Wellington, FL The ninth week of the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) has come to a close at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. Saturday Night Lights at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival brought a crowd of more than 4,200 spectators to watch Brazil's Rodrigo Pessoa and Let's Fly jump to victory in the $231,000 FEI World Cup™ Grand Prix CSI 4*-W Presented by Bainbridge Companies. Pessoa earned the winning cut of prize money after an exciting jump-off of many of the top horses...

Andre Thieme and Coco 135. (ESI Photography©.) OCALA, FL - On a perfectly beautiful afternoon at HITS Post Time Farm in Ocala, FL, German show-jumping icon Andre Thieme riding Seth Vallhonrat's Coco 135 captured the victory in Sunday's $50,000 Purina Mills Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, to close out the Ocala Finals. Thieme's win marked the first time this season that a rider captured more than one victory in a Sunday Grand Prix, his first being aboard his own Cesar three weeks...

Lucy Davis and Nemo 119. (Flying Horse Photography©.) Thermal, CA — Lucy Davis and Old Oak Farm’s Nemo 119 scored the crown jewel of the 2011 HITS Desert Circuit when they captured the top placing in the $200,000 Lamborghini Grand Prix of the Desert, presented by Lamborghini of Newport Beach, to conclude six weeks of world-class show jumping at the HITS Desert Horse Park in Thermal, CA. Davis, 18, is making herself a household name in the sport. Sunday’s victory marked her fourth Grand Prix...

Steffen Peters and Ravel (SusanJStickle.com Photo) Wellington, FL – Despite the weather’s best attempts to delay the start of the 2011 World Dressage Masters presented by the International Polo Club Palm Beach, the competition prevailed and the only World Dressage Masters in the United States got underway at 2 p.m. at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center after some fierce storms passed over Florida. The field featured 17 of some of the best horses and riders in the world including veteran...

North Salem, NY - Old Salem Farm will host its 2011 spring horse shows at its facility in North Salem, NY, in the heart of Westchester County. Old Salem Farm boasts its historic grass Grand Prix field, state-of-the-art stabling facility and three pristine all-weather outdoor rings. Prior to the start of the Spring Horse Shows, Old Salem Farm will host an unrecognized Local Day horse show on Sunday, May 8. In honor of Mother's Day, there will be free admission on this day. Families are invited...

Lucy Davis and Nemo 119. (Flying Horse Photography©.) Theramal, CA - Week V of the HITS Desert Circuit in Thermal, CA, was a blockbuster. The show grounds were a buzz for a sold-out week where record number of entries filled popular classes starting as early in the week as Tuesday with the Level 2, 3, and 6 jumpers and the Low Hunters, each drawing huge numbers as everyone seems to be loving life in desert. It was also the final week of World Cup Qualifiers which means riders enjoyed their last...

Dressage Following their second and third place finishes in the CDIW at the Palm Beach Dressage Derby, Elisabeth Austin and Olivier and Shawna Harding and Come On III have earned their qualification to represent the U.S. at the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Final. The 2011 Final will be held in Leipzig, Germany. April 27- May 1. Austin and Olivier score of 70.150% placed them second behind Swedish rider Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven on Favourit in the Grand Prix Freestyle. Harding and Come On III finished...

Albuquerque, New Mexico - the Welsh Pony & Cob Society (WPCSA) Annual Meeting in Albuquerque, NM, included a Youth Luncheon showcasing the 2010 achievements of our junior members and honored winners in Child’s First Pony, Leading Rein, English Pleasure, Western Pleasure, Hunter, Short Stirrup, Trail, Pleasure Driving, Showmanship and Equitation. High Point Youth awards were presented for 12 & under participants – Erica Hall, Kaitlin Hofer, Riley Boyd and Darby Hyde - and 13– to 17-year-old...

Thalia with Gin-N-Tonic. (Photo by Mary Ellen Payne.) Albuquerque, NM - Dr. Ruth Wilburn, President of the Welsh Pony & Cob Society of America (WPCSA) announced a special lifetime achievement award to Thalia Gentzel for her significant contributions to the WPCSA, the pony hunter world, and the lives of many young riders throughout the course of her life. From the time she was 12, Thalia rode at the old Cornell University Stables, where she was later a member of the intercollegiate team. When...

Flying Horse Photography©. (Lucy Davis and Nemo 119.) Thermal, CA — Lucy Davis, one of the youngest Grand Prix riders on the HITS winter circuit, captured her biggest win of the season when she won Saturday night’s $50,000 HITS CSI-W Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, aboard Old Oak Farm’s Nemo 119 to highlight Desert Circuit V at the HITS Desert Horse Park in Thermal, CA. Davis (Los Angeles, CA) got the best of the 26 starters that challenged International Course Designer Olaf...