The Kentucky Summer Horse Shows are just around the corner. Held at the beautiful Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, the Kentucky Summer Horse Show is scheduled for the week of July 22-26, with the Kentucky Summer Classic following the week of July 29-August 2, 2009. These two weeks of hunter/jumper competition are a main stop for exhibitors on the hunter/jumper circuit, attracting the very best horses and riders in the nation. The Kentucky Summer Classic is a World Championship Hunter Rider...

With a faultless show jumping round on the final day of competition at the Galway Downs International Horse Trials, Amy Tryon and Leyland claimed the Adequan/United States Eventing Association (USEA) Gold Cup as the winner of the CIC***. Tryon’s perfect round gave her a final a score of 51.6 penalties, enough to vault her from third to first after second-placed Kelly Prather lowered one rail on Ballinakill Glory (53.8) and third-placed Jolie Sexson lowered two rails on Killian O’Connor (55.7),...

The Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series enjoyed a great start to the 2009 season at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL. The series will see classes at more than 100 horse shows across the country before culminating in year-end championships at the Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament featuring the 126th National Horse Show in Syracuse, NY, in October. The Series hosts separate divisions for junior and amateur-owner riders in two...

The United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) along with title sponsor SmartPak will offer a Trainers Symposium, May 1-3, 2009, at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA. Top industry professionals, Candice King, Patricia Griffith and Val Renihan will headline the event giving riders and trainers the opportunity to participate in practical training sessions and roundtable discussions. The USHJA first introduced the Trainers Symposiums in the fall of 2006 as a means to...

American Hunter Pony Classic Sale graduates captured both of the USEF Horse of the Year Grand Champion Pony Hunter titles in 2008. Small pony hunters won both titles. The American Hunter Pony Classic held each year in conjunction with the USEF National Pony Hunter Finals. Horse of the Year Grand Champion Pony Hunter honors went to 13-year-old Fancy Feet in one of most dominating HOTY performances in years. Fancy Feet was the nation’s leading small pony hunter earning 11,410 points, beating the...

The rated series of the 2009 HITS Ocala Winter Circuit crowned its first winning grand prix pair on Thursday, when Tracy Magness rode Mr. and Mrs. John Bartko's Tarco Van Ter Moude to the blue in the $25,000 HITS Grand Prix at HITS Post Time Farm in Ocala, FL. Magness guided Tarco Van Ter Moude to the fastest double-clear round on course designer Guilherme Jorge's route as she collected $7,500 in first-place prize money. Magness outlasted 23 riders in the first round and the six who advanced to...

If horses could talk, humans would certainly hear some amazing tales. The stories told by Jamaica, the 17-year-old combined driving horse that helped his owner Chester Weber win a Silver medal at the FEI World Championships in The Netherlands, would be some of the most inspiring. At first glance, the high-spirited champion combined driving horse bears little resemblance to the carriage horse in the childhood story Black Beauty . That’s until you learn that the gelding was rescued from a...

Even tropical storm Hanna could not stop the competition at The Laurels at Landhope, September 5-7 in West Grove, PA. With hard ground from a dry summer, drivers in the advanced, intermediate, and preliminary divisions got through dressage, but some had concerns that the hard going would be too rough for them. "If there was anything that had me worried, it was that we wouldn't get the rain. I would have scratched. I was not going to sacrifice my 'A' team to the ground," said Lisa Stroud after...

The feature classes of the week at the Kentucky Summer Horse Show were the $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic, the ASG Software Solutions United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) International Hunter Derby, and the $40,000 Kentucky Summer Grand Prix. Top honors in both grand prix events went to Debbie Stephens. Aaron Vale won the International Hunter Derby by just one point. The Kentucky Summer Horse Show started with an exciting opening day at the Kentucky Horse Park. The Walnut Arena...

The popular Gold Coast Horse Show Series wrapped up its fifth show of the seven show season on July 20 at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. Exhibitors entered over to 300 horses, attracted by the wide range of classes, the convenient schedule and outstanding staff. Laura Mormann especially appreciates the scheduling since she attends college near San Francisco. All of her classes are on one day so she is able to commute. "All my classes are on Saturday," she said. "I’m all done showing in one...