Kent Farrington and Willow (Sportfot) Wellington, Fla. - - Week nine of the 2015 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) concluded on Sunday with a win for Kent Farrington (USA) and Willow in the $85,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic competing at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, FL. Alan Wade (IRL) finished the week with another strong track for the horses and riders in the 1.50m competition, with 64 entries and nine clear rounds. A tight 73-second...

Andres Rodriguez and Fifty Fifty 111 (Sportfot) Wellington, Fla. - Andres Rodriguez (VEN) and Arao Enterprises LLC's Fifty Fifty 111 (Action-Breaker x Major de La Cour) have had a tremendous week at the 2015 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), taking home two major career wins. The duo took home Thursday's $34,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 8 and continued their hot streak with a first in Saturday's $34,000 Nutrena CSIO 1.45m Classic. Victoria Colvin also had a win on...

Lexington, Ky. - The membership nomination period for positions on the 2015 USEF Board of Directors is now open and will run through November 17, 2014. This year, members will be nominating individuals to fill the following two National Officer positions: • One Vice President, to serve a four-year term • One Secretary/Treasurer, to serve a four-year term Nominations for the Vice President and the Secretary/Treasurer may be submitted online no later than November 17, 2014 using the...

Gladstone, N.J. - A strong fields of 57 top junior and young riders have traveled to Gladstone, N.J., this week for the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals East. Laura Kraut and Jimmy Torano will serve as judges and course designers for the four-phase competition held at the USET Foundation Headquarters, October 3-5. Competition officially gets underway Saturday morning with Phase I, Flatwork. Competitors will then return to the Dick and Jane Brown Arena later in the...

Lexington, Ky. - The 2014 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals West kicks off this week at the prestigious Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. The prominent competition will once again showcase the top rising talent the West Coast has to offer. Ronnie Beard and DiAnn Langer will serve as judges and course designers for the four-phase competition, which will be held September 19-21. Competition officially gets underway on Saturday in the Indoor...

Lexington, Ky. - Laura Linback of Long Grove, IL has been named the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Rider of the Month for August. Linback competes in the East Conference Amateur-Owner division of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series. Linback earned the award by winning Show Jumping Hall of Fame classes at the Traders Point Charity Horse Show in Zionsville, IN and at Equifest II in Wayne, IL, aboard her horse Attention Please. "We would like to congratulate Laura Linback on being our...

Kevin Babington jumps to his second grand prix win at HITS Saugerties VI (ESI Photography) Saugerties, N.Y. - Kevin Babington and Shorapur were on the brink of their second grand prix win in a row at HITS Saugerties as they approached the fifth fence of Sunday’s jump-off. They were on track to best 15 contenders when Babington’s martingale got caught on his rein. “Once I got my tack sorted out we had already added three strides,” said Babington. “I knew her...

Dolly Hannon riding Finesse CB, owned by Suzanne Zimmer (Jennifer Bryant) The Dressage Foundation's Continuing Education for Dressage Instructors Fund, established by Maryal and Charles Barnett, has awarded a grant to Dolly Hannon to attend the United States Dressage Federation's Instructor Certification Final Testing at Fort Collins, CO in October. “The grant I received for the Instructor Certification Program is appreciated,” said Dolly. “Maryal Barnett is such an...

Lexington, Ky. - USA Equestrian Trust has awarded nearly $300,000 in grants to help fund more than a dozen projects by equine non-profits. Since the inception of the Trust’s grants program, the organization has awarded more than $1.8 million in grants. The projects funded as part of the grant application period ending in May were: AMERICAN MORGAN HORSE EDUCATIONAL CHARITABLE TRUST ($44,500) to develop an online home school module that teaches courses through horsemanship and to purchase...

Kyle King and Quigley bested an impressive field on Sunday to win the $30,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, at HITS Thermal. They were one of three in the jump-off and used Quigley’s speed to earn the blue (Flying Horse Photography) Thermal, Calif. - Quigley may not have many grand prix miles behind him, but his rider Kyle King of Ocala, Florida is looking forward to the 10-year-old gelding stepping up to the level with a bang. He is certainly on the right track after winning...