Ocala, FL ­- Sterling Graburn of Bonifay, Florida won the first USEF Selection Trial for the 2008 World Singles Driving Championships held at the Sunshine State CDE (CAI-B Ocala) in Ocala, FL February 28-March 2. The World Championships will be held in Jarantow, Poland August 28-31. Besting a field of 11, Graburn and Dante an 8-year-old Sport Cob owned by Graburn and Wendy Ying, narrowly beat Donna Crookston of Saltsburg, PA. Prior to Sunday's cones competition Graburn's score of 121.28 gave...

The newly-seated 2008 Board of Directors of the American Saddlebred Registry held its organizational meeting on Friday, February 29, to elect its officers. Elected unanimously to one-year terms as its officers were Judith Werner (Illinois) as president; Anne Stafford (Tennessee) as vice-president; Barbara Molland (California) as secretary; and Jimmy Robertson (Kentucky) as treasurer. The registry’s bylaws require that the president, secretary and treasurer also be directors of the American...

Callan Solem and her mount Mianta were up to the challenge in Sunday's $50,000 Duggan Equipment Grand Prix as they secured the blue ribbon and $15,000 in prize money for Quiet Winter Farm at HITS Ocala. Solem and her mount Mianta had the fastest double-clear round on course designer Leopoldo Palacios' track. The pair got the best of 42 starters in the first round and seven combinations in the jump-off. Mianta is 14 and also won the $25,000 HITS Grand Prix on February 3. Solem's win also snaps...

Stadium Jumping, Inc., one of the nation's leading horse show production companies, is pleased to announce the official dates of this year's equestrian competitions in Tampa, FL. Held the last two weeks of March and the first week of April, the horse shows will feature some of the very best hunter and jumpers in the country at the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center at the Florida State Fairgrounds. "We're excited about the Tampa shows this year," commented Eugene R. Mische, President of Stadium...

Lexington, KY - Two important individuals made huge contributions to the success of the United States Equestrian Federation’s international riders in 2007. Capt. Mark Phillips and Melanie Smith-Taylor were instrumental in the achievements of the eventing and show jumping teams respectively. Phillips, who has been awarded the 2007 USEF National Coach of the Year honor, drove an incredibly successful eventing campaign which was highlighted by a medal sweep at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de...

For trainer Karen Healey of Thousand Oaks, CA, 2007 was a very good year. Her students won an amazing amount of classes throughout the year, and she was honored at the California Professional Horsemen's Association (CPHA) awards dinner with the CPHA Special Achievement Award and she also received four leading trainer awards. Healey's students won four CPHA equitation finals in 2007. Shelby Wakeman of Westlake Village, CA, won the CPHA Junior Medal Finals, while Yvette Lang-Einczig of Malibu,...

Diane Carney of Telluride Farm led several of her students to top placings this weekend at the Ledge Winter Classic, held January 3-6 at the Ledges Sporting Horses indoor facility in Roscoe, IL. Catie Hope, 16, took home the championship in the Large Junior Hunter division aboard her new mount, Caped Crusader. The pair took a first and a sixth place over fences and won the under saddle for the tricolor. They also placed third in the $1,000 Junior Hunter Classic. Hope's consistency followed her...

The World Games 2010 Foundation, Inc., and The Rolex Company announced that Rolex, the leading maker of luxury wristwatches, has signed on to become the "Official Timepiece of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games." "Having Rolex become a partner of the Games is exciting and tremendously important to our event," stated Jack Kelly, CEO of the World Games Foundation, Inc. "They have been such an integral part of equestrian sport for so many years, and it is only fitting that they be one of...

Tammy Provost of Zionsville, IN, won the inaugural 2008 United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) International Hunter Derby Class on Friday, December 7, at the Lake St. Louis Holiday Series, in Lake St. Louis, MO, managed by Tommy McIntyre. Aboard Daquiri, owned by Penny Cooper, Provost soared to the top against a field of 27. The two-round format consisted of a handy hunter and classic round, which asked competitors to navigate through the challenging courses of bending lines, banks and...

Oklahoma City, OK - The 2007 FEI World Reining Masters drew riders from fifteen countries to the Oklahoma State Fair Grounds on November 29, but two riders from the United States that caught the judges attention - equally. Not to be outdone by the home team an Austrian rider answered their challenge with an equally stellar performance. This meant that at the end of the competition Americans Casey Hinton and Gabe Hutchins were tied with Rudi Kronsteiner for first place on a score of 221. Under...