Photo by Lynn Coakley (Nancy Koch) Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation and The EQUUS Foundation are pleased to announce the winner of the inaugural EQUUS Foundation Humanitarian Award. Nancy Koch, Executive Director of CANTER National, was chosen from a number of qualified nominees to receive this distinctive honor. The award will be presented January 16, 2010, at the USEF Pegasus Awards Dinner during the Federation’s Annual Meeting. Nancy Koch has successfully improved the...

Members of the American Shetland Pony Club, the American Miniature Horse Registry and the American Show Pony Registry (ASPC/AMHR/ASPR) will reap the rewards for a successful year and plan for 2010 at the small equine organization’s upcoming annual convention. Supporters of the versatile and popular small equine breeds will meet in Orlando, FL, November 5-7. The ASPC/AMHR/ASPR are non-profit organizations established to preserve and refine the bloodlines of small equines and promote the...

Lexington, KY—The Deep Run Horse Show, a historic Virginia equestrian event, is the third American horse show to be honored with the United States Equestrian Federation’s designation as a USEF Heritage Competition. Deep Run has now received the highest honor that can be given to a Federation horse show. The designation of a USEF Heritage Competition is reserved for those competitions that have been in existence for a quarter century or more, promoted and grown equestrian sport, and made a...

The EQUUS Foundation and the Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament have joined forces to promote the importance of excellent horsemanship at the USEF Horsemastership Training Session, which will be held January 5-9, 2010, in Wellington, FL. The mounted sessions will be held in the grand prix ring on the South Grounds of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. USEF, the legendary horseman and chef d'équipe of the Olympic Gold-medal show-jumping team in 2009 in Hong Kong, will lead...

The United States Equestrian Federation and The EQUUS Foundation have joined together to create an industry-wide award. The inaugural presentation of The EQUUS Foundation Humanitarian Award will take place at the 2010 USEF Pegasus Awards Dinner during the Federation’s Annual Meeting in January. The EQUUS Foundation Humanitarian Award (presented by the United States Equestrian Federation) is a celebration of the humanitarian achievements made by a member of the equestrian world. Specifically,...

The Professional Riders Organization (PRO) hosted a press conference at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. The press conference came on the heels of the first day of competition and in the midst of an exciting membership drive at the competition. “We are excited by the reception the Professional Riders Organization has received in Kentucky,” said Craig R. Thompson, a distinguished event rider and PRO founder. “Though PRO is a relatively new organization, the encouragement and excitement riders...

The Classic Shetland Stallion Sweepstakes Auction, an annual event hosted by the American Shetland Pony Club (ASPC), is the perfect way for Shetland Pony owners to promote their stallions, breed their mares and be part of an ongoing effort to showcase Classic Shetland Pony bloodlines. The auction is held online and is open to all ASPC registered stallions and mares. “We're looking forward to another great year of offering some of the industry’s most prized stallions at stud,” said Carin Ponder,...

Tickets are now selling for the annual Saddlebred Raffle, with winners to be drawn at random during the Kentucky State Fair World’s Championship Horse Show. According to Brenda Newell, Senior Program Administrator for the American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA), the raffle is one of the ASHA’s most important fundraisers. Only 400 tickets are sold worldwide, at $100 each, for gross proceeds of $40,000. Of that, $20,000 goes into the Saddlebred Futures Fund, and $20,000 of it is returned to...

In support of its mission to end the abuse of high-stepping show Tennessee Walking Horses, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) announced its sponsorship of the first National Walking Horse Association Youth Leadership Conference, taking place this week at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. Attendees from around the country, ages 11 to 17, will have the opportunity to hone their leadership skills and learn about the horse industry. “The best way to effect large-scale change in...

Through the hard work of the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA), the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association, and the NCAA Varsity equestrian, the 2008 NRHA Derby was host to the Collegiate Reining Championships in Oklahoma City, OK, on June 28 at the Oklahoma State Fair Park. Taking top honors was Leah Kuehn from Oklahoma State University. She rode Double Run Farm’s Pretty Nifty Dun to an impressive score of 220. Ohio State University’s Keith Ceddia and BR China Rose finished second in...