Since my last correspondence, we have experienced many fabulous events here in Conty! The opening ceremonies certainly did not disappoint anyone as several breeds were displayed. There were two Spanish riding horses moving in unison with music and a lovely, young French woman working at liberty with a single horse. A lively ensemble of horns and drums kept the crowd in beat and alert during much of the presentation. We were even treated to a woman and her border collie herding a flock of geese,...

Lexington, KY – It was a sunny and warm at the Kentucky Horse Park for the third day of the 2011 United States Equestrian Federation Pony Finals. The day began in the Walnut Ring with the Small Pony Hunter Model and Under Saddle phases. The Medium Pony Hunter Over Fences were up next, and after three days of competition the Overall Medium Pony Hunter Grand Championship was awarded to Meredith Darst for her ride aboard Enchanted Forrest. The final event of the day was the Pony Jumper...

Lene Bruheim and Anyway won the 1,500 NAL/WIHS Children's Jumper Classic and the High Children's Jumper Championship at the Vermont Summer Festival (David Mullinix Photography). Manchester, VT - Lene Bruheim had great success this past weekend while competing for her family's Nordic Lights Farm at the prestigious Vermont Summer Festival in Manchester, VT. The talented junior rider recently purchased a new jumper mount, and the duo has already formed a great partnership. After earning...

McLain Ward placed first and second in the $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic during the Kentucky Summer Horse Show to take over the lead in the Hagyard Challenge Series standings (Photo: Rebecca Walton/PMG). Lexington, KY - After claiming the first and second place honors in the $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic during last week's the Kentucky Summer Horse Show, McLain Ward took over the lead in the 2011 Hagyard Challenge Series. The talented rider completed double clear rounds aboard...

Combined Driver Chester Weber, America’s reigning four-in-hand driving champion, shows his winning form in the Four-In-Hand competition at the Riesenbeck CAI. (Photo courtesy of My Elisabeth Weber). Riesenbeck, Germany – If you are superstitious you might credit combined driving champion Chester Weber’s fourth winning weekend in Europe to his team’s “four lucky rabbit’s feet.” Team Weber’s companion mascot, a hefty black rabbit named Kainzi, joined them...

Lexington, KY- The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) will be represented by five show jumpers at the CSIO Rotterdam, which runs August 24-28, 2011 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Please click on any athlete or team name for more information about them. The following horse/rider combinations have been named in ranked order to represent the U.S. Beezie Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo (13-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare owned by Coral Reef Ranch) Laura Kraut and Cedric (13-year-old...

Calgary, Alberta, Canada - Although the International ring at Spruce Meadows was far from dry, 26 internationally ranked riders braved the downpour to compete for the title of Champion of the TransCanada Parcours de Chasse. Through the rain, spectators watched and cheered as such riders as Richard Spooner, McLain Ward, Rich Fellers and Mario Deslauriers jumped the 700m course. They tackled obstacles such as the table top, and the south bank, which is precarious when wet. When all was said and...

Saugerties, NY — Equestrians from all over the world are reuniting at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, NY, for the first of three consecutive weeks of hunter/jumper show jumping. The competition begins on Wednesday, May 25, and continues until Sunday, June 12, when the Purina Mills Weekend will wrap up the spring shows with its popular Kids Day and the much anticipated $100,000 Purina Mills Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health. For the past several days, horse trailers, RVs, and...

Lexington, KY – Centenary College may have traveled to the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Championships with a young team, but their results belied their inexperience. They dominated the event, May 5-7 at the Alltech Arena in Lexington, KY, with victory in the Collegiate Cup team competition and USEF Cacchione Cup individual championship. “We are just thrilled,” said Michael Dowling, who coaches the team in partnership with Heather Clark. “Four of the...

Fairfield, CT — In poker it’s called re-shuffling the deck, and when the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) announced at the start of the 2010 semester that it had realigned its nine Zones to eight - changing the geography of its competitive regions and impacting coaching strategies - it promised to make the road to the 2011 IHSA National Championships, May 5-8, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, an interesting one. With Regional and Zone Championships, and Western...