The 2009 Capital Challenge Horse Show was a great success this year with fantastic competition in hunters, jumpers, and equitation. The show was held at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, MD. Equitation Weekend Highlights, presented by BigEq.com Cayla Richards of Calabasas, CA, was a big winner on the first day of Equitation Weekend after she took the 15-Year-Old Equitation Championship and outlasted top riders to win the Flat Championships. Richards won the North American Junior Flat...

Kaitlyn McMorris and Clifton Peekachu (Brant Gamma) Lexington, KY—Cross-country day has come and gone at the USEA North American Junior & Young Rider Eventing Championships at the Kentucky Horse Park. It was a day full of athletic horses cruising around the course and strong riders enjoying every minute of it. The start time was delayed an hour due to strong storms that moved through the area, but the weather improved as the competition went on. The course, designed by Olympic Gold...

Gladstone, NJ – After a four day battle, the rain finally won at the 2009 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions, and collectively the Ground Jury and the management decided that, in the best interest of the horses, the competition was suspended after the Young Riders rode first thing Sunday morning. This meant that Leslie Morse was crowned USEF National Grand Prix Champion for the fifth time. Morse GP Raymeister (SusanJStickle.com) and her beloved 15-year-old Swedish...

Laura Kraut and Cedric Continued to Dominate at the Finale of the USEF Selection Trials for Show Jumping (Kenneth Kraus/PhelpsSports.com) By Joanie Morris Wellington, FL ­ – As Cedric and Laura Kraut jumped the final fence of the fifth leg of the USEF Selection Trials for Show Jumping they cleared another hurdle toward the USEF Short List for Show Jumping, which is one step closer to a trip to the 2008 Olympic Games. The International Arena at the Palm Beach International Equestrian...

Castelsagrat, France – U.S. endurance athlete Avery Betz-Conway (Kingsland, Ga.) and RAS Istanbul, a 2011 Arabian gelding owned by Estanar S. A., completed the 2023 FEI Endurance World Championship for Young Riders and Juniors on Saturday, finishing in 18 th place out of a field of 70 starters and 37 finishers. The pair finished the 120 km ride in a time of 9:39:27. Avery Betz-Conway and Istanbul. ©Claire Sapet “It was a very technical ride, but it was a lot of fun,” said...

Wayne, Ill. – Friday at the 2023 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions brought cooler weather, a full day of top-level dressage competition, and three newly crowned dressage national champions. The Adequan ® /USEF Junior Dressage National Championship and the Markel/USEF Seven-Year-Old Dressage National Championship divisions both completed their final tests, and the USEF Dressage Seat Medal Final 13 & Under closed out the day with its two-phase competition. All competitors at this...

Lexington, Ky. – Three divisions got underway and another named a champion on the third day of the 2023 USEF Pony Finals presented by Honor Hill Farms. Competitors in the USEF Medium Green Pony Hunter National Championship and USEF Large Green Pony Hunter National Championship completed their model and under saddle phases, while the USEF Pony Jumper National Championship finished Phase I. The highlight of the day was the title being presented in the USEF Small Regular Pony Hunter National...

San Juan Capistrano, Calif. – Competition kicked off Monday at the 2023 Adequan®/USEF Junior Hunter National Championship – West (JHNC) with talented young riders and their exceptional horses tackling the first tests of the three-phase competition. Aedan Mooney and Verona. ©Leslie Potter/US Equestrian Competitors in the 3’3” sections completed their classic rounds on Monday morning on the grass in the beautiful Oaks International Grand Prix Field. With the first...

Falsterbo, Sweden – The NetJets U.S. Jumping Team delivered an impressive third-place finish in the FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ of Sweden CSIO5* at the Falsterbo Horse Show on Friday afternoon in front of an enthusiastic crowd. Led by Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland, the team jumped to a final total of eight faults over two rounds, finishing just a single rail behind first-place Switzerland’s four faults. Great Britain took second place on eight faults but finished ahead of...

Rotterdam, Netherlands – Up-and-coming talent had their chance to represent the U.S. in the FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ Netherlands CDIO4* at CHIO Rotterdam. The Dutta Corp. U.S. Dressage Team of Ben Ebeling and Indeed, Kerrigan Gluch and Mejorano HGF, Kevin Kohmann and Duenensee, and Lina Uzunhasan and Furst Fabelhaft UZN gained valuable experience on the world stage. They earned a sixth-place finish under the guidance of Chef d’Equipe George Williams against a solid field of...