Bridgehampton, NY - Even though the Grand Prix Ring at the 37th Annual Hampton Classic Horse Show is hosting five Olympic gold medalists and many other international stars this week, Friday morning’s jumper classes belonged to two teenagers whose eyes are set on similar accomplishments. Luis Larrazabal, 19, won the $15,000 Speed Derby, presented by Sotheby’s, and Victoria Colvin, 14, won the $10,000 Junior/Amateur-Owner Welcome Stake. Riding G&C Lepanto, Larrazabal, a native of...

Wayne, IL - The 2012 USEF National Dressage Championships got underway Thursday in Ring 2 at the Lamplight Equestrian Center with competition held in the Young Horse, Developing Horse and Medal Final divisions. In the Markel/USEF National Young Horse Dressage Championship Five-Year-Old division Alice Tarjan and Elfenfeuer jumped out to the early lead after the Preliminary Test. While in the USEF Developing Horse Grand Prix Dressage Championship supported by Hilda Gurney and Carol Lavell Lisa...

The ninth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder Western Dressage is a new and growing discipline in the horse world. People are talking about it everywhere. At North American Western Dressage we answer questions every day about what it is, how you do it, what you wear, what your horse wears, bits, reins, helmets, levels of tests and competition, movements and how you do them and a myriad of other things. Answering these questions could be a full time job for any one of our...

Center Field Takes Center Stage In Medal Final, Emerging Victorious With Lucy Deslauriers Daisy Farish captured the Silver Medal Lexington, KY- The Alltech Arena was alive with action as the morning fog began to settle over the Kentucky Horse Park. It was the conclusion of the US Pony Hunter Championships presented by Sallee Horse Vansand the EquiSport Insurance/US Pony Medal Finals that brought the 2012 US Pony Lucy Deslauriers won the Gold Medal at the 2012 EquiSport Insurance/US Pony Medal...

Aaron Vale and Wodka L Photo by Carrie Wirth Zionsville, IN - Much-needed rain came to the Zionsville, IN, area on Thursday and added a few puddles and a few delays but did not detract from the festivities and competition at the 2012 Traders Point Hunt Charity Horse Show and Country Fair at picturesque Wild Air Farms in Zionsville, IN. Guests and exhibitors enjoyed live music on the grounds wafting from the annual Charity Garden Party. Course designer, Phil DeVita, built a technical track in...

Greenwich, UK - Hard luck continued for the U.S. Olympic Show Jumping Team as they rallied for a sixth place finish in the Team Championship at Greenwich Park. American anchor rider Rich Fellers said "Clear rounds win medals" and today that proved true as Great Britain won Team Gold for the first time since 1952. They did it in classic style in front of a home crowd of 20,000 fans, jumping off with Holland for the Gold medal. It was a masterful effort by the home team. Saudi Arabia won Bronze....

Steffen Peters and Ravel led the U.S. team with a score of 77.705% (Shannon Brinkman) Greenwich, UK - Steffen Peters (San Diego, CA) returned to the Olympic Games with Ravel and proved that the 14-year-old KWPN gelding still has what it takes to be competitive at the highest level of the sport of dressage. Four years after they were fourth individually in Hong Kong at the 2008 Games, Peters and Ravel scored 77.705% in Greenwich Park's main arena to lead the U.S. Team to fifth place at the...

Greenwich, UK - The Olympic Eventing dressage concluded today and the U.S. put in two strong performances to settle into seventh place after the first phase. The Germans have a commanding lead on a combined score of 119.10, just clear of Australia on 122.10. The home team sits third on 127. The next five teams are separated by less than 11 points, meaning that Monday’s cross country is destined to be influential. There is an unlikely leader at the top of the leaderboard as Yoshiaki Oiwa...

So we got the competition started yesterday. Literally. Boyd was first in on Otis Barbotiere and did a great job with the French phenom. Still green, Otis tried his heart out and coped remarkably well with the atmosphere. Unfortunately the judges weren't all quite on the same page yet, as the caffeine in the coffee was seemingly NOT evenly distributed. There was a 7 point spread in his scores which in the sport of reining, for instan ce, would be cause for an audit.We got over that, but it...

Hans-Dieter Dreher & Magnus Romeo (Alan Davidson/GCT) Chantilly, France - The race for the overall Global Champions Tour 2012 championship intensified Saturday with three top riders closing in on series leader Edwina-Tops Alexander. The dramatic finale to the Grand Prix in Chantilly was a dramatic display of top-level show jumping in front of a huge crowd only days before the start of the Olympic Games. The competition was a testament to the exceptionally high calibre of GCT events with...