Karl Cook and Farrari, owned by Signe Ostby, jump in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix on Friday, March 5, 2015, at HITS Desert Circuit VII (ESI Photography) Thermal, Calif. - Karl Cook took home the blue ribbon in the $25,500 SmartPak Grand Prix Friday on Signe Ostby’s Farrari for his first Grand Prix victory of this year’s HITS Desert Circuit. Cook claimed the title over the rider who has prevailed most often this circuit, eight-time 2015 Grand Prix winner and U.S. Olympian Will...

Christina Firestone and Wilhelmus S Win 1.30-1.35m Class (Shannon Bower/Phelps Media Group) Wellington, Fla. - The Ridge at Wellington's Turf Tour visited Tonkawa Farms to kick off the ninth week of competition. The sun shined all day over the gorgeous polo fields on the private estate. Manicured hedges bordered the property and created a tranquil setting for the horses and riders to enjoy beautiful courses designed by Nick Granat in the main ring and Michel Ismalum in the second ring. Many...

Ocala, Fla. - Five days of FEI jumping classes boasting over $400,000 in prize money came to a close today at HITS Ocala CSIO4*, but not without a nail-biting finish in the $150,000 FEI Ocala Grand Prix. Laura Kraut of Wellington, Florida, aboard Cedric, owned by Cherry Knoll Farm, cruised through the jump-off besting six to take home the blue ribbon and this week’s largest individual purse. Featuring 15 efforts set at an impressive 1.60m, a field of 40 took on the course designed by...

U.S. Riders Dominate Four out of the Five Para-Dressage Grades. U.S. Riders (Left to right ) Derrick Perkins, Dale Dedrick, Roxanne Trunnell, Elliie Brimmer, Angela Peavy, Rebecca Hart, MAry Jordan, and Sydney Collier(Lindsay Y. McCall) Wellington, Fla. - The 2015 Adequan Global Dressage Festival CPEDI3* commenced with 13 horse and rider combinations showcasing the Para-Equestrian Dressage Team Test. Para-Dressage athletes from Grades Ia, Ib, II, III, and IV, competed in the Van Kampen Arena at...

Brooke Banks and Brodeur (Sportfot) Wellington, Fla. - While it's far from Brooke Banks' maiden season in Wellington, she is jumping her first fences as an amateur rider this week. When the clock struck 12 on New Year's Eve, she shed her junior status and set her sights once again on the 2015 Winter Equestrian Festival, this time as an amateur. Not letting her new title faze her, however, Banks jumped her own eight-year-old Mecklenburg gelding Brodeur to the championship in Section...

Harrisburg, Pa. - The Amateur Owner riders were dressed to impress in their shadbelly coats at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show as riders sailed over the 3'6" courses and vied for the prestigious championship titles. Grand Amateur Owner Hunter Champion Golden Rule and Stephanie Danhakl (Al Cook - alcookphoto.com) GOLDEN RULE, owned and ridden by Stephanie Danhakl of Pacific Palisades, Calif., received the high honor and was crowned Grand Amateur Owner Hunter Champion. The pair dominated...

The Individual Podium (Al Cook) Harrisburg, Pa. - The 2014 Randolph College/USEF National Junior Jumper Championship came to a conclusion Saturday afternoon at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show with the fourth and final round of jumping. Zone 3’s Chloe Reid jumped to the Individual Gold medal with her third clear effort of the week as Lucy Deslauriers and Tori Colvin jumped-off for Silver and Bronze. Reid (Washington, D.C.) and the nine-year-old KWPN mare Athena, owned by Chloe D. Reid...

Clark Montgomery & Loughan Glen (Libby Law Photography) Lexington, Ky. – The exciting cross country day proved to be an influential one at the Military Boekelo CCIO3*. The Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team went to task over Sue Benson’s challenging track, having some great moments on Saturday in Boekelo, The Netherlands. Unfortunately, a day of mixed fortunes meant that the Land U.S. team was out of the running in the Nations Cup leaderboard. USEF Land Rover Competition Grant...

Barcelona, Spain - The Hermès U.S. Show Jumping Team entered Friday’s Challenge Cup competition at the 2014 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping Final looking for redemption after a ninth-place finish in the First Competition. Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland led the determined team of McLain Ward, Margie Engle, Lauren Hough, and Beezie Madden, who delivered throughout the afternoon that saw them beat out the Australian team in a jump-off to claim their second consecutive Challenge...

Jason Berry guides Upswing to success in the Hunter ring (ESI Photography) Culpeper, Va. - Earlier this year, Upswing was imported as a dressage prospect at three-day eventer Phillip Dutton’s barn. Quickly proving that piaffes and passage weren't his calling, Upswing left them in the dust for an over-fences career. Pamela Deslauriers purchased the eight-year old Mechkenburg gelding and handed the reins to Jason Berry (Verona, Virginia) less than three months ago. “He has come...