Dear fellow USEF member, Last Saturday, I was formally elected to be President of the United States Equestrian Federation. I am deeply honored to have been elected to this volunteer position and am so excited to have been given this opportunity to help drive growth in equestrian sports in the United States. For those of you who don’t know me, the first thing you need to know is that I come to this position with 45 years of equestrian experience. And put simply, I love horses. Our family...

Lexington, Ky. - In preparation for the 2017 U.S. Saddle Seat Invitational/Test Event, the U.S. Saddle Seat Young Riders Teams attended their first training sessions at Cascade Stables in New Orleans, La., and High Caliber Stables in Greensboro, N.C. This was the first opportunity the riders and coaches came together to work and train as teams. It also afforded riders the opportunity to prepare for competition by riding multiple horses unfamiliar to them, just as they will at the...

Laura Chapot and Thornhill Kate on their way to a $34,600 HITS Jumper Classic win. (ESI Photography) Saugerties, N.Y. - The HITS Championship feature CSI-5* classes continued with Friday’s $34,600 HITS Jumper Classic. The prestigious class served as a qualifying opportunity for the weekend’s premiere event, the Saugerties $1 Million Grand Prix on Sunday, September 11. Forty-four horses and riders showed up to the Grand Prix Ring to stake claims on the CSI-5* victory and to prepare...

Will Simpson and The Dude, owned by Nicole Walker (CapturedMomentPhoto.com) Del Mar, Calif. - Today's $25,000 Markel Insurance 1.40m Grand Prix in Del Mar was truly tremendous sport. Some superb horse and rider pairs came to compete, 52 in total, with veteran pair Will Simpson and The Dude (Nicole Walker, owner) taking the win in a 14 horse jump-off. Californian native Mavis Spencer rode Disco Lady (owned by Neil Jones Equestrian) to the win in the Interactive Mortgage U25 qualifier. Having...

Laura Chapot and Quointreau Un Prince on their way to a $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix win. (ESI Photography) Saugerties, N.Y. - A big day of elite competition commenced with Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix. An accomplished field of forty-five tested the course set by Mark McGowan of Kilmarnock, Great Britain, but only one could take home the blue ribbon. There is no slowing down when the Chapot’s are in town. Rider, Laura Chapot, and her mother and trainer, Mary Chapot, have been...

Aaron Vale and Carlo win the $50,000 Flintfields Farm Grand Prix, sponsored by Meijer, during the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival. (Kendall Bierer/Phelps Media Group) Traverse City, Mich. - It was déjà vu for spectators on the final day of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF) as Aaron Vale and Carlo blazed their way to the victory in the $50,000 Flintfields Farm Grand Prix, sponsored by Meijer, topping the ranks with a double-clear posted in 37.269 seconds. Only one-week...

Courtney Calcagnini and Bowie win the $25,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival. (Kendall Bierer/Phelps Media Group) Traverse City, Mich. - It was only in June that Courtney Calcagnini and Bowie made headlines, winning the $30,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby at the Country Heir Horse Show in Lexington, Kentucky. Consistent contenders in the hunter derby program, Calcagnini showcased Bowie's talent once again during the Great Lakes Equestrian...

Another day, another waste of time setting the alarm clock; a forlorn hope that I would make it to 5:30 a.m. There are still many loose ends to sort so the “get your lazy arse (aka butt) out of bed” side of my brain is winning the nightly joust with the “go on..be a lazy walrus” side of the aforementioned, alcohol preserved grey matter: I will not pretend that I am not extremely nervous about the arrival of the horse flights and also how we are going to make the...

David Blake and Binkie (Mancini Photos) Wellington, Fla. - David Blake of Wellington, FL, and Binkie, owned by Pine Hollow Farm, finished atop the leaderboard in the $30,000 Noble Outfitters Grand Prix at Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC), finishing the jump-off in 40.653 seconds. Andrew Ramsay of San Francisco, CA, and Winn Winn collected second place, crossing through the timers just four-hundredths off the winning pace with a time of 40.699 seconds. Benjamin Meredith of...

No. 6 seed TCU was able to fight its way all the way into the National Championship meet on Saturday, April 16, but in the end, it was No. 1 seed Auburn that was able to hold on for an 8-7 win for the Tigers' first National Championship since 2013. With all-SEC finals the first two years under the current format of scoring, the Horned Frogs crashed the party with a 10-5 upset victory over Georgia in the semifinal meet earlier in the day. TCU became the lowest seed to make the National...