the alleys to the misty fog that made the psychedelic lighting system sparkle. The game room was showered with kids testing their skills while young and old alike threw bowling balls down the alleys in hopes of a spare or strike. The fundraiser, which is the brainchild of the American Hunter-Jumper Foundation (AHJF), was held at Greenacres...