Newark, OH – The American Trakehner Association (ATA) is pleased to announce its 2008 Awards of Merit. The awards were announced at the ATA convention this fall. Additional details on the awards can be found on the ATA website at www.americantrakehner.com. The Koenig/NowPac Young Riders’ Dressage Award is a monetary award presented to the highest scoring junior/young rider competing in dressage on an ATA Trakehner or part-Trakehner horse. The 2008 recipient is Laura Noyes of Delaware, OH. Noyes...

In only it's sixth year of existence, the Springpferdezuchtverbandes Oldenburg-International or "OS" has made history with the Champion of the 2008 Stallion Licensing who will now be known as 'Le Champ Ask' after being purchased by Stutteri As—the jumping stallion station of Blue Hors—for 1.1 Million Euro. The OS branded stallion was impressive from the first moment of the testing. The stunning presence of this stallion along with his expressive trot and balanced canter on the lunge...

Rodrigo de Matos is a Principle Rider of L'Escola Portuguesa d'Arte Equestre, and the Chief Instructor at Morgado Lustiano in Portugal. He represented Portugual at the recent Paris Symposium where all four of the great classical European schools of riding were invited to a joint performance and exchange of ideas. Participants included the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, the Cadre Noir, L'Escola Portuguesa, and the Spanish National School. As a representative of L'Escola and Morgado Lusitano,...

Exhibitors at the recent Sport Horse National (SHN) Championships were pleasantly surprised by the news that they won some unexpected cash at the show. Where did their windfall come from? Less than one year ago, the SHN Payback Program was born by a group of longtime Arabian breeders and riders. By offering cash rewards, the group hopes to encourage interest and enthusiasm in the Sport Horse Nationals show, as well as the breeding of Arabians specifically for the sport-type disciplines of...

Tickets are now available for EQUUS "Deal or No Deal" event at the Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament on Friday, October 31, 2008. Hosted by Bates Saddles, The EQUUS Foundation will feature the top junior equitation riders competing at the show as the Deal or No Deal Suitcase Models. The event, which will held in the OnCenter Ballroom from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m, will take place simultaneously with the Bates Equitation Meeting where equitation riders, trainers and parents will have the...

Content from a FEI Press Release The FEI press release contained an update on two issues: doping / medication cases at the 2008 Olympic Games and the report by the second FEI Vice President on Dressage. DOPING CASES The following combinations will not be competing in the Jumping individual final competition held tonight (Thursday, 21 August). They have been provisionally suspended by the FEI further to doping/medication control tests that indicated the presence of capsaicin in each horse. Rider...

Hong Kong, China – After receiving the lowest score of her career (63.00%), all of Brentina’s connections were concerned that despite training absolutely phenomenally every day leading up to the Games, there may have been something physically wrong with the gallant 17-year-old Hanoverian mare. “She’s fitter and sounder than ever,” said her rider of 13 years, Debbie McDonald. “She’s been schooling so well but she was totally different in the ring than she was in the warm up. I was totally caught...

In addition to being the exclusive financial services partner to the FEI, HSBC, the world’s local bank, has made a commitment to the discipline of eventing on a global basis. This commitment will cover the prestigious four-star events, which will be known as the HSBC FEI Classics. The five four-star events currently on the FEI calendar will make up the HSBC FEI Classics; these events not only have the richest tradition but are also the pinnacle of eventing attracting the best riders and horses...

The National Dressage Pony Cup will hold its inaugural show June 28-29, 2008, at Paxton Farm in Cincinnati, OH. The show was created by a group of pony owners in order to promote ponies, their breeders and riders in dressage competition in the United States. Ponies of all breeds are invited to attend the United States Dressage Federation/United States Equestrian Federation-recognized show held in conjunction with Paxton Farms Summer Classic. The ponies will be officially measured at the show...

The American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC), the national governing body for endurance riding in the United States, will hold its 2008 annual convention in Reno, NV. The two-day program of seminars, informational meetings and a free trade show is set for February 29-March 1 at the Silver Legacy Resort Casino. Leading experts in equine health care and endurance-related fields will be featured at several seminar sessions as part of the convention’s “Riding With Education” theme. Other...