Raeford, N.C. – Three advanced pony combined driving national championship titles are up for grabs at the Southern Pines Combined Driving Event (CDE) running April 12-14. With the competition serving as one of the selection trials for the 2019 FEI World Driving Championships for Ponies, the driving athletes aim to display a strong performance while vying for national championship honors. Jennifer Keeler and Amazing Grace, the 2018 USEF Advanced Single Pony Combined Driving National...

Team Holding Gold took first place (Photo by Andrea Evans/US Equestrian) Ocala, Fla. – As part of the U.S. Developing Athlete Program and Elite Athlete Program for Combined Driving, US Equestrian (USEF) introduced an informal team competition this week at the Live Oak International. Overseen by the Driving Sport Committee, the Team Challenge offers USEF Pathway Program athletes or team applicants the opportunity to gain valuable experience in team competition format, including team...

Lexington, KY – The US Equestrian Federation (USEF) announced a rule change on Tuesday, August 28, 2018 requiring that effective January 1, 2019 all USEF members 18-years-old and older, with a Competing Membership, must complete SafeSport Training in order to be eligible to participate in USEF activities, including competitions. To provide further guidance, below are a list of Frequently Asked Questions regarding the new rule change. Please note, there are three modules to the training...

Lexington, Ky. – Participants in the US Equestrian (USEF) Emerging Athlete Eventing 25 Program (E25) and the Eventing 18 Program (E18) completed their winter training sessions last month. The Emerging Athlete Lists are the first step in the athlete pathway as developed in the 2019 Strategic Plan . The program aims to provide basic skills necessary for future team athletes and athletes focused on reaching Elite status. Over the course of intensive three-day training sessions, the groups...

Margie Engle and Royce (Andrea Evans/US Equestrian) Wellington, Fla. – NetJets® U.S. Jumping Team member Margie Engle and Royce barely missed victory in the $210,000 Longines Grand Prix Palm Beach Masters CSIO5* on Friday. Engle and Royce, one of 15 combinations to jump clear and qualify for the jump-off, missed victory by three-quarters of a second to place second behind Ireland’s Paul O’Shea and Imerald van't Voorhof. Columbia’s Juan Manuel Gallego and Coulash...

Photo by Howard Schatzberg Photography Scottsdale, Ariz. – The legendary and culturally famed Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show is set to begin on Thursday, February 14, through Sunday, February 24. The 64 th edition of the event is an 11-day showcase of the beauty and diversity of Arabian and Half-Arabian horses. Hosted by US Equestrian affiliate, the Arabian Horse Association’s (AHA) club, the Arabian Horse Association of Arizona (AHAA), the show is held on the WestWorld show grounds,...

From left to right: Judge at C Adrienne Pot, Roxanne Trunnell, Kate Shoemaker, Deborah Stanitski, Rebecca Hart, and Rowan O’Riley of Fair Sky Farm. Photo ©SusanJStickle.com. Wellington, Fla. – The U.S. Para-Equestrian Dressage Team had a strong showing at the 2019 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in Wellington, Fla. on January 18-19. The team consisted of Rebecca Hart (Wellington, Fla.), Kate Shoemaker (Peoria, Ariz.), Deborah Stanitski (Charleston, S.C.)., and...

(left to right) Lisa Blackstone, Barb Kohr, Frank Madden, Mary Babick, Elisabeth Goth, and Bill Moroney speak at the Growing the Grassroots panel (Photo by Taylor Pence/US Equestrian) Initiated by US Equestrian President Murray Kessler, the Grassroots Advisory Group is tasked with the responsibility of examining the barriers of entry for people into equestrian sport, opportunities for development and collaboration at the grassroots level with US Equestrian affiliates, how to better meet the...

US Equestrian President Murray Kessler addresses attendees at General Session (Photo by Taylor Pence/US Equestrian) Since the implementation of the Strategic Plan three years ago, US Equestrian 2019 Annual Meeting participants, members, and staff attended Thursday morning’s General Session to hear about US Equestrian’s progress, challenges, and success of 2018. US Equestrian President Murray Kessler reminded the audience of that U.S. Equestrian’s mission statement, “to...

Lexington, Ky. –US Equestrian is proud to recognize Tessa Divita as the 2018 Vaulter of the Year. Divita, who competed for the U.S. at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ (WEG) Tryon 2018 as an individual, stood out among the applicant pool based on her 2018 competition scores, personal essay, and letters of recommendation. "I am very honored to be the recipient of this award. I remember being a little kid and watching my American vaulting heroes like my sister, Ali Divita, and...