Oklahoma City, OK – The 2011 National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Derby featured the $40,000-added Level 4 Non Pro; $22,500-added Level 3 Non Pro; $12,500-added Level 2 Non Pro; $7,500-added Level 1 Non Pro and $5,000-added Prime Time Non Pro division finals on Friday, July 1, at Oklahoma State Fair Park in Oklahoma City, OK. Out of the original 546 entries, the top 58 qualified to compete in Friday’s finals. Shaunda Rai Ruckman of Scottsdale, AZ, continued her stellar year...

McLain Ward and Domino cruised to victory in Friday's $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, NY (ESI Photography). Saugerties, NY — McLain Ward of Brewster, NY, proved once again why he is considered one of the best riders in the world when he won his second Grand Prix in a row at HITS Saugerties. Just six days ago he captured the blue in the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, aboard his own...

Eventing Tamra Smith stormed to victory with Mar de Amor by nearly 14 points in the CIC3* at the Twin Rivers Ranch in California. The pair won the dressage and never looked back, adding just a few time faults on both the cross country and the show jumping. Their final score was 53.6. Barbara Crabo and Eveready II were second on a score of 67.3 after picking up 13.6 time faults on the cross country, and Pam Fisher and Sea Lion rounded out the top three on the strength of a clear show jumping...

U.S. Team Supporters Look On at the Games. (Photo by Shannon Brinkman for USEF.) Lexington, KY - Week One of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games proved to be an exciting and action-packed experience for the thousands of fans who witnessed the international competition firsthand. The Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, welcomed visitors beginning Saturday, September 25. ENDURANCE The 100-mile endurance race was the first competition to award medals. More than 110 horses from 30 nations...

Great Britain dominated the second individual qualifying round at the FEI World Reining Championship presented by John Deere, held Tuesday at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. The top qualifying score of 217.5 went to Great Britain’s Lee Rutter riding Setting Off Sparks, while his countryman Doug Allen with Don Julio Whiz had the second highest score of 216.5. Twenty horses had been given this second chance at qualifying for Thursday’s individual finals. Sixteen horse and...

Photo by Rebecca Walton/PMG (Cara Raether had her second victory in a row at the Kentucky Spring Classic, winning the $20,000 Bluegrass Classic with Lyonell. ) Saturday night's amazing finish in the $55,000 Mary Rena Murphy Grand Prix, sponsored by Audi of Lexington, will go down in history. The crowd went wild when Todd Minikus and Pavarotti crossed the finish line in an exciting 35.24 seconds to take over the lead during the jump-off, but when Cara Rather and Ublesco managed to stop the...

The roster of horses at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Bridgestone, reads a bit like this, “16-hand Thoroughbred gelding, 17-hand Thoroughbred-cross, 17.1-hand Irish Sport Horse, 17-hand Selle Francais, 16.3-hand Oldenburg, 16.1-hand Holsteiner, etc.” It paints a picture of a sport dominated by Thoroughbreds, Sport Horses, and Warmbloods. But one Half-Arabian gelding is also making his mark in the top levels of three-day eventing. Technically he is an...

Photo by Ken Braddick (Steffen Peters and Ravel) Lexington, KY – Talk about busy. 2009 has been a whirlwind, new champions of all kinds, title defenders, legends and innovators made headlines this year. The line between winning and losing has become increasingly fine as all the USEF competitors in every discipline continue to up their game, hone their skills and make the US Team proud both locally and across the globe. With the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) looming on the...

Two Champions "Three-Peat" as Breed Show Wraps Up When individual breed classes took center stage on day three of Dressage at Devon 2009, two horses who had dominated the news in the prestigious show's first two days continued to grab headlines. Perfect Qredit, a yearling colt by Quaterback, added an 83.80% win in the Oldenburg (GOV) division to his Grand Championship, Young Horse Championship, Colt Championship, and Yearling Colts and Geldings title for owner Michelle Coursin, an air-traffic...

The Showplace Fall Classic Championship Horse Show came to a close on Sunday at the Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, IL. Saturday morning began with an exciting victory going to Maggie Jayne and Thomas Edison in the $25,000 Tapestry Farm Leading Rider Series Final Grand Prix. The top three open jumper riders in the 2009 Showplace Leading Rider Series battled against the clock as the only entries to qualify for the jump-off, and Jayne was the fastest by almost four seconds to take the top...