The 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games is proud to announce Ariat International, Inc., as the "Official Apparel and Footwear Sponsor" of their inaugural U.S. event. The announcement was made during the "Halfway There" celebration on September 25, marking exactly two years until the Games begin. Ariat-sponsored Olympic equestrian athlete Beezie Madden was on hand to note the partnership and its significance as the Games are being held in the United States for the first time. "I'm thrilled...

Silvia’s Dream Street Stallion, Starlight, won the grand championship at Dressage at Devon. The stunning black Oldenburg strutted around the world famous Dixon Oval with an air of supreme confidence; this combined with his expressive movement and correct conformation made him an easy choice for Grand Champion Stallion at Devon. As handler, Jens Richter lead Starlight out under the bright lights for the nighttime championship, the stallion’s black coat glistened like onyx. “He seemed to know it...

An abundance of high-performance riders will call HITS Culpeper home this week as show jumping for the United States Grand Prix League (USGPL) Finals began on September 24 with the $100,000 USGPL Invitational Grand Prix taking the stage on Sunday. Headlining the feature class is Canadian Olympian Jill Henselwood who comes to the USGPL Finals with the Silver medal she earned as a member of Team Canada during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Hong Kong. The well-decorated grand prix rider won the...

Laura Chapot took advantage of the enviable last-to-go spot in the jump-off of Thursday's final $25,000 Ariat Grand Prix of the season at HITS Saugerties on September 4, as she captured the blue aboard Church Road to rev up an exciting weekend of show jumping. Chapot and Church Road got the best of 16 pairs to challenge course designer Jerry Dougherty's first-round track and the five combinations that advanced to the jump-off to win $7,500 in prize money for horse owners Sarah Becker and B&B...

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...