Lexington, KY – The two top teams from the 2005 Samsung Super League did a flip-flop from where they finished last year leaving Germany with the top honors this year, while Team U.S.A. came in a solid second after a long, tough battle, which ended with the eighth and final show in the Samsung Super League tour CSIO Barcelona, Spain (September 14-17). In Barcelona, all team points accumulated counted as double. Germany finished with a total of 65.125 points while the U.S. finished on 46 points....

By Bob Langrish (Beezie Madden and Authentic in the Main Stadium in Aachen, Germany.) (Aachen, Germany)— The 16 efforts put in front of the 116 show jumpers going round during the 1st qualifier and speed class for the individual and team FEI World Championships in Aachen were a bit more than a few could handle. And for Team USA, there were few bumps along the road translating into less than a handful of downed rails in a windy Main Stadium. Over the day, six horses were eliminated, and...

Bob Langrish (Vaulter Megan Benjamin won an Individual Gold medal.) (Aachen, Germany) – It all came down to one minute. It was years in the making, but it came down to one minute in Aachen, Germany, and when that one minute was over, 18-year-old Megan Benjamin of Saratoga, CA, was the first female American vaulter ever to take a world championship. For the past 20 years, a German woman has always held the title of World Champion, and Germany has also won 23 of the last 30 world championships....

The River Glen Horse Trials over the weekend of August 4-6 in New Market, TN, held one of the final United States Eventing Association (USEA)/Spalding Labs Young Event Horse competitions of the summer before the championships take place Friday, October 6, at the Morven Park Three-day Event and Advanced Horse Trials in Leesburg, VA. Pikadilly and Dorothy Crowell, of Maplewood Farm in Frankfort, KY, dominated the five-year-old division with a score of 80.7 to take home the blue ribbon. Sired by...

Bob Langrish (American Kathryn Downs was the highest-placed American in 17th in endurance.) Long before the sun rose over the first day of competition at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Aachen, a flurry of activity was going on as the stage was set for the first medal decisions made in the equestrian discipline of endurance. The consensus is that today’s championship served as the biggest in the sport’s interesting development and history, and the fact that temperatures...

After four long years of waiting, an anxious equestrian world watched the clock roll down to the moment everyone had their eyes turned to – the Opening Ceremonies of the 2006 Aachen FEI World Equestrian Games. And while gray skies and wet and windy weather welcomed the crème of the equine world to the picturesque town located in the westernmost corner of one of Europe’s most powerful horse countries, not even a downright deluge could have dampened the excitement and energy that was waiting to...

In somewhat of a renaissance, the French stormed to victory in the third leg of the Samsung Super League with FEI series in Rome, Italy today and while the Germans maintain the lead at the head of the table, their advantage has been significantly reduced after a disappointing performance at the Italian fixture. Finishing joint-fifth along with Italy, Switzerland, Sweden and Holland, Germany only collected 1.5 points but the Americans, who shared second place with the much-fancied British, added...

Marc Manning (Darren Chiacchia and Windfall II) Call it a day! The dressage phase of the 2006 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Farnam ended with a second day of unprecedented beautiful weather and sun-kissed crowds who were witness to two days of the expert dressage tests. And with American riders siting in seven of the top 10 placings, it was a particular triumph for the U.S. eventing world. 2004 Modified CCI**** Rolex Kentucky Champion Darren Chiacchia and his black Trakehner...

Showcase, Ltd., based in Canton, GA, ended their 2005 show season on a high note as owner-rider Terry Brown, partnered with her 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding Sequel, were awarded Farnam®/Platform™ USEF National Horse of the Year titles in Second Year Green Working Hunter, Regular Working Hunter and Horse of the Year Grand Champion in Regular Hunters. They seem to be headed right back to the top in 2006 as their winning continued with the championship in the Regular Working Hunter division for...

Show jumping fans from around the world gathered for opening day of the final week of action at the 2006 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington and were greeted with beautiful sunny skies and mild temperatures. The CN Wellington Finale CSIO*****, the last week of show jumping before the festival moves on to Tampa for the final two weeks of competition, got underway on Wednesday at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club. Wednesday’s mid-morning featured event was the 1.45 m Time First Round...