Dear All, I have writers block and am not able to let my fingers dance upon the keyboard and compose a literary repartee of what has happened over the last few days. So, bing bong here you go in bullet and pictorial format: • Left Rio • Arrived in New Jersey • Gas (Petrol) tank on empty • In tray akin to Kangchenjunga but could have been K2 or, heaven forbid, The Big E. • In tray ignored • Spent weekend planting shrubs on 80 degree bank at back of house (could be...

Rio 2016 continue to mess up a perfectly functional transport system, U.S. Dressage rider hits another Personal Best, and the Jumping horses have started leaping. All is good in Rio. The transport (to be more precise the Drop Off / Pick Up) debacle would be comical if it wasn’t so disruptive to everything that we (and other Nations) have been doing for the last two weeks. To then be told that it was our fault and that we, the Teams, were disobeying the rules was insulting and insane....

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Excitement filled the air as the final day of dressage got underway at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Deodoro Olympic Equestrian Center on Monday. The top 18 competitors from eight nations competed in the Grand Prix Freestyle, the deciding competition for the Individual medals. Only three athletes from each nation were eligible to compete. After winning the Bronze medal with teammate Kasey Perry-Glass on Friday, Steffen Peters, Alison Brock, and Laura Graves entered...

Lexington, Ky. – A week of competition at the 2016 US Pony Finals presented by Collecting Gaits Farm came to a close Sunday with the most coveted award of the championship. The Marshall & Sterling/US Pony Medal Finals took place in the Alltech Arena with 182 riders vying for top honors in front of judges Scott Hofstetter and Jack Towell. Following excellent performances through the day, Caroline Passarelli earned the Marshall & Sterling/US Pony Medal Finals title. Caroline...

Lexington, Ky. – The Team Championship of the US Pony Jumper National Championships took place Friday evening in the Alltech Arena as teams competed in the two-round Nations Cup format. Following the first round, the top teams came back to jump the same Jasen Shelley-designed course in round two, with a total of 32 combinations jumping for individual classification. For the 2016 US Pony Finals presented by Collecting Gaits Farm, the Zones 5/6 team stood atop the podium. The team,...

Andrew Kocher and Zantos II (Tom von kap-Herr) Bromont, Quebec - Andrew Kocher added another victory to his collection on July 30, with a win in the Modified Grand Prix as he made it clear, in the last two weeks, that he was a fierce competitor at the 2016 International Bromont. Eight Pairs Make Jump-Off The demanding course, designed by Guilherme Jorge, proved to be a challenge for the 31 horse and rider combinations who competed in the class. Eight riders brought their horses to the jump-off,...

Dublin, Ireland – The United States overcame immense pressure to tie with Sweden for the Bronze medal at the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ presented by Longines at CSIO5* Dublin, Ireland today. The Hermès Show Jumping Team of Georgina Bloomberg, Lauren Hough, Laura Kraut, and Jessica Springsteen battled a tough field to extend its podium success in Nations Cup competition. In an intense jump-off, Italy went clear to snatch the Gold medal on zero faults from the home team of...

Aachen, Germany – Members of the U.S. Olympic Show Jumping Team performed in the Mercedes-Benz Nations Cup at CHIO Aachen Thursday, which served as their final Nations Cup competition prior to the Rio Olympic Games. Led by Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland, the Hermès U.S. Show Jumping Team of Lucy Davis, Laura Kraut, Beezie Madden, and McLain Ward put in valiant efforts in a very competitive field to tie with France for the Silver medal on four faults. Germany won the Gold medal...

Brooke Kemper and Classified. (Andrew Ellis) Lexington, Va. - An impressive crowd of over 1,000 spectators turned out Saturday night to see Virginian Brooke Kemper and her own Classified, a 12-year-old Holsteiner Thoroughbred gelding, take home the win in the $25,000 Grand Prix of Roanoke. The evening class was the highlight of the show that this year found a new home at the Virginia Horse Center. Kemper bested a field of 11 in the Grand Prix, emerging victorious after a four-horse jump off....

Josephina Nor Lantzman and Chello Z (McCool) San Juan Capistrano, CA - As the temperature soared in Southern California, so did the four entries who battled it out in the jump-off of the $30,000 June Classic II Grand Prix, presented by ACE Equestrian. Congratulations go to Josephina Nor Lantzman and her own Chello Z, who, despite the heat, were blazing hot for the win. FEI Course Designer Mauricio Garcia of Puerto Rico designed a tough track for the highlight class of twenty-six entries....