Show jumping fans from around the world gathered for opening day of the final week of action at the 2006 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington and were greeted with beautiful sunny skies and mild temperatures. The CN Wellington Finale CSIO*****, the last week of show jumping before the festival moves on to Tampa for the final two weeks of competition, got underway on Wednesday at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club. Wednesday’s mid-morning featured event was the 1.45 m Time First Round...

The 2006 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series is officially underway. It will see classes at nearly 100 horse shows across the country before culminating in year-end championships at the National Horse Show in Wellington, FL, in December. The series hosts separate divisions for junior and amateur owner riders in two conferences—the East and West Conferences. Series standings are used to help determine the entries for the National Horse Show. The first Show Jumping Hall of Fame Series...

Richard Spooner couldn't catch his breath. The Indio Desert Circuit's all-time leading money winner had five mounts in the $30,000 Ariat Grand Prix, and he brought three into the jump-off. Quirino 3 delivered Spooner another victory, posting the jump-off's best time of 39.36. Ezrah also had a clean-round at 40.08 giving him second place in the competition. His third mount, Airtime, smacked into jump 12, a white and blue vertical jump near the end of the course, leaving him sixth. In the opening...

Kentucky Horse Park (KHP) Commission Chair Tandy Patrick and 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games Chairman Jim Host will attend the ASHA Annual Luncheon at the American Saddlebred Horse Association’s (ASHA) Saddlebred Summit Saturday, February 18, at noon. Patrick and Host have both been playing key roles in the progress of the 2010 World Equestrian Games. Patrick, who is also a member of ASHA, traveled to Bahrain as a member of the Kentucky delegation to make the Kentucky Horse Park’s final...

PhelpsPhotos.com (Brentina and Debbie McDonald) (Cincinnati, Ohio)—Among the regalia of the United States Equestrian Federation’s (USEF) annual meeting and black tie gala, Dressage Champion Brentina was named the inaugural Farnam®/ Platform™ • USEF Horse of the Year, the first time one horse has been selected among all breeds and disciplines as the year’s most exceptional horse. Owned by Peggy Thomas of Hailey, Idaho, Brentina is one of the most successful horses in the history of U.S. Dressage...

Robert Dover, six-time Olympian and legendary grand prix freestylist, will lead the 2006 Kentucky Horse Park All-American Freestyle Symposium on April 21-23 at the park in Lexington, KY. In addition to Dover’s expertise, panelists will include freestyle design specialists Marlene Whitaker and Terry Ciatto-Gallo, along with international dressage judge Colonel Axel Steiner, who will explore the artistic marks of the freestyle tests through the levels. The symposium will also include a trade...

The Welsh stallion Carolinas Red Fox passed away on the morning of November 15 due to complications from Cushings disease and laminitis. The 1985 Welsh Section B stallion by Carolinas Purple Emperor (Solway Master Bronze x Eden Blue Bunting) out of Downland Dresden (Downland Chevalier x Downland Dignity) was imported from Wales as a yearling by Nancy Jane Reed of Land's End Farm in Centreville, MD. Red Fox had numerous wins on the line in England before arriving in the States. With limited...

At the 2005 U.S. National Arabian and Half-Arabian Horse Show, the Arabian Breeder's Association (ABA) presented its Lifetime Breeder's Award to Sheila Varian of Varian Arabians. Varian has made her mark in the Arabian horse community. Her breeding program has risen to worldwide acclaim, and she is currently the leading breeder of Arabians in the United States and Canada. She has been awarded Arabian Breeder of the Year by the Arabian Professional and Amateur Horseman's Association four times....

Lexington, KY – The tally has just begun and your votes will be an integral part of deciding which of the nation’s leading equines will be named the inaugural Farnam®/ Platform™ • USEF Horse of the Year. Merely weeks away from the 2006 USEF Annual Meeting, all heads are turning to five finalists in anticipation of which horse will be adorned with the title—one of the most prestigious awards the USEF offers. The five finalists for Horse of the Year are:...

A clinic with current Olympic eventing champion Leslie Law of Great Britain will take place on Thursday, December 8, at Greenbrier Farm, a 160-acre eventing training facility in Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada. Long considered one of Britain’s most talented eventing riders, Law claimed the Individual Gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games riding Shear l’Eau and led the British to Team Silver. In September, Greenbrier Farm presented a clinic with Law held at Dreamcrest Farm that met with rave...