Competition was intense in the hunter rings over Labor Day weekend at the Horse Park at Woodside, as the second to last show in the 2008 Woodside Show Series concluded with a flurry of hunter and equitation finals on Monday morning. At the Woodside Labor Day Classic, August 29–September 1, the quiet, tense spectators watching during the second round and work-off of the Carousel Junior/Amateur Medal Finals finally took a collective breath when rider Jill Stevens was named champion. Stevens was...

“It was ok,” said Hart after her test. “I’m relatively happy, he was a little more settled, it was better (than Sunday). He was definitely a little happier in there.” Hart, 24, from Erie, PA was born with Familial Spastic Paraplegia and has been involved in Para Equestrian activities for over a decade. She is looking forward to her third and final shot at a medal in the Individual Freestyle on Wednesday evening. The arena proved to be quite buzzy for some of the horses, even during the day....

Hong Kong, China – Team USA faced some formidable competition in the first round of Team competition at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Hong Kong. Four riders from each country have ridden one test, and the US lies 10th on a score of 185.702. Barbara Grassmyer got the competition rolling for the US riders, putting in a solid effort with Mibis for a score of 59.231% in the Grade III Team Test. Grassmyer made the trip from Placerville, CA. She is confident she can improve her performance in the...

Lauren Hough and her mount Unicum closed out the Constitution Classic at HITS Culpeper when the duo posted the fastest double-clear effort in the $40,000 Avalon Saddlery Grand Prix to win the blue ribbon. Course Designer Ken Krome trimmed a field of 21 starters in the first round down to just four in a jump-off that saw Hough dominate the round when she won the class by nearly six seconds. Kicking things off in the jump-off was Maryland's Tracy Magness and her grand prix horse Tarco Van Ter...

Jarantow, Poland ­– Team USA set their goal after yesterday's marathon to improve their individual placing and team placing at the World Driving Championship on the last Team USA in Poland (Jacqueline Zimmermann) competition day. They succeeded! The USA Team climbed to 11th place in the final team standings, thanks to the very good results of the US drivers in the final and decisive cones competition. The last competition turned out to be a thrilling and exciting competition in...

The first phase of the World Single Driving Championship in Jarantow, Poland, was won by Dutch driver Jan van den Broek, who’s dressage test on Thursday could not be beaten by today’s reaming drivers. Bill Peacock put down the best dressage performance for the US team with a score of 44.30 on the 19th place. The top three of yesterday’s dressage remained unchanged. Van den Broek leads with an gap of 7.27 penalty points ahead of Germany’s Mareike Harm and the 1998 World...

Lexington, KY— Though it was Morgan Moog’s first time competing at the 2008 United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Pony Medal, she and her horse Goodnight Moon topped the efforts of 184 other competitors to win the championship title. In the USEF Pony Medal Final, the riders compete in small, medium and large divisions based on pony size and are judged on their equitation and ability to ride the course correctly. From there, the top riders are asked to come back for another course over...

Lexington, KY— With 618 large, medium and small ponies entered in the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) 2008 Pony Finals National Championships, the competition is challenging with more ponies than the previous year. With a total of 414 riders ranging in age from six to seventeen, this five-day championship has young riders competing for the title of four championships— Wild Horsefeathers/USEF Pony Hunter Finals, Wild Horsefeathers/USEF Green Hunter Pony Finals, USEF Pony Medal and the...

Phillip Dutton and Connaught in Hong Kong (Ken Braddick) Hong Kong, China – The second day of dressage got underway bright and early at Sha Tin and the overnight leaders, the Australians, never looked in danger of having their lead threatened. The same three scores the team used yesterday (out of the five riders) held their lead on a total mark of 102.80. The U.S. continued to well orchestrated plans, and their two most experienced riders put in very solid performances to leave the U.S....

Lexington, KY – Driver Chester Weber continued his stellar European campaign over the weekend with a convincing win at the German Fahrderby in Riesenbeck, Germany. The Fahrderby (Driving Derby) is a unique competition which consists of six separate phases. It began with each competitor driving a pair the first morning - a class that is equivalent to a show hunter class. Four drivers enter a standard driving arena and are directed by the judges to perform specific movements from letter to...