Photo by CapturedMomentPhoto.com (John French and Crown Affair.) The beautiful grass grand prix field at Showpark set the stage for two main events this week at the Ranch & Coast Tournament horse show. On Friday afternoon, the hunters were the stars as they competed in the $10,000 Chronicle of the Horse/USHJA International Hunter Derby and on Saturday afternoon, the jumpers took the spotlight in the $50,000 Grand Prix of California presented by Mary’s Tack & Feed. Thirty-eight horses hunted...

Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist McLain Ward to Help With Ceremony Breyer Animal Creations® is excited to announce that it will be unveiling its newest creation, a portrait model of the Belgian show jumper mare Sapphire at the 2010 Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows. Breyer® selected Sapphire to be the focus of its most recent creation based on her hugely successful career with rider McLain Ward. The unveiling will take place at Old Salem Farm on Saturday, May 22, during the exhibitor ice cream...

Today was a good day. Even if with cold temperatures and rain in the morning. Today was a good day. Three Americans sit at the top of the Rolex Three-Day leader board. The sun came out. The freestyle for the Kentucky Cup CDI3* is set to take place soon. And oh yeah, I had a lovely chat with Jonathan “Jock” Paget this afternoon. For those of you not familiar with one of New Zealand’s top riders, Jock and Frances Stead’s Clifton Promise are making their debut at the 4 star level here at the Rolex...

McLain Ward and Sapphire Look to go One Better in 2010 (Shannon Brinkman/ USEF Archives) Lexington, KY - With 10 riders representing the United States at the 2010 Rolex/FEI World Cup Final (April 15-18), the American assault on Geneva looks very strong. Led by 2009 runner-up McLain Ward and his legendary Sapphire, the 34-year-old will look to go one better in Switzerland than they did in Las Vegas one year ago. Fortunately, they won't have the fleet-footed Shutterfly to chase as the defending...

Horse TV's H-Span launches its "State of the Games" programming series, in association with the World Games 2010 Foundation, providing periodic updates, interviews and discussions along with question-and-answer sessions for the organizers, officials and others. Each show is an hour long and is filmed in different locations in both a "Town Hall" and "Round Table" style setting with a variety of guests, including officials and celebrities. The series is designed to enable the top officials...

HITS, Inc., is pleased to announce a monumental milestone in the world of horse showing—the simultaneous occurrence of a Show Jumping FEI World Cup Qualifier and a Dressage FEI World Cup Qualifier during Week III of the 2010 HITS Desert Circuit, February 9-14, in Thermal, CA. The ability to host one FEI event is impressive in and of itself, but to host two FEI events in the same week for two separate disciplines is a feat that really puts HITS in a class of its own. There are very few...

Photo by SusanJStickle.com (Steffen Peters and Ravel) Wellington, FL – Somehow it keeps getting better. After just collecting the United States Equestrian Federation's Horse and Rider of the Year accolades for 2009, US dressage superstars Steffen Peters and Ravel ran their streak to six major wins with a convincing effort at the Grand Prix at the 2010 Exquis World Dressage Masters. Ravel, a 12-year-old KWPN gelding (Contango-Hautain) owned by Akiko Yamazaki’s Four Winds Farm appeared even...

The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) introduced Nathaniel A. White, II, DVM, a respected equine researcher and surgeon, as its 2010 president during the 55th Annual Convention in Las Vegas, NV. Dr. White was inducted to the office during the December 8 President’s Luncheon. Dr. White is the Jean Ellen Shehan Professor and Director of the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. He is a former chair of the...

McLain Ward and his Beloved Sapphire at the 2009 Rolex/FEI World Cup Final (Shannon Brinkman for USEF) Gladstone, NJ -The USET Foundation is pleased to announce that the Whitney Stone Cup has been awarded to McLain Ward of Brewster, NY. The Whitney Stone Cup is awarded annually by the USET Foundation Executive Committee to an active competitor who displays consistent excellence in international competition, high standards of sportsmanlike conduct, while also serving as an ambassador for the...

HITS is pleased to announce that they will host the Dressage Getaway CDI*** during week III of the 2010 HITS Desert Circuit in Thermal, CA. The show, held on February 12-14, will feature a full schedule of national and high-performance dressage classes. The 2010 HITS Desert Circuit in Thermal, CA, will have six weeks of hunter/jumper competition from January 26 to March 14. During the Dressage Getaway competition, the CSI jumpers and CDI dressage horses will share the indoor warm-up ring and...