Photo by Howard Schatzberg (Jessica Moctezuma on CH A Magic Surprise.) Lexington, KY –The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) announces that Jessica Moctezuma has been selected as the USEF Junior Equestrian of the Year. Moctezuma will be honored during the USEF’s Annual Meeting, January 14-18, 2009 in Cincinnati, OH, as part of the Pegasus Awards held Saturday evening. The Ruth O’Keefe Meredith Trophy was established in 1985 to honor a junior equestrian who has made...

Wilbur "Sug" Utz, American Saddlebred trainer and owner of Blue Ridge Stables in Raytown, MO, died Wednesday, November 5, 2008. He was 90 years old. Sug, son of Emil and Sudie Utz, was born and raised on a farm outside Maysville in northwest Missouri. Coming from a horse training family, Sug learned his craft at his father’s side, along with his three brothers. Two of his brothers, Don and Jay, similar to Sug, went on to become world’s champion caliber Saddlebred men. They were all exciting...

Courtesy AHA Pictures/Amy Train (Five-time Arabian Park Horse Champion Aequus+// was retired at the age of 20.) The 42nd annual U.S. National Arabian and Half-Arabian Championship Horse Show (U.S. Nationals) made its debut in Tulsa, OK, at Expo Square, October 17-25. A total of 1,889 horses were entered in the show that provided 125 classes across a variety of disciplines that included reining, cutting, working cow, trail, mounted native costume, pleasure driving, show hack, halter, sidesaddle,...

A crowd favorite at the 2008 Road to the Horse, Tommy Garland will return in 2009 applying his CPR method in his quest to win this prestigious competition. Garland's method is all about confidence, patience and respect when working with and training horses. Garland is considered one of the best trainers and showmen in the world of Arabians and Half-Arabians and was named the Western Pleasure Trainer of the Year in 2002 by the Arabian Professionals and Amateur Horseman's Association. When he...

Three Phase Event, Inc., hosted it’s first Training, Education and Development (T.E.D.) clinic on dressage for gaited horses and riders, September 5, at the Kentucky Equestrian Center, in Winchester, KY. The full-day schedule included a lecture/demonstration and a full afternoon of dressage tests. The clinician, Betty Ortlieb, a United States Dressage Federation judge, presided over the event and was warmly welcomed by all who attended. During the morning session, two riders demonstrated some...

The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) is pleased to announce that Laura Noyes and her Trakehner gelding, Syncro, were awarded this year’s Fiona Baan Pursuit of Excellence Memorial Trophy. Noyes is originally from Falmouth, ME, but now lives in Delaware, OH, where she is a student at Ohio Wesleyan University and trains with George Williams. When asked how she felt about being awarded this prestigious trophy Noyes exclaimed, “Winning the Fiona Baan trophy is more than I ever expected of my...

Jimmy Torano of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, topped the $10,000 Open Jumper High Score Awards, presented by Sir Ruly, Inc., at the six-week Vermont Summer Festival held July 9-August 17 in East Dorset, VT. Offered for the second year, the $10,000 Open Jumper High Score Awards, presented by Sir Ruly, Inc., awards $10,000 in bonus money to the most consistent open jumper competitors throughout the six-week circuit. For the second year in a row, it was Torano who came out on top. Torano is one of the...

Grand prix dressage rider Suzanne Dansby Bollman has returned to the FEI arena with her equine partner Cooper with great success. Bollman is a top international competitor that has been long- or short-listed with the USET for seven consecutive years. Cooper and Bollman have accumulated many impressive wins in their six years together. Two years ago, the pair was the U.S. team alternate at the FEI World Equestrian Games in Germany. This summer, Bollman and Cooper competed for the first time in...

The human and animal kingdoms may be enjoying a quiet summer/winter weekend, depending on the hemisphere, but it is a key one for the horses taking part in the equestrian events of the 2008 Olympic Games. On Friday, July 25, the first horses left from Europe (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and the United States (Atlanta, GA) on three flights to Hong Kong. All 33 horses—coming from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Korea, The Netherlands, and Switzerland—accompanied by 15 attendants...

Twenty-five national and state-based equine protection, placement and rescue organizations gathered Tuesday for the second Homes for Horses Coalition Conference to discuss the re-homing of at-risk horses in America. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the Animal Welfare Institute jointly sponsored the conference. The coalition, formed in 2007, is dedicated to ending horse slaughter and other forms of equine abuse while promoting growth, collaboration and professionalism in the...