The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) has announced a strategic plan to re-align the NRHA, creating a National Governing Body for reining affiliates and its members in the United States. This new affiliate organization is currently named Reining USA. The worldwide governing body for reining will remain under the name NRHA. This strategic plan, endorsed by the NRHA Executive Board, was presented on February 16, to the attendees of the NRHA Annual Convention in St. Louis, MO. A final vote...

The American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA) and American Saddlebred Registry, which conduct their annual convention this week in Lexington, KY, announced results for the year ending December 31, 2006. On a combined basis, net income for the two corporations rose 15.5% to an all-time high of $194,166, from last year’s $168,146, the previous high. Combined revenues increased over $180,000, to $2,109,443, net of the Registry’s gross revenues for prize programs, as well as unrealized gains on...

Stadium Jumping, Inc., hosted a meeting in The Jockey Club at the Winter Equestrian Festival show grounds on January 4 to discuss the Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1) outbreak. Approximately 500 concerned horsemen attended and many pertinent questions were asked of the panel. Dr. Doug Byars, former head of Internal Medicine at Hagyard-Davidson-McGee Associates in Lexington, KY, was brought in to monitor the progress and process in which the EHV-1 is being handled in Wellington. Dr. Byars is...

The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation awarded a $2 million grant to the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) in November 2006 in support of the organization’s eight High Performance programs. The High Performance disciplines are dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, reining, para-equestrian, show jumping, and vaulting. USET Foundation funding provided support, in whole or in part, for High Performance athletes to participate in both national and international events in...

The American Horse Council’s 2006 Horse Owners and Breeders Tax Handbook is a 1,000-page guide for horse owners and breeders, which explains the Internal Revenue Code as it pertains to the U.S. horse industry. Horse owners and breeders have invested a lot of time and money into their businesses. This effort should be protected through tax season. No one commercially involved with the horse industry can afford to be without this handbook. “There is an old saying that in life there are only two...

The December 27 and 28 clinic with Nona Garson at The Ridge Farm has been delayed until current quarantines are lifted and conditions are rendered safe in Wellington, FL, due to the recent outbreak of the Equine Herpes Virus-1 (EHV-1). The illness has temporarily halted the local equestrian community. Garson, a 2000 Olympic veteran, teaches several clinics each year at her farms in New Jersey and Florida, and although all horses on her farms are “healthy and safe,” she has decided to postpone...

This past weekend, the Capital Challenge Horse Show in Upper Marlboro, MD, held the Monarch International’s Show Circuit Magazine Professional World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) finals. The WCHR National Awards program recognizes the top professional, junior, adult amateur, pony and amateur riders through points accumulated throughout the year at the rider’s top four WCHR shows. The top six riders from each region and the top 10 riders in the standings are then invited to compete directly...

It’s time for the 13th annual Capital Challenge Horse Show, held in Upper Marlboro, MD. As one of the show’s largest corporate sponsors, Ariat International, Inc., a leading manufacturer of equestrian riding boots and apparel, will be sponsoring the American Hunter-Jumper Foundation’s (AHJF) Emergency Relief Fund focused GOT ARIAT! Program during the World Champion Hunter Rider classes. Established in 1995, the AHJF Emergency Relief Fund was created to provide financial support to the families...

Steffen Peters finished fourth yesterday in the grand prix special with a 75.200%, just out of the medals. They finished sixth tonight in the musical freestyle on a score of 78.600%. (Bob Langrish) Crowds were spilling out of the 2006 World Equestrian Games on Saturday, with record crowds jamming not only the dressage freestyle, but the cross-country course, as well as the show grounds. Across the day, more than 44,000 fans of eventing were on-hand; 40,000 tickets were sold (and 60,000 were on...

PhelpsPhotos.com (Gold medal Dressage Team Champions from the NAJYRC.) Lexington, VA - Gold medals in dressage, eventing and show jumping were awarded to highlight a successful conclusion of the 2006 CN North American Junior and Young Riders’ Championships (NAJYRC) at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, VA. The NAJYRC is the premier equestrian competition in North America for juniors and young riders. Young equestrians come from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the...