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...

Conor Swail and Viva Colombia (SEL Photography) Lexington, Ky. - The Split Rock Jumping Tour hit the mark in multiple ways this past weekend. With a mission to create an "unparalleled show jumping experience", the second event in Lexington, KY, was spectacular from the ground up. The intimate equestrian event was well-attended and received high praise. The first investment that Split Rock Jumping Tour founder and President Derek Braun made after the May event was in the footing. ESI stepped in...

Wayne, Ill. – The 2015 Markel/USEF Young & Developing Horse Dressage National Championships continued today with final tests that determined national champions across three divisions: Developing Horse Prix St. Georges, Four- and Five-Year-Olds. The developing horses performed the USEF Developing Horse Prix St. Georges Test, the five-year-olds performed the FEI Five-Year-Old Final Test, and the four-year-olds performed the USEF Four-Year-Old Test. In each division, 60% percent of...

Wayne, Ill. – Today, 29 combinations kicked off the 2015 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions presented by The Dutta Corp. at the Lamplight Equestrian Center with three tests: the FEI Young Rider Team Test, the FEI Junior Team Test, and the FEI Grand Prix 16-25 Test. FEI Young Rider Team Test It has been five years since Kerrigan Gluch (Wellington, Fla.) performed in a competition at Lamplight Equestrian Center when she appeared in the USEF Dressage Seat Medal Finals as a 13-year-old. She...

Wayne, Ill. – The 2015 Markel/USEF Young & Developing Horse Dressage National Championships got underway today at the Lamplight Equestrian Center with three preliminary tests: the USEF Four-Year-Old Test, the FEI Five-Year-Old Young Horse Preliminary Test, and the FEI Prix St. Georges Test. USEF Four-Year-Old Test Top-ranked Alice Tarjan (Frenchtown, N.J.) stole the show in the field of 13 as her own Danish Warmblood Tiko and Oldenburg Donatella M took first and second place,...

Lexington, Ky. - Another day of competition at the US Hunter Pony Championship presented by Sallee Horse Vans saw two more championship titles decided on Friday. Emma Kurtz and Truly Yours collected Medium Green Hunter Pony honors, while Augusta Iwasaki and Kingston were named the Large Green Hunter Pony Champions. Both championship divisions completed the Over Fences phase on Friday, earning the final 50% for their overall score, after receiving 25% from both the Model and Under Saddle phases...

Lexington, Ky. - The first championship titles of the US Hunter Pony Championship presented by Sallee Horse Vans were claimed Wednesday as the Large Regular Hunter Ponies and the Small Green Hunter Ponies completed their final phases of competition in the 2015 US Pony Finals at the Kentucky Horse Park. Taylor St. Jacques and Glynhafan Red Kestral earned top overall honors in the Large Regular Hunter Pony Championship, while Devin Seek and Woodlands Polar Bear received the Small Green Hunter...

Keirstin Johnsen and Hennepin (Photo by Sarah Latterner) North Salem, N.Y. – Old Salem Farm kicked off their Spring Horse Shows with Welcome Day on Sunday, May 3. Highlighting the schedule was The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.) $2,000 Low Thoroughbred Hunter Division and a full day of hunter, jumper and equitation competition. Welcome Day is a great start to the Spring Horse Shows, which run May 5-10 and May 12-17 featuring a full schedule of top competition. The T.I....

Lexington, Ky . – The jumping Team medal competitions were the event of the day in the Rolex Stadium at the 2014 Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North (NAJYRC), with the Endurance race covering the grounds of the Kentucky Horse Park and beyond. In the USHJA North American Junior and Young Riders’ Show Jumping Championship, Zone 3 won the Gold medal in the Young Rider division, while a combined team of Zones 1 and 9 claimed the...

Region 7 Young Rider Team Gold medalists (l to r): Anna Buffini, Cassidy Gallman, Catherine Chamberlain, and Lindsey Brewin (SusanJStickle.com Lexington, Ky. - The first day of competition at the 2014 Adequan FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships kicked off at the Kentucky Horse Park, with dressage riders taking to the Rolex Stadium. Region 7 and Region 1 proved unbeatable in the USDF/Platinum Performance North American Junior and Young Riders' Dressage Championship, as...