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...

Rich Fellers and Flexible Lead the Way (Rebecca Walton/Phelps Media Group) Lexington, KY – American Rich Fellers held nothing back and continued to prove the US domination in the Palexpo Arena at the 2010 Rolex/FEI World Cup Final. Riding Flexible, Fellers (Wilsonville, OR) had the fastest round of the day to take the lead after the first leg of the 2010 Final. Flexible crossed the finish line ½ second faster than teammate (and 2009 runner-up) Sapphire, ridden by McLain Ward. Owned by Mollie...

The Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix has been the talk of the town this winter as the excitement amongst the world's top riders is on the rise in anticipation of qualifying for this unprecedented event. Over the course of the HITS Winter Circuits, 159 top Grand Prix riders took advantage of 35 HITS Pfizer Million Qualifiers as they vied for $1.5 million in prize money and one of 40 coveted slots on the Pfizer Million Eligible Rider Rankings List. The Winter Circuits in Thermal and Ocala produced 45...

Photo by Erica Larson (Hannah Sue Burnett and St. Barths) It was a nail biter to the end at the Fork Horse Trials this weekend as the United States Eventing Association (USEA)/Adequan Gold Cup Advanced division and the CIC*** wrapped up with show jumping. Neither overnight leader was able to hold on to their lead, and even the winners were pleasantly surprised with the outcome of the competition. In the USEA/Adequan Gold Cup division, the "little horse that could" came from behind to take home...

Photo by SusanJStickle.com (Canada's Belinda Trussell and Anton won the opening class in the WEF Dressage Classic, the FEI Grand Prix CDI***. ) The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) featured four disciplines in its tenth week of competition on March 17-21. The week featured the $75,000 Equine Couture/TuffRider Grand Prix CSI** and the WEF Dressage Classic, CDI***, along with a full schedule of hunter, jumper, and equitation classes. The week ten title sponsor was Equine...

Photo Courtesy FEI (Mara Dean and Nicki Henley) Mara Dean has become the first rider to post a winning score on the HSBC FEI World Cup™ Eventing leaderboard, following an emotional pillar-to-post victory in the Florida sunshine at the Red Hills International CIC***-W in Tallahassee, FL. Riding her veteran 15-year-old Irish-bred Nicky Henley, who was coming back into competition after sustaining a tendon injury at the 2007 Pan American Games, Virginia-based Dean held off the always serious...

Randi Muster/Mustphoto, Inc. (Richard Spooner and Cristallo) Wellington, FL – The test of endurance which serves as the USEF Selection Trials for the US Show Jumping Team for the Alltech 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games continued with the fourth round of jumping in the International Arena at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. Twenty-six American horses jumped in the penultimate Trial and clear rounds continued to prove very valuable. There were four clear rounds and three that added...