This past weekend, Canterbury Farm in Hampshire, IL, hosted a clinic for the United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) Emerging Athletes Program. Held on Saturday, September 5, and Sunday, September 6, the clinic was conducted by renowned equestrians Melanie Smith Taylor and Ray Texel. Diane Carney of Hampshire, IL, was the on-site coordinator for the event, which was a Level II Training Session. The clinic was part of the Emerging Athletes Program, an educational program that focuses on...

Jeffery Welles Claims $7,500 Prudential Douglas Elliman 1.45m Open Jumper Win Jeffery Welles did it again, winning his second major class this week at the Hampton Classic Horse Show. Welles, of Wellington, FL, piloted Tango to top honors in the $7,500 Prudential Douglas Elliman 1.45m Open Jumper class. On Tuesday, he won the $7,500 1.40m Open Jumper Class aboard his veteran mount, Armani. The 34th Hampton Classic, one of the nation's premiere show jumping competitions hosted hunter/jumper...

Winners in Rome (Courtesy FEI ) By Joanie Morris Lexington, KY – The US Show Jumping squad bounced back with a valiant effort, winning the second leg of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup in Rome, Italy. Chef d’Equipe, George Morris continues to build a show jumping empire with the US. After winning back-to-back Olympic Gold medals in 2004 and 2008, Morris brought a team of mixed experience to Rome and dominated the nine other nations to finish on a two round total of 4 faults. The French...

This special section, Drugs and Medications Corner, will feature a series of articles from the USEF’s Drugs and Medications Program and the veterinary community to communicate the latest news to better educate the equine community. Many years ago, I was called to see a show hunter discovered to have a “big knee.” I found the horse to have moderate heat and swelling with pain on flexion of the left knee. He demonstrated a 3/5 lameness to trot in hand (AAEP scale, head bobbing)....

Las Vegas, NV – 44 riders from 22 nations went to task this evening in the Thomas & Mack Arena, 12 of them American. By the time the music died down and the last pair of feet landed on the arena floor, it was the reigning Rolex FEI World Cup champion, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Shutterfly who proved to be the fastest in the First Leg of the 2009 Rolex FEI World Cup Final: the Speed Class. Again. The German pair were quickest by just less than a second with a time of 56.48. “I thought the...

RAVEL and Steffen Peters (Shannon Brinkman) Las Vegas, NV – Steffen Peters always knew how good Ravel was. After the 11-year-old Dutch gelding’s performance in the Rolex FEI World Cup Final Grand Prix, he stamped himself as one of the best dressage horses on the globe. Beating nine-time (and defending) World Cup champion Anky van Grunsven (on IPS Painted Black) and Isabell Werth (on Satchmo) in the process, Peters won with a commanding score of 77.914% With the highest score of...

A new trend in horse showing? Last fall Bob Bell, President of Classic Company, looked at his budget for the 2009 show season and decided there had to be some changes made. From May 22 to May 24, Bell will produce his first “Boutique” horse show in Tryon, NC, at the Harmon Field location, virtually in the downtown area, which only added to the new “definition” the show manager has created for these new events. Boutique (boo teek)—A horse show that is fashionable and unique. Always held at...

Double Olympic Gold medalist Beezie Madden won her first grand prix of the 2009 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) on Thursday, March 12, aboard Onlight in Round X of the $30,000 Braman Motorcars WEF Challenge Cup Series. Madden of Cazenovia, NY, and Onlight, owned by Team Onlight, were the only double-clear round from the initial 49 entries for the class in the DeNemethy arena. Only four combinations made it to the jump-off on the the course designed by Guilherme Jorge of Brazil. The time by...

The Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI-W/Y once again was the tournament of champions with Olympians like Lisa Wilcox and Courtney King-Dye in the winner’s circle during the four-day event, February 26-March 1. Classes in four rings meant strong competition for each ribbon in front of renowned international judging panels. Even the national classes were scored by the great Uwe Mechlem. Competitors and spectators alike were treated to special activities that can only be found at the Derby, such as...

The Arabian Horse Association (AHA) of Aurora, CO, is proud to name its top point-earning amateurs for 2008. Natacha Lesburgueres of Louisville, KY, earned 532 points, becoming the adult amateur winner, while Collier McLeod of Augusta, GA, earned 522.5 points for the youth amateur top spot. The AHA Amateur Achievement Award program began in 2002 and has since tracked the points that individual riders, handlers and drivers earn each year. In 2008 the program was adjusted to recognize adults and...