President Bush has signed into law the $300 billion federal highway funding bill, known as SAFETEA-LU, approved by Congress just before it broke for the August-Labor Day recess. The controversial legislation took over two years to agree to and enact, requiring numerous Continuing Resolutions extending the prior federal highway bill past its expiration. Recreational Trails Program Funding Favorable funding for the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) was included in the legislation. The total...

Photos.com (The city of Hong Kong, China. ) The Secretary for Home Affairs, Dr. Patrick Ho, welcomed the International Olympic Committee's decision to name Hong Kong as the venue for the equestrian events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The announcement came on June 8. Dr. Ho also thanked the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) for its confidence in Hong Kong. "I believe that Hong Kong people are taking a favorable and positive view towards this...

Burbank, CA — R-E-S-P-E-C-T. That’s exactly what Debbie McDonald earned from officials, competitors and spectators alike as she rode Brentina to victory in the 2005 U.S. Grand Prix Freestyle Championship and U.S. League Final in Burbank, California this weekend. Strutting through a freestyle program to the sound of Aretha Franklin, Olympic Team Bronze medalist McDonald and Brentina earned the winning score of 77.975% and a standing ovation in defending her 2004 title. Riding her...

Study Finds That 97% of Performance Horses Have Some Type of Ulceration Recently published research has revealed the presence of ulcers in the colons of performance horses. According to the study, conducted by Frank Pellegrini, DVM, 63% of horses involved in competition sports-—ranging from dressage to racing—-suffered from colonic ulceration. Pellegrini’s work confirmed the findings of earlier studies, showing that 87% of horses have gastric ulcers (ulcers of the stomach). When combined with...

Rule Changes Address Safety Concerns at Recognized Competitions Lexington, KY – Consistent with one of the primary missions of the United States Equestrian Federation, which is to ensure the safety and welfare of both horses and riders, two important rule changes were approved at the annual meeting of the Board of Directors held in Louisville, Kentucky on January 16th . These changes should significantly contribute to safety at recognized USEF competitions. They involve the operation of...

Update on Testing Issues Recently our Medication Control Programme has reported several cases of tests in which low concentrations of sedatives were found in competition horses. In this respect, the following substances have been detected: Acepromazine, Detomidine, Reserpine, Fluphenazine and Guanabenz. These substances are being used in low dosages to improve the manageability of ‘hot’ horses and are therefore regarded as serious attempts to influence the performance of the horse...

As I sift through weekly e-mails and phone messages, I’m beginning to realize the United States Equestrian Federation’s best kept secret is no longer a best kept secret. Only a few months from its conception, and already, details of the USEF purchasing program are running through the rumor mill faster than juicy tabloid gossip. I should hardly be surprised. When money is involved, especially this much money, news tends to spread fast; and while we’re not working overtime to keep the news under...

Athens, Greece – The Executive Committee and the Committee of Selections of the United States Equestrian Federatio, and the USOC Delegation Review Committee, have approved that Amy Tryon, who was named to the 2004 Olympic Eventing team riding My Beau, and as a replacement rider/reserve candidate on Poggio II, will ride Poggio II in the Olympic competition. Poggio II is a former thoroughbred race horse, which was being used as a pack horse when Amy and a friend purchased him several years ago...

Lexington, KY – July 21, 2004 -- The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is now accepting bids to host the 2005 USEF Open Reining Championship. This prestigious event has been in existence since 1999 and has featured some of the best reiners in the country. In 2002, the Open Reining Championship was used as the Final Selection Trial for the World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain. The resulting team made history by capturing the Team Gold medal and the Individual Gold and Silver medals....

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce the two recipients of the USEF Grants for the 2023 Adequan ® /USEF Junior Hunter National Championship – West, generously sponsored by Debbie Smith . The grants were awarded to Chimay Buyalos (Santa Ynez, Calif.) for the 3’3” height and Avery Glynn (Petaluma, Calif.) for the 3’6” height. This grant program awards one $10,000 to one rider at each height at both the East and West Junior Hunter National...