Adrienne Lyle and Wizard at the 2008 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions (Amy McCool) Weekly Updates from the USEF High Performance Programs: Dressage: In the dressage world, sweeps were the order of the weekend. American Tina Konyot rode her own Calecto V to a determined performance in the Grand Prix for the Freestyle on Saturday; they were the only pair to break the 70% barrier – scoring 70.596%. Pierre St. Jacques was second with Lucky Tiger. Konyot then won the Grand...

At least half a dozen U.S. riders aiming to represent the United States at the 2010 Eventing World Championships will launch their selection bids at the Galway Downs International Horse Trials on March 26-28. The CIC*** at Galway Downs will be a vitally important preparation event for these riders as they head for the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** in late April, the primary U.S. selection trial for the Eventing World Championships. Several Canadian World Championship candidates are also expected to...

The American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA) convention will honor Saddlebred Stars of Saddle Seat Equitation in a unique setting on Friday evening, February 19. The Lexington Country Club on historic Paris Pike will be the site of the Cocktail Buffet beginning at 6 p.m. Friday. The new event was made possible this year when ongoing construction of the newly expanded Saddlebred Showcase at the American Saddlebred Museum in the Kentucky Horse Park prevented the usual Museum reception that...

Photo by Robbi Meisel (Aaron Vale and Platinum) The $25,000 Jacksonville A-Z Grand Prix sponsored by North Florida Hunter Jumper Association on January 30 closed out Week IV of competition with one of the most successful riders in show jumping, Aaron Vale, adding another win to his illustrious career. After a week of observation, course designer Allen Rheinheimer put all he learned about the starting field into a lengthy and technical 13 obstacle-16 effort test with a time allowance of 96 tight...

Photo by Ken Braddick (A frisky Satchmo with rider Isabell Werth during the vet check.) All 16 horses that were presented for veterinary inspection were passed Wednesday to start in the €100,000 (US$138,000) Exquis World Dressage Masters at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. Three German combinations, three Dutch, six from the U.S., three from Canada and one pair from Denmark will perform in the €10,000 (US$14,000) Nürnberger Versicherungsgruppe Grand Prix at 1 p.m. It is the only...

Photo by Susan J. Stickle (Todd Flettrich and Otto.) Dressage trainer Todd Flettrich and his mount Otto, owned by Cherry Knoll Farm, had an exciting victory in Friday afternoon's FEI Grand Prix de Dressage at the Gold Coast Opener Festival in Wellington, FL. Competing in the main arena at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center, Flettrich and Otto completed their Grand Prix test with a score of 67.8% for the overall victory, and qualified to compete in Saturday's Grand Prix Special following the win....

Photo by Kenneth Kraus/PhelpsSports.com (Chris Kappler won his third Budweiser American Invitational title in 2009.) Stadium Jumping, Inc., one of the nation's leading horse show production companies, is pleased to announce the official dates of the 2010 Tampa Equestrian Festival and 38th Annual $200,000 Gene Mische American Invitational. The world's top equestrians will come together for three weeks of competition, held from March 24-April 10, 2010, at the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center at the...

PF Chief Runnin Bear and Paint racing sensation Got Country Grip were named the American Paint Horse Association’s (APHA) Running World Champions for 2009. The Regular Registry and Solid Paint-Bred world champions, respectively, and 16 other Running Champions were announced January 16 at the Heritage Place sale in Oklahoma City. Running Champion awards, presented annually, are given to Paint Horses that demonstrate outstanding athleticism on the racetrack. Selection is based on their level of...

Expanding the horse-owning population in Kentucky is important to the Kentucky Horse Council (KHC). Through education, the member-based non-profit encourages responsible horse ownership and management practices to build a strong and vibrant equine community. The Kentucky Horse Council is no stranger to educating new horse owners. In 2009 they released HorseSmarts: Essential Advice for Today's Horse Owner , an award winning DVD. The 60-minute video, which was shown on KET last summer and fall,...

2009 USEF Farnam/Platform Horse of the Year (Shannon Brinkman/USEF Archives) Louisville, KY – Annually, five of the USEF’s 130,000 registered horses achieve so much in a year that they are named USEF Horses of Honor and enter the running for the title of Farnam®/Platform™ Horse of the Year. In 2009 all five of these horses were nothing short of remarkable. But one forever changed the face of his sport, and with that, Ravel was voted the 2009 USEF Farnam®/Platform™ Horse of the Year. It began in...