West Palm Beach, Fla. – US Equestrian is pleased to share that Verdades, owned by Laura Graves and Curt Maes, has been voted the 2018 International Horse of the Year and Cobra, owned by Marsha Hartford-Sapp, has been voted the 2018 National Horse of the Year. International Horse of the Year Verdades (Shannon Brinkman Photo) Verdades (Florett AS x Liwilarda/Goya), a 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, affectionately known as Diddy, began his journey to international success in 2014 after...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian has announced that changes are on the horizon for U.S. eventing as they roll out the first phase of a restructured and reinvented U.S. Eventing Pathway Program in 2019. As presented and discussed at length at the 2018 United States Eventing Association’s (USEA) Annual Meeting in December, and with U.S. Eventing Director of High Performance Erik Duvander at the helm, the program looks to create a “culture of competitiveness” and provide a...

Lexington, Ky. - Following the US Equestrian Federation (USEF) board meeting on Monday, November 12, the board of directors confirmed the dates and location of the 2019 Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) North American Youth Championships (NAYC) for Dressage. Subject to official approval from the FEI, Old Salem Farm in North Salem, N.Y., will host the FEI NAYC for Dressage July 30-August 4, 2019. For the second straight year, the NAYC for Dressage will run in conjunction...

Nicole Aden, Sound Prospect, and Allie Knowles at the 2017 Pau CCI4* (Courtesy of Nicole Aden) Grooms are a vital part of any competition barn. While grooms often are behind the scenes or alongside the ring, some of them also compete themselves. Nicole Aden, Meg Kepferle, and Andi Lawrence are three current or former eventing grooms who have found their own success in national and FEI eventing competitions. A few weeks ago, all three finished in the top 16 in the competitive CIC2* A division at...

Lexington, Ky. – The United States Equestrian Federation (US Equestrian) is pleased to announce a new partnership with Prestige Italia as the Official Saddle of US Equestrian. Through this sponsorship, US Equestrian members will receive a 5% MemberPerk discount on new saddles purchased through the Prestige Italia authorized dealers and sales representatives, some exclusions may apply. Prestige Italia will be a generous prize sponsor for the jumping, dressage, and eventing divisions at the...

Gladstone, N.J. – Four solid rounds on four different horses put 17-year-old Daisy Farish on top of the 2018 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals – East, held October 6-7, 2018, in Gladstone, N.J. Daisy Farish, 2018 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals - East Champion. (The Book LLC) “This is one final I’ve been close to winning before, but I had yet to put it all together,” Farish said. “That was very special to...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The United States Olympic Committee today announced finalists for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of September, which recognize the outstanding achievements of Team USA athletes from last month. Fans are invited to vote for their favorite athletes and teams at TeamUSA.org/Awards through midnight Monday, Oct. 8. A total of eight sports – including basketball, equestrian, Para-equestrian, paratriathlon, shooting, triathlon, volleyball and wrestling...

Lexington, Ky. – The International Friesian Show Horse Association (IFSHA) is set to host the World and Grand National Championship Horse Show at the Champions Center in Springfield, Ohio, from October 2-7. Spectators will have the opportunity to see the beauty and athleticism of the Friesian breed displayed in approximately 300 classes over the course of the show. Classes include a variety of disciplines such as dressage, Western dressage, English pleasure, carriage pleasure driving,...

San Juan Capistrano, Calif. – Taking home the win in the 2018 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals – West was Sophie Simpson (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), earning high scores in each phase of the four-phase competition. USEF Talent Search judges, Ronnie Beard and Michele Grubb of Wellington, Fla., designed the courses with Anthony D'Ambrosio of Red Hook, N.Y., serving as Technical Delegate. Friday morning's flat phase was split up into groups as the...

Mill Spring, N.C. - The U.S. Driving Team claimed the gold medal for the home team today at the FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) Tryon 2018 on Sunday. Led by Chef d'Equipe Barry Hunter, the U.S. Driving Team of James Fairclough with Caletta 5, his 16-year-old Austrian Warmblood mare; Bento V, his 2006 Dutch Warmblood gelding; Citens, his 2007 KWPN gelding; Dapper, his 2008 Dutch Warmblood gelding, and Zenden, his 2004 Dutch Warmblood gelding; Misdee Wrigley Miller with Daan 8, her...