Team Holding Gold took first place (Photo by Andrea Evans/US Equestrian) Ocala, Fla. – As part of the U.S. Developing Athlete Program and Elite Athlete Program for Combined Driving, US Equestrian (USEF) introduced an informal team competition this week at the Live Oak International. Overseen by the Driving Sport Committee, the Team Challenge offers USEF Pathway Program athletes or team applicants the opportunity to gain valuable experience in team competition format, including team...

Lexington, Ky. – Participants in the US Equestrian (USEF) Emerging Athlete Eventing 25 Program (E25) and the Eventing 18 Program (E18) completed their winter training sessions last month. The Emerging Athlete Lists are the first step in the athlete pathway as developed in the 2019 Strategic Plan . The program aims to provide basic skills necessary for future team athletes and athletes focused on reaching Elite status. Over the course of intensive three-day training sessions, the groups...

Margie Engle and Royce (Andrea Evans/US Equestrian) Wellington, Fla. – NetJets® U.S. Jumping Team member Margie Engle and Royce barely missed victory in the $210,000 Longines Grand Prix Palm Beach Masters CSIO5* on Friday. Engle and Royce, one of 15 combinations to jump clear and qualify for the jump-off, missed victory by three-quarters of a second to place second behind Ireland’s Paul O’Shea and Imerald van't Voorhof. Columbia’s Juan Manuel Gallego and Coulash...

Photo by Howard Schatzberg Photography Scottsdale, Ariz. – The legendary and culturally famed Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show is set to begin on Thursday, February 14, through Sunday, February 24. The 64 th edition of the event is an 11-day showcase of the beauty and diversity of Arabian and Half-Arabian horses. Hosted by US Equestrian affiliate, the Arabian Horse Association’s (AHA) club, the Arabian Horse Association of Arizona (AHAA), the show is held on the WestWorld show grounds,...

US Equestrian President Murray Kessler addresses attendees at General Session (Photo by Taylor Pence/US Equestrian) Since the implementation of the Strategic Plan three years ago, US Equestrian 2019 Annual Meeting participants, members, and staff attended Thursday morning’s General Session to hear about US Equestrian’s progress, challenges, and success of 2018. US Equestrian President Murray Kessler reminded the audience of that U.S. Equestrian’s mission statement, “to...

Lexington, Ky. –US Equestrian is proud to recognize Tessa Divita as the 2018 Vaulter of the Year. Divita, who competed for the U.S. at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ (WEG) Tryon 2018 as an individual, stood out among the applicant pool based on her 2018 competition scores, personal essay, and letters of recommendation. "I am very honored to be the recipient of this award. I remember being a little kid and watching my American vaulting heroes like my sister, Ali Divita, and...

Photo by Taylor Pence/US Equestrian Lexington, Ky. – The Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, Ill., has been named as the host location for the 2019 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions, August 20-25, 2019. The U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions will once again host all 14 USEF Dressage National Championships, including the Markel/USEF Young and Developing Horse Dressage National Championships and the USEF Young Adult ‘Brentina Cup’ Dressage National Championships presented...

Lexington, Va. – Competitors have arrived at the Virginia Horse Center for the Virginia Horse Trials, home to the USEF CCI1* and USEF CCI1*-JR/YR National Championships this weekend. The championships, at their new home at the Virginia CCI/CIC Horse Trials, will feature 62 horses in the CCI1* and CCI1*-JR/YR divisions. These horses were presented for the first horse inspection on Thursday. Boyd Martin (Photo by Brant Gamma Photos) Forty-two horses competing in the USEF CCI1* Eventing...

Mill Spring, N.C. – The Para-Dressage Team Championship got underway at the FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) Tryon 2018 on Thursday with 14 nations contesting the title. Angela Peavy and Kate Shoemaker got the U.S. Para-Equestrian Dressage Team presented by Deloitte started, competing in the FEI Grade IV Team Test during the afternoon session. Following the first day of competition, the U.S. holds the 10th position with the two remaining team members completing their respective Team Tests...

Tessa Divita (Photo by: Shannon Brinkman) U.S. Vaulting Team Individual Female competitor, Tessa Divita comes from a family with many international championship vaulting medals. Divita’s sister Ali and mother Julie have successfully competed in Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) vaulting all over the world. Divita has proven to be a force in her own right. Since her first CVI3* as an individual female in 2016, Divita has placed in the top-three, five out of the six times she’s...