Kassie Barteau Thanks Toscano (SusanJStickle.com) Gladstone, NJ – The 2010 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions got off to a flying start on Friday afternoon as the Intermediaire I National Championship kicked off a competitive two weekends featuring the best dressage riders in the United States. Highlighted by the National Grand Prix Dressage Championship which is also serving as the USEF Selection Trial for Dressage for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, these...

Horse Shows by the Bay Series II concluded on Sunday afternoon with the week's highlight event, the $30,000 Grand Traverse Bay Grand Prix. Spectators from all over the region came out to the beautiful Flintfields Horse Park Sunday afternoon to enjoy the beautiful weather and watch some of the country's best compete at the highest level of show jumping competition. Twenty-six entries showed over the difficult course set by Brazil's Guilherme Jorge, and it was Scott Lenkart and Impulsive that...

Photo by Emily Daily (Karen O'Connor and Mandiba after their victory.) The standings shifted radically beneath Karen O'Connor's feet Sunday afternoon during the show jumping phase of the Adequan United States Eventing Association (USEA) Gold Cup CIC***W division at The Event at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell, MT. Aboard Joan Goswell's Mandiba, the pair stood strong and posted a double-clear round in the stadium to decisively retain victory. "For me, today was great," O'Connor said. "I rode him early...

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...

Photo by James Leslie Parker (Georgina Bloomberg and Metropolitan jump to victory in the the $75,000 Empire State Grand Prix.) The two weeks of world-class equestrian competition held at the Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows attracted crowds of spectators eager to watch many of the nation's best horses and riders in action. Impeccably groomed horses, stylish and talented riders and the pristine facilities at Old Salem Farm all merged together to make the Spring Horse Shows two of the best weeks...

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...

The second Gold Coast show of the season ran April 9-11 at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, giving the chance for everyone from beginners to seasoned competitors a chance to compete and have some great fun and keen competition. Carolyn Biava of First Field Farm and her crew had a great show, garnering numerous ribbons and several championships to boot. However, perhaps her biggest success story for this show had nothing to do with ribbons. Biava’s student, Dale Winters, suffered a brain...