Varsity Equestrian is pleased to announce the inaugural Collegiate Equitation Challenge to be held at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL, on Friday, February 26, 2010, at 7 p.m. in the International Arena. The tournament will be run in the Varsity Equestrian head-to-head format. Equitation and sale horses will be on loan from local professionals. Sixteen riders, 14 from NCAA schools and two from Florida schools, were invited to compete with selections based upon individual...

Photo by Randi Muster (Pablo Barrios and Simply The Best) Pablo Barrios of Venezuala was able to score two wins on Wednesday, February 17, at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in the Young Jumper Championship (YJC) classes in two age divisions. When up on Simply The Best, owned by Joaquina Barrios, he was victorious in the $1,000 YJC Five-Year-Old Time First Round. Asta Torokvei of Toronto, ON, Canada, and Chabadue, owned by Westhaven Farm, led the way in the $1,500 YJC Six-Year-Old Time...

Randi Muster (Leah Schwendeman and Gisele.) The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) had a great fifth week of competition on February 10-14. The week featured the $150,000 FEI World Cup, CSI*** presented by Spy Coast Farm, along with a full schedule of hunter, jumper, and equitation classes. The week five title sponsor was Spy Coast Farm. Along with their week five title sponsorship, Spy Coast Farm was the presenting sponsor of the $150,000 FEI World Cup, CSI*** on Saturday, February 13,...

Photo by Flying Horse Photography (McLain Ward and Phillipa) Two-time Olympic Gold medal winner McLain Ward raised the roof during the $50,000 Strongid® C 2X CSI-W Grand Prix when he rode Sagamore Farm's Phillipa to the triumph before an enthusiastic crowd that filled the indoor arena at the HITS Desert Horse Park in Thermal, CA. Ward traveled from Brewster, NY, to get a jump start on qualifying for the Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix that will take place at HITS-on-the-Hudson, in Saugerties, NY,...

Photo by Sport Fot/Thierry Billet (Louis Jacobs on Kachina in the 1.45m.) The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) had a successful third week of competition on January 27-31. The week featured the $75,000 Nespresso Grand Prix, CSI** and the $55,000 Nespresso Battle of the Sexes, along with a full schedule of hunter, jumper, and equitation classes. The week three title sponsor was Nespresso. In order to provide the best coffee to riders at the FTI WEF, Nespresso is the official coffee at...

Photo by Robbi Meisel (Wilhelm Genn and Happy Z) The third week of competition at the 2010 Jacksonville Winter Series got in full swing with the $5,000 Open Jumper Classic being won by Lebanon, Ohio’s Wilhelm Genn, as both owner and rider, piloting the brilliant mare Happy Z. Presented by Farm House Tack, the Jumper Classic served as a prelim to the next evening’s featured event, the $25,000 Marco Family Foundation benefitting H.O.R.S.E. Therapies, a nonprofit therapeutic equine program to air...

PF Chief Runnin Bear and Paint racing sensation Got Country Grip were named the American Paint Horse Association’s (APHA) Running World Champions for 2009. The Regular Registry and Solid Paint-Bred world champions, respectively, and 16 other Running Champions were announced January 16 at the Heritage Place sale in Oklahoma City. Running Champion awards, presented annually, are given to Paint Horses that demonstrate outstanding athleticism on the racetrack. Selection is based on their level of...

The equine racing year has come to an end, and the Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) is proud to recognize individuals who experience success racing their Breed of Choice...the Appaloosa! The association annually honors owners, breeders and trainers for their accomplishments with the fastest color breed on the tracks. Please join us in congratulating the following individuals who were honored in 2009: • Dr. John White of Fort Collins, CO, the leading owner based on the number of wins earned by...

Michael Blowen, the Founder and President of Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farm in Kentucky, is pleased to announce that the satellite facility, Old Friends at Cabin Creek: The Bobby Frankel Division, will be the new permanent home of Bobby Frankel-trainee Gigli and famed New York-bred stallion Thunder Rumble. The first Old Friends auxiliary farm, Cabin Creek, is located just outside of Saratoga in Greenfield Center, NY, and is owned by Joann and Mark Pepper. In 1992, Thunder Rumble...

The Washington International Horse Show (WIHS), a leading national equestrian event based in Washington, D.C., since 1958, chose the Horses and Humans Research Foundation as one of its charity partners for the 2009 Washington International Horse Show at Verizon Center, held October 20-25, 2009. “Washington International Horse Show is proud to give a national platform and support to therapeutic riding and equine-assisted activities and charities that support those in need, both medical and...