Nancy Becker Lexington, Ky. - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased announce that Nancy Becker and Gary Garone have been named coaches of the 2014 U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup Team. They will coach the team before and during the 2014 Saddle Seat World Cup, which will be held July 22-26 at the Blue Ridge Classic Horse Show in the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center. Becker (Nicholasville, Ky.) has supported the Saddle Seat World Cup effort for years, including serving as...

Christian Heineking and NKH Selena (Flying Horse Photography) Thermal Calif. - With the 2014 HITS Desert Circuit set to open its gates to seven weeks of competition on Tuesday, Christian Heineking is riding high as he makes his debut in Thermal, California as the leading rider on the AIG $1 Million Grand Prix Rider Standings. With a barn of 15 horses making their winter home at HITS Thermal, Heineking is primed to leave his mark on the Desert Circuit and is hopeful that his early leverage will...

Springtown, Texas - It was a tale of two teams in Texas on Saturday as No.7 Baylor and No.8 Texas Christian met in an early season in-state clash. TCU had the better western team, and Baylor was the dominant hunt seat team. But the TCU reining team was the only squad able to secure an outright, 5-0, sweep. In doing so they made the difference in a hard fought 11-9 win. Baylor won equitation on the flat 3-2 and TCU edged out an equal 3-2 victory in horsemanship. TCU was able to pick up one point...

Gladstone, N.J. - The 2013 Platinum Performance/USEF Talent Search Finals East officially got underway on Saturday at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation Headquarters with competitors completing the first two phases of competition. In the morning, judges Ronnie Beard and Anne Kursinski tested riders on the flat in the Dick and Jane Brown Arena and in the afternoon competitors returned to demonstrate their skill over a gymnastics course. At the end of the first day of competition, Lillie Keenan...

Chester Weber in the Bowl hazard at the Kentucky Classic CDE (Pics of You) After a narrow victory in the marathon, Chester Weber is poised to earn a record setting tenth National Championship. Weber (Ocala, Florida) was first four-in-hand driver on the marathon course with the team of his own and Jane Clark's Boris, Splash, Boy W, and Ultra. To the delight of a flock fans following him from hazard to hazard, he proved to be the day's best. Weber's 98.40 gave him a slight edge over...

Kate Shields (Pics of You) Lexington, Kentucky - Advanced dressage tests at the Kentucky Classic CDE, which is hosting the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Singles and Four-in-Hand Driving National Championships, were held Thursday afternoon at the Kentucky Horse Park. When they were over Kate Shields was atop the single horse leaderboard, and Chester Weber set himself up for a tenth four-in-hand national championship. USEF National Single Horse Championship Kate Shields (Middleburg,...

Gerco Schroder (GCT Press Office) Vienna, Austria - America's Laura Kraut held on to her Longines Global Champions Tour Ranking lead after an exhilarating event in Vienna, Austria. Sunday's Grand Prix result set up a cliffhanger finale at the 12th leg of the season in Doha, Qatar in November. Without her top-mount Cedric, Laura had her doubts about whether she would be able to retain the No1 spot on the ranking, but after a strong first round, Laura qualified through to the second round...

Washington, DC - Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) is pleased to announce a new incentive bonus sponsored by SHF Enterprises, Inc. for the rated Jumper divisions, along with the winner of the $125,000 President's Cup Grand Prix, to honor horses that also competed in the Young Jumper Championships (YJC). The bonus is yet another highlight for jumper riders at the 55th annual WIHS, held October 22-27, 2013, at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The “SHF Enterprises, Inc. Young...

Boyd Martin and Trading Aces land after the final show jumping fence after putting in one of only eight double clear rounds (Hannah Bennet/USEA) Richland, MI - The weather gods were smiling on the CIC3* riders Friday afternoon at Richland Park as they took to the showjumping ring to tackle Mark Donovan’s proper three-star course. As inconvenient as the deluge was Thursday afternoon, it provided perfectly softened footing for the horses to spring off of Friday, and they needed every extra...

With the dressage phase complete at the CAI-A4 in Beekbergen, The Netherlands, Chester Weber is in a familiar spot, the lead. With the team of Boris, Ultra, Splash, and Senate Weber eeked out a win over Australia's Boyd Excell and the rest of the field. With a 79.4% performance Weber holds a score of 32.97 with Excell right behind at 33.56 (his percentage score was 79.0%). They are leaders far and away with the third place team of Argentina's Wolf von Buchholtz coming in at 49.85. The...