Lexington, Ky . – A week of competition at the 2014 US Pony Finals came to a close Sunday with the most coveted award of the championship. The Marshall & Sterling/US Pony Medal Finals took place in the Alltech Arena with 159 riders vying for top honors in front of judges Karen Healey and Stacia Madden. After riding Finders-Keepers to the Regular Medium Hunter Pony Championship title the day before, Taylor St. Jacques earned a Championship title of her own on Sunday. Taylor St....

Alissa Kinsey closed out the 2014 Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT, by winning the $15,000 Child/Adult Jumper Classic, presented by Ariat, on August 10 with Grisset (Photo by David Mullinix Photography) East Dorset, Vt. - Alissa Kinsey of Danville, NH, and Grisset saved the best for last to win the $15,000 Child/Adult Jumper Classic, presented by Ariat, on the final day of the Vermont Summer Festival. The six-week equestrian competition ran from July 2 through August 10 at Harold...

U.S. Olympic gold and silver medalist Leslie Howard guided Tic Tac to victory in the $100,000 CSI2* Synoil Energy Services Cup on August 9 at the CSI2* Summer Festival at the Caledon Pan Am Equestrian Park in Palgrave, ON. (Ben Radvanyi Photography) Palgrave, Ontario – U.S. Olympic gold and silver medalist Leslie Howard topped an international starting field to win the $100,000 CSI2* Synoil Energy Services Cup at the CSI2* Summer Festival held August 6 to 10 at the Caledon Pan Am...

U.S. Pony Club Chef D'Equipe Richard Lamb and riders (l to r) Lizzy Simonian, Genevieve Muson, Magdalene Mann, and Julianna Empie (Shawn McMillen Photography) Lexington, Ky . - Team Championship in the US National Pony Jumper Championship was at stake Friday evening as teams competed in the two-round Nations Cup format. Following the first round, the top teams came back to jump the same course in round two, with a total of 36 combinations jumping for individual classification. The team from the...

Kevin Babington jumps to his second grand prix win at HITS Saugerties VI (ESI Photography) Saugerties, N.Y. - Kevin Babington and Shorapur were on the brink of their second grand prix win in a row at HITS Saugerties as they approached the fifth fence of Sunday’s jump-off. They were on track to best 15 contenders when Babington’s martingale got caught on his rein. “Once I got my tack sorted out we had already added three strides,” said Babington. “I knew her...

This article was originally published at www.useventing.com . Laine Ashker and Anthony Patch take the top prize for the second year in a row (Brant Gamma photo). Laine Ashker downplayed her chances of a winning the Advanced at Millbrook Horse Trials for the second year in a row all weekend, but she and Anthony Patch remained cool under pressure and rode a beautiful show jump round to defend her title in the Adequan USEA Gold Cup/PRO Tour Series. With less then two points separating Ashker from...

Alfano and Jersey Boy won the Handy Round and the Overall in the International Hunter Derby (ChicagoEquestrian) Wayne, Ill. - Chicago is a great place to show in the summer and the weather did not disappoint today for Equifest II’s Derby Day at Lamplight Equestrian Center. Sunny skies and a nice breeze made for a pleasant day for riders and spectators. The feature classes were the $15,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby and the $5,000 National Hunter Derby. Lamplight Equestrian Center...

This article originally published at www.USEventing.com . Laine Ashker & Anthony Patch Laine Ashker and Anthony Patch are sitting comfortably atop the Advanced division leaderboard at the Millbrook Horse Trials (Millbrook, N.Y.) in the Adequan USEA Gold Cup/PRO Tour Series. It's not an unfamiliar position for them, as they won the Advanced division here in 2013. The track suits “Al” and Ashker knows how to bring out the best in her longtime partner, an off-the-track...

Lisa Wilcox and Denzello (Peter Martin-Turner/Spidge Photo for Shannon Brinkman Photography) Hickstead, United Kingdom - The United States produced improved performances in the Grand Prix Special on Saturday at CDIO3* Hickstead to earn a fourth-place finish in FEI Nations Cup competition. The team of Lisa Wilcox, Brian Hafner, Katherine Bateson-Chandler, and Susie Dutta finished on score of 414.611 in the competition that combined scores from the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Special. To find...

Kevin Babington and Shorapur jump to a win in Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix (ESI Photography) Saugerties, N.Y. - When Kevin Babington first laid eyes on Shorapur he knew there was something special about the mare. Despite being told she was too hot for his liking, he had to try her. That first ride was a year and a half ago. Yet, Friday they won the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix presented by Zoetis as if they'd been together forever. “I was like a kid in a candy store the first...