There are few things in life I get more excited about than cheering on Team USA, and not just in equestrian events. I can get behind any sport if there’s a USA title or medal on the line; I even watched soccer this year. The Olympics consume my life every two years, I rarely come out from behind a television or computer screen and end up feeling void and lost when they’re over. Needless to say, WEG has been quite the adrenaline rush for me. If you have never seen a US Team win a medal you need...

Here is a list of 10 things I would like to do at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games and my progress on them so far. 1. Get my picture taken with GBR event horses Miner’s Frolic and Opposition Buzz. I have seen them hacking down the horse path, so I’m considering this a baby step in the right direction. 2. See Totilas in real life . I saw him working in the practice ring Sunday as I was driving past in the golf cart. There’s only one way to describe what I saw. UNREAL. It completely...

Bridgehampton, NY - Danielle Cooper, 19, of Oyster Bay Cove, NY, and Kosta captured the $25,000 Carolex Show Jumping Derby at the Hampton Classic Horse Show on Sunday morning. The top 30 horses from Friday's $10,000 Sotheby's International Realty Welcome Stake qualified for the Derby. A total of 11 horse-and-rider combinations made it to the jump-off, but only the top three negotiated double clears. Tori Corts went first on Ultimo Van Ter Moude and set the pace with a clear round in a time of...

Photo by Kristin Bednarski The build-out for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games has officially begun, and trucks carrying temporary seating and other structures dot the Kentucky Horse Park grounds as workers unload materials and prepare to begin construction. “These guys will probably be here until September,” said Sean Doane, venue manager for the World Games 2010 Foundation. Workers began erecting temporary seating on Monday, June 21, beginning with Stands A and C, which line the...

Photo by Lauren Fisher/PMG (Lisa Goldman and Morocco won the $10,000 SJHOF High Junior/AO Jumper Classic.) It was a fantastic day for 21-year-old Denise Wilson of Oconomowoc, WI, and Blue Gate Farm LLC's Life is Life 15 when the pair raced to victory in Saturday afternoon's $30,000 Showplace Productions Grand Prix. Held in the beautiful Grand Prix Ring at the Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, IL, the grand prix was the first of three in the 2010 Showplace Spring Spectacular Horse Show...

Spring may have been slow in coming to California this year, but the Woodside Spring Preview started off with a bang. A combination of beautiful weather, a wide range of classes, and a great facility brought in record numbers of entries to fill some very large and exciting classes. The show served as a selection trial for the Zone 10 Adequan FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championship (NAJYRC) teams, and the main jumper ring was a veritable “who’s who” of top jumper riders comprising...

On Sunday April 18, 2010 the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) lodged a formal protest against the disqualification of McLain Ward’s horse, Sapphire at the 2010 Rolex/FEI World Cup Final. Sapphire and Ward were in the lead after the second leg of the Final when Sapphire was disqualified five hours after the second class on the recommendation of the Veterinary Committee that she was unfit to compete, despite being examined before her round by FEI veterinarians and deemed fit to compete....

There were no rabbits this Easter at the Tampa Equestrian Festival during the $50,000 Grand Prix of Tampa CSI**-W. When four riders were unable to complete Sunday's jump-off round without bringing down a rail, Margie Engle and Indigo were determined to have a steady, clear ride. The pair left all the jumps standing, and despite accruing two time faults, Engle and Indigo claimed the day's top prize. Canadian Hugh Graham was the first to attempt the shortened course with Executive Privilege 3E,...

Photo by Denisha Sproul Photography/USEF Archives Lexington, KY – With more than a thousand high school equestrians already working to earn their varsity letters, and new registrations arriving daily, it’s clear the United States Equestrian Federation’s new High School Equestrian Athlete program is a huge hit across the country. Applications are still being accepted for the 2009-2010 school year, and there’s still plenty of time left for those who would like to apply by the June 1, 2010...

Photo Courtesy JRPR (Lauren Sammis, left, won the FEI Test of Choice aboard High Field’s Casimirov, owned by Paula Runnells.) Courtney King-Dye and Grandioso III, owned by Hampton Green Farms, turned in an award-winning ride in the Intermediaire II class at the Wellington Classic Dressage Spring Challenge CDI. The class was sponsored by Sho Clothes, and King-Dye and Grandioso rode away with a beautiful scrim from the upscale dressage boutique in Wellington that specializes in the latest and...