Caen, France . – The Adequan U.S. Reining Squad got competition underway at the Caen Exhibition Center with the first half of the 82 horse-and-athlete combinations completing FEI Pattern Six in the Team Championship and First Individual Qualifier. After strong performances on Monday from all three American athletes, the U.S. has high hopes to defend their Team Gold and Individual Gold and Silver medal performances from the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, KY. Andrea...

Manuel Torres and Cinderella top the $40,000 HITS Grand Prix presented by Zoetis (©ESI Photography) Culpeper, Va. - The clock didn’t strike midnight on Cinderella and Manuel Torres at HITS Culpeper this weekend. The eight-year old Westphalian mare carried Torres (Leesburg, Virginia) to top honors in the $40,000 Grand Prix presented by Zoetis. With only a handful of grand prix in her repertoire, Cinderella picked up her second high-performance blue on Sunday. “She’s peaking...

Blueberry Hill (Shawn McMillen Photography) Lexington, Ky. - The US Hunter Pony Championships presented by Sallee Horse Vans, held as part of the US Pony Finals, came to a close on Saturday under intermittently rainy skies at the Kentucky Horse Park. Regular Medium Hunter Ponies went to task in the Walnut Ring in their Over Fences phase to determine the 2014 Champion. Taylor St. Jacques and Finders-Keepers emerged victorious on Saturday afternoon but it was Thursday’s champion, Blueberry...

Danielle Torano and Herault (David Mullinix Photography) East Dorset, Vt. - Danielle Torano of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, riding Herault won the $10,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame (SJHOF) High Junior-Amateur Owner Jumper Classic on Sunday, August 3, at the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT. The Torano family has had a banner weekend at the Vermont Summer Festival, with Danielle’s husband Jimmy Torano winning Saturday’s $30,000 Manchester & the Mountains Grand Prix. Torano also...

Kevin Babington and Shorapur jump to a win in Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix (ESI Photography) Saugerties, N.Y. - When Kevin Babington first laid eyes on Shorapur he knew there was something special about the mare. Despite being told she was too hot for his liking, he had to try her. That first ride was a year and a half ago. Yet, Friday they won the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix presented by Zoetis as if they'd been together forever. “I was like a kid in a candy store the first...

Chris Ewanouski and Cortina (Rebecca Walton/Phelps Media Group) Lexington, Ky. - All eyes were on the up-and-coming horses of the future in the Rolex Stadium today as they vied for winning honors in the 7 & 8-Year-Old Jumpers and the 6-Year-Old Jumpers. Chris Ewanouski captured the first blue ribbon with his 8-year-old mount Cortina, while amateur rider Joyce Green piloted Cassidy to the top prize in the 6-Year-Old Jumpers. Great Britain's Richard Jeffries designed the track for the 7...

McLain Ward and Dulien Van De Smeets fly to a win (©ESI Photography) Saugerties, N.Y. - When McLain Ward climbed down from the tack of Dulien Van De Smeets after winning the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix presented by Zoetis, he didn’t look for congratulations, but marched straight to the mare’s owner, his godmother. Susie Heller stood clutching a winner’s trophy and was scooped up by Ward’s embrace. Every win is special, but this was divinely special. This week marked the...

Pablo Barrios and Zara Leandra (Rebecca Walton/Phelps Media Group) Lexington, Ky. - Pablo Barrios will soon be crowned king of the Kentucky Horse Park, and Zara Leandra will be his queen. Tonight, the dynamic duo notched yet another $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic victory. The Venezuelan native won both of the events during the Kentucky Spring Horse Shows, and that was following his domination of the series in 2013. It appears to be a repeat year, as Barrios grabs a firmer hold on the 2014...

McLain Ward and HH Ashley were the top pair in Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix presented by Zoetis at HITS Saugerties (ESI Photography) Saugerties, N.Y. - McLain Ward was wearing his poker face Friday at HITS Saugerties and gambled his way to win the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix presented by Zoetis on new mount, HH Ashley. Second to go in a five-horse jump-off, Ward chased down speedster Todd Minikus of Loxahatchee, Florida, who posted an immediate Great American Time to Beat at 37.15...

Catherine Wachtell and VDL Theresa Lady (David Mullinix Photography) East Dorset, Vt. - Catherine Wachtell of Chatham, NJ, won the $10,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame High Junior/Amateur-Owner Classic to wrap up week one of the Vermont Summer Festival. The six-week equestrian competition runs through August 10 at Harold Beebe Farm in East Dorset, VT. Three riders advanced to the jump-off over the track set by Irish course designer, Alan Wade. Two of those mounts belonged to Wachtell. First to...