54th Annual Washington International Horse Show Hosts Opening Day with Professional and Amateur-Owner Hunters Washington, D.C. – The 54th Annual Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) hosted its opening day on Tuesday, October 23, with a full day of hunter competition at Verizon Center in downtown Washington, D.C. The professional and amateur-owner riders showed throughout the day in the first classes of their divisions and conclude their competition for championship honors on...

Lexington, KY - Competitors from across the United States are at the Kentucky Horse Park to take part in the USEF National One-Star Eventing Championships this weekend. The championships are held as part of the Hagyard Midsouth Three-Day Event & Team Challenge October 18-21. Nineteen U.S. competitors are ready to take part in the CCI1* with all horses passing the first horse inspection. Valerie Vizcarrondo (Harwood, MD) and Fernhill Whatever are coming off of a third place finish in the...

The seventeenth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder Last weekend we attended the second Western Dressage classes held here in the Inland Northwest. We rode the NAWD tests through Level 4. The tests are wonderful and the dressage spectators were very interested in how the WD tests are both similar and different from the USEF tests ridden in the USDF shows. The judge was super and even though the day was very long for her, very positive about the work saying "I enjoyed judging...

Upper Marlboro, MD - The 2012 Capital Challenge Horse Show has concluded, with this year's show honoring the best horses and riders in the country. Show managers Oliver Kennedy and Billy Glass were proud to host one of the best competitions in the nation and thank their sponsors, exhibitors, and staff. In its 19th year, the Capital Challenge Horse Show sets itself apart with a distinct and unique focus on preeminent hunter competition. WCHR Professional Challenge In the $25,000 WCHR...

Jacob Pope, riding Uno, was the winner of the 2012 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals East (Parker/Russell - The Book LLC) Gladstone, NJ - The country's top young riders were on display Sunday during the 2012 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals East. Leading an exceptional group of 92 entries, 17-year-old Jacob Pope of Columbia, MD scored an exciting victory during the prestigious event at the USET Foundation Headquarters in Gladstone, NJ....

The sixteenth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder In an attempt to acknowledge the current diversity within the discipline, show organizers have started offering exhibitors the opportunity to ride ANY test they want to ride, from any organization that has published tests. A buffet of western dressage is now available with something for everyone. The show organizers want to meet the needs of the competitors and in so doing really have taken the first step toward acceptance and...

Hunter Chancellor is a 17-year-old junior at Mater Del High School from Evansville, Indiana. She is ranked third in her class and has a 3.99 GPA. Hunter is on the five-gaited section of the 2012 U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup Team. People always ask me at what age I started riding horses. I guess the true answer is, “since before I was born.” My mom showed American Saddlebreds long before I was around, and continued to ride in the early stages of her pregnancy. Not only did my mom show...

Victoria Colvin and Ovation. (Shawn McMillen Photography) Upper Marlboro, MD – The Capital Challenge Horse Show wrapped up another year of fantastic competition today and finished with younger junior and children's hunters. Victoria Colvin rode two horses owned by Dr. Betsee Parker – Way Cool and Ovation – to the Grand Junior Hunter Championship sponsored by Lochmoor Stables/Mindy and Greg Darst, while the Grand Children's Hunter Championship was also a tie between...

Woodside, CA - James Alliston survived a bittersweet day at the Woodside International Horse Trials, presented by Equine Insurance of California and Professional’s Choice. It was a day of both exciting victory and disconcerting defeat for him. Alliston, of Castro Valley, Calif., did win the CIC3*, but with Tivoli (52.6), not with Jumbo’s Jake, the horse who’d been leading after the first day’s dressage and show jumping. And he also won the CIC2* on Mojo. Jolie Wentworth...

Upper Marlboro, MD - Scott Stewart started out his day by winning in his first division with Enjoy, owned by Rose Hill Farm. Enjoy, a six-year-old Holsteiner gelding by Cassiano, won three classes and was second in the under saddle to win the championship in the First Year Green Working Hunter Section A, sponsored by PJP Farm. The reserve champion was Lapis, ridden by Holly Orlando for Missy Luczak Smith. They placed first, second, and third over fences and third in the under saddle. Stewart...