Lexington, KY- The U.S. eventing scene shifts its focus back to Lexington, KY this weekend for the USEF National CCI1* Championships as riders from across the country stake their claim on the final championship of the year. Just two weeks after the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, the Kentucky Horse Park is set to showcase some of the best up-and-coming horse and rider combinations in America. Held in conjunction with the Hagyard Midsouth Three-Day Event & Team Challenge, the competition...

At the end of Ferris Bueller's Day Off (potentially one of the best movies of all time), Ferris ends the movie saying; "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." On day 15 of WEG this seems to resonate quiet loudly. We still have driving, individual jumping, para dressage and vaulting medals to hand out, so by no means are we at the finish line yet. But we are getting closer. For some of us (myself definately) it's easy to get caught up in...

Karen O'Connor and Mandiba (Photo by Shannon Brinkman for USEF) Lexington, KY - Sunday's third and final phase of the Eventing World Championship by Reem Acra will be a hotly contested face-off between three nations: Great Britain, the United States and Canada, each separated from the other by only a handful of points on the leader board. The showdown for the Gold Medal is scheduled to air LIVE on NBC Sports at 1:00 PM [ET], as part of a five-hour equestrian sports marathon from the 2010...

Becky Holder and Courageous Comet (Joanie Morris/ USEF) Fairburn, GA – Becky Holder had a lot on the line when she entered the show jumping ring at the Land Rover/USEA American Eventing Championships with Courageous Comet. Not only was she the overnight leader after the first two phases on her dressage score, she also is on the USEF Short List for the Land Rover US Eventing Team for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games and the Advanced Championship was also serving as the USEF National...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Eventing High Performance program has made the following updates to the 2010 Developing Rider List: Rider / Age / Hometown / Horse name / Horse sex/ Breed / Age / Owner Madeline Blackman/20/Ringoes, NJ/Gordonstown/Gelding/Irish Sport Horse/12/Madeline Blackman Jennie Brannigan/23/West Grove, PA/Cambalda/Gelding/Thoroughbred Cross/8/Nina Gardner Hannah Sue Burnett/24/The Plains, VA/St. Barths/Gelding/Thoroughbred/10/Richard Thompson...

Arriving in Florida is always an adventure. Despite running laps between Lexington and Wellington this year, this was my first trip to Ocala, which of course means flying into Orlando. Which of course meant that I was the only person on my flight and in the airport without Disney World on the brain. Ocala and Lexington are locked in a fierce battle for bragging rights over which one really is the horse capital of the world. There are farms of every possible variety when you drive around this...

Chester Weber Goes for Eight (Joanie Morris/USEF) Ocala, FL, – The Live Oak International sponsored by US Trust kicked off with the FEI dressage on Thursday, and two USEF National Driving Championships bookended the six FEI divisions at the premiere event. Held at Charlotte Weber’s Live Oak Plantation, it is one of the featured events on the US calendar and showcased 40 of the best drivers in the United States. The USEF National Single Horse Championship got the morning started and Leslie...

Photo by SusanJStickle.com (Canada's Belinda Trussell and Anton won the opening class in the WEF Dressage Classic, the FEI Grand Prix CDI***. ) The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) featured four disciplines in its tenth week of competition on March 17-21. The week featured the $75,000 Equine Couture/TuffRider Grand Prix CSI** and the WEF Dressage Classic, CDI***, along with a full schedule of hunter, jumper, and equitation classes. The week ten title sponsor was Equine...

Longtime Saddlebred trainer and instructor Irvin Kaelin passed away on Saturday, March 13, 2010, at his St. Matthews home in Louisville, KY. At age 12, Kaelin won the Kentucky Equitation Championship, and a few years later began training and showing horses for the Howell Family at their Indian Hills Stable in Louisville, KY. Upon graduation from St. Xavier High School, Irvin purchased the Indian Hills Riding Academy from the Howells, and eventually instructed his 12-year-old daughter, Ava, to...

Photo by Randi Muster (Katherine Schmidt was victorious in the USEF Show Jumping Talent Search.) The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) had a busy week of competition on February 24-28. The week featured the start of the USEF Selection Trials for the U.S. Show Jumping Team for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games along with a full schedule of hunter, jumper, and equitation classes. The week seven title sponsor was Fidelity Investments. It was a full night of show jumping and...