Dear US Equestrian Members, After much thought, I have decided that I will not run for a second term as US Equestrian President. The reason is simple: my professional circumstances have changed. While I am confident that I can successfully balance my leadership positions at both USEF and at Perrigo, a multi-national company, as its President and Chief Executive Officer for my final year as USEF President, I believe this would be difficult to sustain for the long term. Over the last three years,...

Custom Made and David O'Connor at the 2000 Olympic Games (Kit Houghton) Lexington, Ky. – Custom Made, a legendary U.S. event horse, was laid to rest on October 2 at the age of 34. Custom Made, the 17.1-hand Irish Sport Horse gelding (Bassompierre x Purple Heather/Ben Purple), was foaled in Ireland in 1985 and was imported to the U.S. in 1995 by owner Joseph Zada of Xandarius, LLC, to be a mount for David O’Connor. In their first year of partnership, “Tailor” and...

Lexington, Ky. – An accomplished group of rising talent will compete at the 2019 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals, beginning with the West Coast edition of the competition, taking place September 20-21 at Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. The East Coast edition will be held October 6-7 at the United States Equestrian Team Foundation headquarters in Gladstone, N.J. An essential building block in the U.S. Show Jumping Athlete Pathway,...

Calgary, AB, Canada – In a stunning performance, Beezie Madden (Cazenovia, N.Y.) rode Abigail Wexner’s Darry Lou, a 2008 Dutch Warmblood stallion, to win the largest prize money show jumping class in the world, the $3 Million CP ‘International’ Grand Prix, presented by Rolex, on September 8 at the Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ Tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Madden and Darry Lou were clear in round one to land in the top 12 to return for the second round....

Photo: Meg McGuire Photography North Salem, NY – Each of the United States Region 4 dressage team riders was competing in their first team championship as the team claimed gold in the United States Dressage Federation (USDF) North American Junior Dressage Team Championship at the Adequan® FEI North American Youth Championships (NAYC), presented by Gotham North, at Old Salem Farm in North Salem, NY. The Region 4 riders posted a combined score of 203.18 to take the gold over the U.S....

Givrins, Switzerland - The U.S. Reining Teams won two individual gold medals, an individual silver medal, and an individual bronze medal at the 2019 SVAG FEI Reining World Championships for Young Riders & Juniors. Raeanna Thayn, Sarah Armenta, and Emma Lane of the U.S. Junior Reining Team swept the medals in the junior individual final, earning gold, silver, and bronze, respectively. Cade McCutcheon of the U.S. Young Rider Reining Team claimed gold in the young rider individual final. More...

The FEI would like to warn the equestrian community regarding synephrine, a substance listed as a Banned Substance (Specified Substance*) on the Equine Prohibited Substances List. Note: Synephrine is also a banned substance under United States Equestrian Federation Drugs and Medications rules A high number of samples taken from horses under the Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Programme have tested positive for the substance. Although investigations into the sources of the positive...

Washington, DC – Time To Ride ® , a program of the American Horse Council’s Marketing Alliance, is now accepting applications for its 2019 pilot program. The new Time To Ride program is designed to introduce school-age children to horseback riding and horse care in a safe, welcoming environment. The goal is to familiarize school-age children with horses through an initial series of lessons that include basic horse care as well as riding. Equine facilities and instructors must...

Raeford, N.C. – Three advanced pony combined driving national championship titles are up for grabs at the Southern Pines Combined Driving Event (CDE) running April 12-14. With the competition serving as one of the selection trials for the 2019 FEI World Driving Championships for Ponies, the driving athletes aim to display a strong performance while vying for national championship honors. Jennifer Keeler and Amazing Grace, the 2018 USEF Advanced Single Pony Combined Driving National...

Beezie Madden and Breitling LS (Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photo) Gothenburg, Sweden – The battle for Jumping World Cup champion continued on Sunday with the final two rounds in Final III of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final. In a tight race to the finish, the top ten competitors entered the arena with less than six penalties separating them from the top position. In the end, it would be Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat and Martin Fuchs going one-two, with Sweden’s...