Chris Pratt and Cruise winning the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix (ESI Photography) Thermal, Calif. - Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix kicked off grand prix competition at Desert Circuit II, with 35 riders and horses eager to start the weekend with a win. The time allowed was the challenge of the day, with five clearing the course with no rails down, but only two doing so within the 84 second time allowed. Only Chris Pratt of Lake View Terrace, California, and Michelle Parker of San...

Peter Petschenig and Saint Quentin (McCool) Las Vegas, N.V. - With a successful second season, the Markel Insurance 1.40m Grand Prix Series awarded over $300,000 in prize money from March through September this year. Adding a percentage of each entry from the 13 qualifiers, the purse for Thursday evening's Series Final at The Las Vegas National was over $53,000. After eight pairs rode the first round without fault, it was Austrian Peter Petschenig aboard Saint Quentin who rode the fastest...

Toronto, Ontario – McLain Ward of the United States scored his third consecutive victory in the $132,000 Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Toronto on Wednesday, November 11, at the Royal Horse Show®, h Mclain Ward of the United States and HH Azur jumped to victory in the $132,000 Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Toronto on Wenesday, November 11 at the Royal Horse Show®. Photo by Ben Radvanyi Photography, www.benradvanyi.com eld as part of The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in...

Most competitors dread having to be the first rider to enter the arena in any class, let alone the first rider down the centerline on Day One of national championship competition First in the ring, Rachael Hicks & Fabio Bellini set the standard for the rest of the class and won the Intermediate I Adult Amateur Championship. Photo by Susan J. Stickle at the US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®, a unique national head-to-head competition being for exhibitors of all levels held...

Scott Stewart and Catch Me (Phelps Media Group) Lexington, Ky. - No one has won the Leading Hunter Rider title at the CP National Horse Show more than Scott Stewart, and on Wednesday at the Kentucky Horse Park he did it again. Stewart rode to division championships in the First Year Green Hunters, the Green Conformation Hunters, the Regular Conformation Hunters and the High Performance Hunters before also claiming the Grand Hunter Championship and Leading Hunter Rider titles. "I have some age...

Elkton, Md. – The quest for National Championship titles got underway this week with two days of dressage at The Dutta Corp. Fair Hill International. Athletes from 24 states performed their tests as part of The Dutta Corp./USEF Three- and Two-Star Eventing National Championships. Tamra Smith and Mai Baum currently lead the CCI3* with a score of 38.5 while Will Coleman and Tight Lines sit atop the CCI2* leaderboard on a score of 42.5. Tamra Smith and Mai Baum (Shannon Brinkman Photo)...

Jonathan McCrea and Special Lux (SEL Photography) Lexington, Ky. - On a picture-perfect Fall day in Lexington, the Split Rock Jumping Tour welcomed 36 horse and rider combinations in the $100,000 CSI3* Grand Prix, presented by Split Rock Farm, with five making it to the jump-off. Some of the sport's top international athletes competed today, attracting a great local crowd. Jonathan McCrea and Candy Tribble's Special Lux were the only double clean and took the top prize. Anthony...

Richie Moloney and Carrabis Z. (The Book) North Salem, N.Y. - With the only double clear effort of the day, the saying "luck of the Irish" rang true for Richie Moloney as he galloped home with the $215,000 Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping New York victory at the American Gold Cup. The Irish native bested a six-horse jump-off with his careful mount Carrabis Z, opting for a slower round, they were the only pair to leave all the rails intact. "It was great to win here today," smiled Moloney....

Jennifer Alfano and Candid claimed the Grand Hunter Championship on Thursday. (SEL Photography) Buffalo, N.Y. - Candid is no stranger to the impressive indoor arena at the Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center (BTRC). The 7-year-old Holsteiner gelding, owned and ridden by Jennifer Alfano, resides there at SBS Farms, and this week at the Buffalo International Horse Show, he showed that he was every bit at home in the ring. The 69th Annual Buffalo International Horse Show kicked off on Wednesday with...

The EQUUS Foundation was born from the belief that the bond between horses and humans is very powerful and the realization that the impact of horses multiplies ten-fold for those with special needs. Riding makes me feel free . . . Horses help people walk, talk, connect, focus, behave, and learn. Engaging with horses helps people learn the meaning of trust and the value of partnership. Horses encourage people to live life as productively and independently as possible. Raising the bar for the...