Sometimes winning looks easy, and sometimes it just doesn’t. Ask the junior jumper riders about the 2006 Adequan/USEF National Junior Jumper Team Championship - Prix des States. The Zone 2 team representing the best junior jumper riders from New Jersey , New York and Pennsylvania made every jump count as they edged the Zone 1, New England squad, by a single downed rail. The defending champions, Zone 5 (IL, IN, KY, MI, OH) were never better than third where they tied with West Coast Zone 10 (CA,...

This past weekend, the Capital Challenge Horse Show in Upper Marlboro, MD, held the Monarch International’s Show Circuit Magazine Professional World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) finals. The WCHR National Awards program recognizes the top professional, junior, adult amateur, pony and amateur riders through points accumulated throughout the year at the rider’s top four WCHR shows. The top six riders from each region and the top 10 riders in the standings are then invited to compete directly...

It was Maggie McAlary--all day, all the way, from morning till night. The 16-year-old, from Amherst, NH, rode 11th in a cavalcade of 271 junior riders vying for the 2006 prestigious Pessoa/United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Hunter Seat Medal Final presented by Becker College. This was McAlary’s third year qualifying for this national championship. “My horse, Mid-Accord, was nervous before the first round,” she said. “This is his first year doing equitation.” She topped the first...

Dover, DE – After almost a year of planning and preparation, the Delaware State University Women Equestrian Team will commence its first competitive season with seven meets scheduled for the 2006-2007 season. Led by Head Coach Leigh Nichol and Assistant Head Coach Amy Walls and Western Assistant Coach Bill Brown, the inaugural Lady Hornets equestrian team begins its first season with six team members – Kayleigh Karnbach, Kamerra Brown, Christina Smith, Kera Russum, Jenna Warren and Morgan Scuse....

It’s time for the 13th annual Capital Challenge Horse Show, held in Upper Marlboro, MD. As one of the show’s largest corporate sponsors, Ariat International, Inc., a leading manufacturer of equestrian riding boots and apparel, will be sponsoring the American Hunter-Jumper Foundation’s (AHJF) Emergency Relief Fund focused GOT ARIAT! Program during the World Champion Hunter Rider classes. Established in 1995, the AHJF Emergency Relief Fund was created to provide financial support to the families...

Three new series and continued world premiere coverage of the FEI World Equestrian Games 2006 lead The HorseTV Channel’s October premiere program lineup. “As we approach the one year anniversary of our launch, it’s rewarding to review the evolution of our programming,” said Rachel Falleroni, Head of Programming for The HorseTV Channel. “With three new series introductions this month, we continue to expand and diversify our programming to meet the wide-ranging interests of our viewers.” Kids of...

Flat tires are the leading cause of disablements involving horse trailers. USRider is involved in a research project with Dr. Tomas Gimenez to test the benefits (if any) of using air vs. nitrogen to inflate tow vehicle and horse trailer tires. An electronic air pressure monitoring system is being used to assist with the research. During the research, Dr. Gimenez and USRider have noted significant safety benefits resulting from using this system. “At USRider, we are all about safety when it...

Aaron Ralston (left) and Tim McQuay (right) were awarded the Bronze and Silver Individual reining medals at the 2006 WEG. Canada's Duane Latimer took the Gold. (Bob Langrish ) (Aachen, Germany) —It ended like it began, with wind and rain. But, it was a wet, windy and wonderful finale to an amazing two weeks of equestrian sport at the 2006 Aachen World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany. By all accounts, it has turned out to be the biggest and most impressive equestrian competition in...

Bob Langrish (Steffen Peters aboard Floriano finished in fourth place in the grand prix special during Friday's dressage competition in Aachen.) (Aachen, Germany)—To say it was tough competition today in the dressage grand prix special at the 2006 World Equestrian Games (WEG) would be a gross understatement. But two Americans made it look like a walk in the park. American’s Guenter Seidel and Steffen Peters, who are now both poised to enter a showdown among the top 15 dressage...

Bob Langrish (American Kathryn Downs was the highest-placed American in 17th in endurance.) Long before the sun rose over the first day of competition at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Aachen, a flurry of activity was going on as the stage was set for the first medal decisions made in the equestrian discipline of endurance. The consensus is that today’s championship served as the biggest in the sport’s interesting development and history, and the fact that temperatures...