The qualifying season is now under way for the 2009 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF National Dressage Championships for the Junior, Young Rider, and Young Adult “Brentina Cup” divisions. Selection procedures and qualifying competition lists are now available on the National Dressage Page of USEF.org. Please note the age range for the USEF Young Adult “Brentina Cup” division has been expanded for 2009. Riders between the ages of 20 and 28 years old are now eligible to participate in this program. For...

The American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA) has announced plans for its upcoming live video streaming Internet webcasts for August and September, following its very well-received Lexington Junior League webcast in early July. According to Will Wood, Technology Manager, the ASHA will again offer live Internet coverage of all events at the Kentucky State Fair’s World’s Championship Horse Show from Freedom Hall in Louisville, KY, from Sunday evening, August 17, through World’s Grand...

Lexington, KY - The USEF is currently accepting bids for facilities to host the 2009 and/or 2010 National Reining Championships. These are very important years for the high-performance reining programs as the United States prepares to host the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games for the first time in 2010. The National Reining Championships includes: The USEF National Open Reining Championship, USEF National Youth Reining Championship (13 & Under, 14-18 and 19 -21) and the USEF National CRI*...

Dressage judge Betsy Berrey was the featured speaker at this month's Shop Talk. Michelle Hundt and Betsy Rebar-Sell, co-owners of Sho Clothes, hosted the third in a series of monthly discussions at the Sho Room in Wellington, FL. The Gold Coast Dressage Association (GCDA) co-sponsors the event with Sho Clothes to provide local equestrians the opportunity to learn from top professionals in the area. Betsy Berrey is a well-respected "S" judge who often officiates at dressage shows on the winter...

Lexington, KY- The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has approved the following horse/rider combinations for the U.S. Reining Team for the 2008 FEI World Reining Championship in Manerbio, Italy September 11-14: The horse/ rider combinations are as follows: Rider/Age/Hometown/Horse/Age/ Breed / Sex / Owner Craig Schmersal / 35 / Overbrook, OK / Mr Dual Rey / 8 / Quarter Horse / Stallion / Holly Casey Jordan Larson / 26 / Whitesboro, TX / Lena Gallo / 8 / Quarter Horse / Stallion / Lapke...

NBC Universal will be airing 3,600 hours of coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, including the equestrian events, which will be taking place in Hong Kong. This total amount of coverage will be more than the hours of coverage for all the Olympic Games since 1960 Rome combined. All broadcasts will also be in high definition. The schedule is as follows: Date: Program—Time (EST) on Channel Aug. 9: 3-Day: Dressage—2:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. on USA Aug. 11: 3-Day: Cross- Country— 6:00pm-8:00pm OXYGEN...

The 32nd Annual National Youth Horse Leaders Symposium, presented by the American Youth Horse Council (AYHC), will be held on March 27-29, 2009 in Lincoln, NE. The University of Nebraska will host the event. The 2009 event will boast more than two-dozen internationally and nationally respected presenters assembled to share their keys to successful youth horse programming and horse management. Attendees will find resources, referrals, and networking to improve their ability to help connect kids...

David O’Connor, President of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), Olympic Gold medalist, Pam American Games and World Equestrian Games medalist, has been elected to the Board of Trustees of the American Horse Council (AHC). In 2004, O’Connor officially retired from international competition and was elected as president of USEF for the 2005-2009 term, and has now been re-elected for another four-year term. As president, he works closely with the FEI, the international governing body...

The United States Equestrian Federation’s Board of Directors held its annual mid-year meeting on June 24 at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington, KY. Several important decisions regarding the immediate future of the Federation’s governance were addressed, as well as important and exciting marketing initiatives and the designation of the first horse show to receive the new “Heritage” designation. Current President David O’Connor was re-elected for a second four-year term....

Continuing their success from 2008, the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Youth Council will host the 2nd Annual USEF Youth Convention in Cincinnati, OH, as part of the USEF Annual Meeting. On Saturday, January 17, 2009, hundreds of youth athletes from the Federation’s 28 breed and discipline backgrounds will come together to participate in a day-long convention culminating with a dinner and dance for convention attendees and USEF Youth Sportsman’s Award finalists. The 2009 Youth...