Photo by Flying Horse Photography (McLain Ward and Phillipa) Two-time Olympic Gold medal winner McLain Ward raised the roof during the $50,000 Strongid® C 2X CSI-W Grand Prix when he rode Sagamore Farm's Phillipa to the triumph before an enthusiastic crowd that filled the indoor arena at the HITS Desert Horse Park in Thermal, CA. Ward traveled from Brewster, NY, to get a jump start on qualifying for the Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix that will take place at HITS-on-the-Hudson, in Saugerties, NY,...

The Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA) honored top individuals, horses and organizations at the annual awards banquet held at the International Conference in Fort Collins, CO, at Colorado State University on October 10. Clinic Instructor of the Year Clinic instructors are the CHA Master Level Instructors that are clinic staff and certify instructors for CHA throughout North America. At the end of each clinic, participants write evaluations of the clinic staff. It is from these evaluations...

Perfect Qredit Claims Young Horse Championship on Day One Dressage at Devon, one of the most prestigious dressage and sport horse breeding shows in North America, kicked off its opening day with an impressive roster of some of the continent's best sport horses. Topping the select group of youngsters was Perfect Qredit, a yearling stallion by Quaterback, who claimed the Young Horse Championship and the Colt Championship, as well as the Yearling Colts and Geldings class. The trip to Dressage at...

Armani and Jeffery Welles in Action at the USEF Selection Trials for Show Jumping (Kenneth Kraus/PhelpsSports.com) by Joanie Morris Wellington, FL - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Ad Hoc Committee on Selection has approved naming the horse/rider combination of Armani/Jeffrey Welles to the Show Jumping Short List for the 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong August 8-24, 2008. As per the USEF Selection Procedure for the Show Jumping Team, the Selectors have the discretion to recommend...

Burbank, CA - The first of the two Platinum Performance USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals provided top-class competition despite a nasty battle with Mother Nature which resulted in lots of cancelled classes and some creative competition management by the Los Angeles International Horse Show. Held in Griffith Park, the horse show was abbreviated by a powerful storm on Friday night which knocked out power to the show grounds and over 25,000 homes in the surrounding area. This warranted the...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) released its new positioning statement, “amazing awaits,” today in an effort to help communicate the unique values of the Olympic Brand ahead of the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games. “‘Amazing awaits’ is intended to tell the story of how Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls get to the Olympic and Paralympic Games and how that journey is the embodiment of the American spirit,” said Jim...

Daniel Geitner, of Aiken, South Carolina’s DFG Stables, dominated GALA’s January Jazz II competition in Folsom LA, last week. The hunter champion and prominent trainer piloted his mount, Trading Places, to top honors in both the opening $5,000 Welcome Stake and the closing $25,000 Grand Prix on January 27. In the days following the Welcome, the weather in Folsom turned rainy and cold. Geitner, nevertheless, turned up the heat for the Saturday Prix, steering Places, an eight-year-old Argentine...

As of January 1, 2007, the Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) began issuing Performance Permits to ApHC-registered, non-characteristic (N) Appaloosas. Permits allow all non-characteristic Appaloosas, regardless of parentage or age, to show in ApHC-approved and sponsored events as well as race with results counting toward ApHC race awards. The permit remains effective for the life of the horse once it is issued, regardless of ownership changes. Performance Permits eliminate the current Certified...

The U.S. Saddle Seat Equitation World Cup has received official word that the dates for the 2006 International Saddle Seat World Cup competition have been changed. The event has moved one week later and will now be held December 4-10, 2006. The prestigious international competition will be held at South Africa’s premier equestrian facility, the Parys Indoor Arena in Parys, South Africa. The U.S. will be taking on teams from Canada, Great Britain, Namibia and South Africa in an effort to match...

The General Assembly of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) elected HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan as the 13th FEI President. The other contenders for the position were HRH Princess Benedikte of Denmark and Freddy Serpieri of Greece. The voting took place over two rounds; Princess Haya received 82 votes in the second round. The full details of the voting will be communicated shortly. “I promise to do everything in my power and to work tirelessly to serve the institution...