The 2009 Adequan FEI North American Junior & Young Riders Championships (NAJYRC) presented by Gotham North kicked off today under a deluge from the sky at the Kentucky Horse Park. Despite the fact that rain showers, and eventually a downpour, plagued the first day of competition, some stunning rides in the USDF/Platinum Performance NAJYRC Dressage Championships Team Test and the first medal ceremony of the championships brightened the day for riders and spectators alike. It was an exciting...

My Boy Bobby (Mike McNally) Lexington, KY – The top two places shuffled but the names on top of the leaderboard remained the same after the cross country at the 2009 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. Australia’s Lucinda Fredericks had a lightning fast round on her chestnut mare Headley Britannia. Trying to duplicate her husband Clayton’s winning feat in 2007, Fredericks blazed around and made the optimum time of 11 minutes despite having to go the long way at the Head of the...

My Boy Bobby and Buck Davidson, Best for the US (Stockimageservices.com) By Joanie Morris Lexington, KY – The American riders had some catching up to do after the first day of dressage at the 2009 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. The European riders swept the top three places after Thursday and the US riders returned on Friday to find only a little bit of room at the top of the leaderboard. Germany’s Bettina Hoy wasn’t going to be bested in the main stadium at the Kentucky...

Manerbio, Italy – It was a close finish but with a total of 667.5 points Team Italy took the gold medal in the very first FEI World Reining Championship on Friday, September 12. Team USA took the silver medal with 663.5 points closely followed by Team Germany which finished only a point behind the United States. Sixteen countries were represented in the World Reining Championship and in order to determine who would step on the podium for the bronze medal, reining enthusiasts had to wait...

Ocala, FL – The marathon got underway at 9 a.m. at the CAI-A Ocala and the first of two USEF National Driving Championships started after lunch on Saturday March 29, 2008. Known as the Live Oak Plantation Combined Driving Event presented by Budweiser, the showcase of the country’s best drivers and horses is taking place at Chester Weber’s Live Oak Plantation in Ocala, FL. The competition also serves as the second USEF Selection Trial for two of the World Driving Championships....

Nikko Ritter rode Clover Count to victory at the Platinum Performance/USEF Talent Search Finals East (Jennifer Wenzel) Gladstone, NJ - Take some flatwork, add some gymnastic jumping exercises, send all the riders over a carefully designed course, then have the top four riders switch horses and over the course of two days, a very prestigious title is handed out. Welcome to the Platinum Performance//USEF Talent Search Final. Fortunately, in sharp contrast to its West Coast counterpart, the...

(Lexington, KY) - A timely response is needed from members of the horse industry to their Congressional Delegation since the House of Representative is scheduled to vote on the 2008 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration Appropriations bill (H.R. 3161), which would fund the U.S. Department of Agriculture for Fiscal Year 2008, early next week. Section 738 of that bill would be devastating because it would cut-off funding for USDA activities important to the horse industry....

Diana DeRosa (Christopher Hickey and Regent in Rio de Janeiro) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil—When most people think of Rio, sunshine comes quickly to mind. However, that was not the case today at Deodoro Stadium and the National Equestrian Center outside of the city. Clouds, the threat of rain showers and cooler temperatures loomed, but it was a rather bright day for the hopes of the American dressage riders as all three of them competed in the first of two rounds that will determine the...

Amy Dragoo (Bonnie Mosser on Merloch winning the Jersey Fresh Three-Day Event CCI***. ) The rain held off for most of the day for the finale of the Jersey Fresh Three Day Event, but everyone appreciated the break in the weather. Sally Ike’s show jumping tracks proved challenging yet fair and major changes in the standing of each division would unfold as the day went on. There were plenty of surprises in the Advanced Horse Trials division which was serving as a selection division for the...

Brian Sosby (The Thomas and Mack Center on the UNLV campus.) Riders from around the world have gathered to battle it out for the World Cup titles in dressage and show jumping at the 2007 Rolex FEI World Cup Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Thomas and Mack Center, and they are certainly ready to take to the stage. But before the curtain rises on the horses and riders, there was some unexpected news that could potentially shake up the final standings in the dressage competition. Out of the...