Boyd Martin and Otis Barbotiere at the first horse inspection (Shannon Brinkman) Greenwich, UK - The first of the three Olympic Equestrian Disciplines is set to begin on Saturday, July 28 after 74 horses were presented for the first horse inspection. The team from the United States drew second (behind Ecuador's individual) and were first to present their horses before the Ground Jury of President Anne Mette Binder, Nick Burton, and Gillian Rolton. The stunning Greenwich arena hosted horses...

Christopher Payne and Dominus swept the Performance 3'3" Hunters on the second day of the Kentucky Summer Horse Show. (Ashley N. Williams) Lexington, KY - The quiet morning greeted professional riders at the Stonelea Arena for the second day of the Kentucky Summer Horse Show, where spectators gathered to watch as top hunter riders competed for the championship prizes. Prince navigated Ace of Spades to the Performance 3'6" Hunter Championship with three blues. Christopher Payne led the way...

The sixth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder When on a horse, I wear a riding helmet. My students wear riding helmets. I ride and show western and dressage. The helmet/hat quandary, style vs. safety, the tradition or common sense conversation is therefore a subject near and dear to my heart. On March 22, 2012, I went into the hay barn to get a bale of hay to feed lunch in the barn. To make a long story short, despite my usual care in tipping bales, as I turned to leave the...

Victoria New and Fleeceworks Mystere du Val, Individual Gold medalists in Junior Eventing (Brant Gamma Photography) Lexington, KY - The Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championship concluded competition today after an extremely successful week. Eventing was the highlight with riders completing their stadium jumping phase to determine team and individual medalists. Five disciplines (a total of 9 championships for juniors and young riders) took part in the only FEI...

Bromont, July 22, 2012 - Nicolas Dello Joio completes the only double clear round of the BonjourQuébec.com World Cup qualifying event at the International Bromont today, Sunday July 22. A high-caliber event The course, designed by Venezuelan Leopoldo Palacios, was made up of 13 obstacles for 16 efforts, including 3 double combinations (2 jumps counting as one). The time allowed of 80 seconds proved to be a handicap for many riders who did not make it to the jump-off. Of the 26...

Cosmo and Laura Pfeiffer. Traverse City, MI - After observing Laura Pfeiffer win the featured 1.35-meter Open Jumper class on Wednesday during the Horse Shows by the Bay Equestrian Festival, you might have believed that Pfeiffer could have done it with one hand tied behind her back. Because she almost did. During the jump-off, as Pfeiffer tackled what would become the decisive and winning turn with her mount Cosmo, she had an equipment malfunction. "I think the difference was the tight, tight...

Affier and Melissa Orlick-Zbierski. Traverse City, MI - Alexandra (Alex) Rheinheimer, Horse Shows by the Bay Equestrian Festival Competition Manager and Owner, was thrilled to be handing out award after award today to the many happy Junior and Amateur-Owner competitors. "It's due to the generous support of the equestrian community and wonderful sponsors, as well as the hard work from my incredible team, that enable these awards to be possible. To award nearly $35,000 in prize money in one...

Donald Cheska and Ad Fundum. Traverse City, MI - Sun and a light morning breeze set the stage for the $10,000 Open Jumper Welcome Prix today at Horse Shows by the Bay, as 30 competitors eagerly challenged the Evie Frisque (Ontario, Canada)-designed course. Sponsored by Positive Step Farm and Patrice Schreiber, today's competition is the first of four $10,000 Open Jumper Welcome Prix classes to be hosted by the Horse Shows by the Bay Equestrian Festival throughout the month of July in scenic...

Louise Serio and Aate won both over fences classes in the First Year Green/High Performance Working Hunters at the Brandywine Valley Summer Series. (Rebecca Walton/PMG) Devon, PA - Red, white and blue was the theme at the Brandywine Valley Summer Series presented by Taylor Harris Insurance Services (THIS) as the nation's top horses and riders celebrated Independence Day at the historic Devon Show Grounds. Louise Serio led the professional divisions with wins in the First Year Green/High...

Oklahoma City, Ok - 147 of the nation's leading middle school and high school equestrians competed at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma June 28-30, 2012. The Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) student-riders competed in the Western discipline during the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Derby. The NRHA and the National Reining Horse Youth Association (NRHYA) are affiliates of the IEA and sponsored the event. The finalists represented 33 teams from...