It takes years and a full team effort to develop a horse to the top level of equestrian sport— with riders, owners, grooms, coaches, and many more focusing on giving a horse the best chance at success. This process was true for Mai Baum, known as Lexus, on his road to winning the 2023 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian™ CCI5*-L with Tamie Smith in the irons. Smith remembered seeing Lexus, a 2006 German Sport Horse gelding owned by Alexandra...

Megan “Meg” Kepferle of Long Valley, N.J., was a longtime groom for Sinead Maynard (née Halpin) before starting her own business and pursuing her own riding goals. Kepferle groomed multiple times for Maynard at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian™, and she made her riding debut at the 2023 event in the CCI4*-S with Anakin, Rogue Won Syndicate LLC’s 2009 Thoroughbred gelding. When asked about her favorite memory grooming at the...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce the coaching team for the 2023 FEI Vaulting World Championships for Young Vaulters and Juniors , which will take place July 26-30 in Flyinge, Sweden. Emma Seely has been named Chef d’Equipe and Kimberly Wellmann will be the Assistant Chef d’Equipe. Emma Seely Seely is the founder and head coach of the Mt. Eden Vaulting Club in Saratoga, Calif. She has more than four decades of experience as a coach in the sport of vaulting,...

Lexington, Ky. -- Kevin Freeman was a renowned and distinguished equestrian in the United States, competing in three different Olympic Games for the U.S. Eventing Team. Freeman was born in Portland, Ore., in 1941 and grew up riding on the west coast before attending Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. He received his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia, Pa., before beginning his professional riding career in California after his graduation....

Wellington, Fla. - The FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ USA CDIO3* and CDIOU25 wrapped up with more honors for U.S. combinations on Sunday at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival. The Dutta Corp. U.S. Dressage Team combinations Christian Simonson and Son of a Lady and Charlotte Jorst and Zhaplin Langholt won gold and silver, respectively, in the FEI Intermediate I Freestyle. Simonson and Son of a Lady finished on a score of 78.445 percent while Jorst and Zhaplin Langholt scored a 76.205, both of...

Jane Hamlin My journey as a judge has led me from northern New England all around the world, including judging at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. It’s been an exciting ride starting when two friends and I traveled down monthly to the New England Dressage Association dressage judges’ program. This was prior to the USDF “L” program. We had the good fortune to spend a weekend a month for nine months learning from different judges before taking our final exam to become a...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian (USEF) announces the appointment of Robert (Bobby) Costello as Eventing Technical Advisor/Chef d’Equipe effective today, November 1, 2022. Costello first became involved in the discipline of Eventing in the 1970s and has enjoyed a successful career as a competitor and coach for over 30 years. Costello and Chevalier competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, earning an individual eighth place. On the sport governance front, Costello has held numerous...

Dublin, Ireland – The NetJets U.S. Jumping Team made consistent improvements over the course of two rounds to finish sixth in the FEI Jumping Nations Cup of Ireland hosted at the Dublin Horse Show. The team saw three combinations produce clears in their second effort around the massive grass arena - a testament to the team’s ability to adjust and improve with each round. The team finished on a total of 20 faults carried over from the first round, adding nothing to their score in the...

Children’s and Pre-Junior competitors took to the podium for the first time during team competition on Thursday at the Gotham North FEI North American Youth Championships for Jumping, presented by USHJA. Canada took the top spot on the first podium of the day, claiming gold in the Children’s Team Competition for teammates Taylor Wood, Livia Martin, Tristan Tobin, and Mathilde Candele. In the Pre-Junior division, Zone 7 claimed the top honors with Campbell Brown (Fayetteville, Ark.),...

Neue Schule/USEF Junior Jumper Individual National Championship podium: gold to Hannah Hoch (center), silver to Natalie Jayne (left), and bronze to Taylor Kraft (right) (Andrew Ryback Photography) Harrisburg, Pa. – The Neue Schule/USEF Junior Jumper National Championships came to its conclusion on Saturday evening with the individual medals determined by a solid, technical track designed by Manuel Esparza (MEX). Twenty-three combinations returned for Phase III, the $10,000 Neue...