Laura Kraut extended her lead to 13 points over Beezie Madden in the race for American Grand Prix Association (AGA) Rider of the Year following a fifth place finish in the Mary Rena Murphy Grand Prix in Kentucky over the weekend. Meanwhile, victories by Aaron Vale in Kentucky and Rich Fellers in California have juggled the standings and moved both of those riders into contention for the American Grand Prix Association title. Entering its 27th year, the AGA Grand Prix Series of Show Jumping is...

FEI representatives met with leading footing specialists in Windsor, England, on May 16 for a brainstorming session which will likely provide the criteria upon which all future championship arena footing is to be based. The meeting, which drew riding surface experts from around the world, was a proactive response to the report of the FEI Working Group assigned to assess problems associated with footing after the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. The round table discussion covered many areas, including...

Twelve of the nation’s most talented junior dressage riders will be invited to enter the venerable Dixon Oval at the 31st Dressage at Devon for the 2005 United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Junior Dressage Team Championship. The late September event will be the culmination of a year-long qualifying period in which juniors, ages 14-18, ride to their best scores in international level tests. In this competition, the riders will be divided into three teams; all four members of each team will...

The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) is pleased to announce that NRHA Hall of Famer Smart Chic Olena has become an NRHA Three Million Dollar Sire. Owned by Jim Babcock, of Valley View, TX, he joins Hollywood Dun It and Topsail Whiz as the third sire to achieve this distinction. In NRHA competition, Smart Chic Olena's 376 money-earning offspring have reached an earnings total of $3,033,204.60, with average earnings of $4,513.70. Not surprising, his highest money-earning offspring to...

Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) of Georgia won the hunter seat equitation phase to clinch the team title at the 28th Annual Affiliated National Riding Commission’s National Intercollegiate Equitation Championship, April 16-17, hosted by Sweet Briar College in Virginia. SCAD junior Jordan Siegel took home the title of individual champion for the second time in her college career. Siegel, who won the top individual award as a freshman in 2003, was joined by teammates Ashley Kelly and...

Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation is pleased to bring the trusted name of Farnam and its new line of Platform™ horse feeds and supplements on board in an exclusive four-year partnership that will propel the ever-popular Horse of the Year awards program to a new level of excellence. Under the new partnership, the program will now be called Farnam®/ Platform™ • USEF Horse of the Year, and will expand on a number of levels, including the creation of...

Courtesy University of South Carolina (University of South Carolina's equestrian team after winning the NCAA National Championship.) Winning the Hunt Seat Division with 40 points, the University of South Carolina’s (USC) Equestrian team clinched its first national title in varsity equestrian on April 16. Overall, South Carolina tallied 60 points to second place University of Georgia’s 51 points (the two-time defending champion). Texas A & M University finished third, and...

The all-time leading sire in national reining horse history, Hollywood Dun It, was humanely put down on March 30. The 22-year-old buckskin stallion had been suffering from severe health problems escalated by his continuing battle with testicular cancer. According to Tim and Colleen McQuay, who owned Hollywood Dun It along with partner Jennifer Easton, the decision to put him down was a difficult one. Tim noted, “He’s been a part of our family, and a part of our lives, for a lot of years. None...

Wellington, FL – In a night that would prove golden for our Irish friends, a young team led by famed Chef d’Equipe Eddie Macken set the standard for the Samsung Nation’s Cup at CSIO Wellington March 11, shutting out even the closest contenders by a roomy eight points. Riders Darragh Karrins, Jennifer Crooks, Conor Swail and Kevin Babington earned the Gold medal with a team total of 12 faults, split between two rounds. Babington and It’s Morado were in fact the only horse and rider pair able to...

While most of us only dream of running a four-star course, the next best thing is experiencing it through the eyes and insights of Olympian equestrians! Attendees of the 2005 Rolex Kentucky CCI**** can do just that at the SmartPak Equine-sponsored course walk with Kim Severson and Amy Tryon. Severson and Tryon will offer their tips and tactics for riding the toughest cross country course in the U.S. Everyone is welcome to attend this incredible opportunity; just sign up at the SmartPak booth in...