On the first day of competition at the ASG Software Solutions/USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals presented by Dietrich Insurance, 56 horses and riders put it all on the line for their chance at the coveted Derby Finals Champion title. The top 25 horses from this morning’s round are invited to Saturday evening’s round two classic course and were given $1,000. The top 12 horses from round two will compete for overall derby final’s champion honors and a share of the $100,000 prize money. This...

Doug Payne, acclaimed rider and board member of the Professional Riders Organization, won top honors at the Millbrook Horse Trials this past weekend in New York. Payne's placings included three wins. "To date, I have not had an event which went so smoothly," Payne said. "And I can't say enough about the horses this weekend." Payne competed with eight horses in six divisions. "I'm excited that several of these horses will be competing for years to come," Payne continued. "Hopefully, their...

Marilyn E. Smith passed away on Friday, August 7. Smith was born May 14, 1939, in Fort Wayne, IN. For the past six years, she was the office manager at Hamilton Family Medical Center in Hamilton, IN Smith was a graduate of Stephens College in Columbia, MO, and Indiana University, and had a Master's Degree in Education. She taught second grade at Slocum Elementary School. Smith had been President of the Junior Division of the Fort Wayne Women's Club, and was the current president of the Phi Mu...

Marydell Farm is pleased to announce that its stallion Don Principe will now be trained and ridden by Olympian Courtney King-Dye. The 10-year-old Hanoverian by Donnerhall out of a Prince Thatch xx dam, SPS Papagena, has been trained and ridden by Jim Koford of Raleigh, NC, since his arrival in the USA at age six. Throughout their partnership, Don Principe and Koford gathered many honors along the way, including several championships, both regional and BLM, including a triple at the 2008 BLM...

Far Hills, New Jersey - It wasn’t an Olympic stadium, but those in the stands and along the rails at the Garden State Horse Show were thrilled to see two-time Olympic Gold Medal winner, McLain Ward, being driven around by a miniature horse, not much larger than a Great Dane. Handling the reins was 16 year-old Gary Johnson, one of the four Driver-Survivors representing sharingVillage Groups. Gary projected confidence as he cruised around the imposing Grand Prix jumps with Sammy, a 13-year old...

Telluride Farm had another successful week of showing at the Ledges Summertime Horse Show in Roscoe, IL. The students and horses at Telluride Farm train with Diane Carney in Hampshire, IL. Caitie Hope competed with her new mount, Total Touch, in the $5,000 Low Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic. The pair earned second place out of 38 entries, just missing the win by 2/100ths of a second. "Caitie had a great weekend," said Carney. "It was a great course and set to the exact...

Ocala, FL (July 13, 2009) – Kentucky Equine Research (KER) has joined forces with combined driver Chester Weber, becoming the latest Team Weber sponsor to join the championship team as they head toward the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Weber, a force to be reckoned with in the field of four-in-hand combined driving, became the first American to win an Individual medal at the World Championships and his high-profile team includes the now-famous Jamaica, the 2008 USEF Horse of the Year....

The excitement of cutting horse competition returns to the Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum July 13–August 2 with the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Summer Cutting Spectacular presented by Great American Insurance. The event lists 1,775 entries vying for more than $2 million in prize money. Classes are divided between a classic challenge competition for five- and six-year-old horses and a derby for four-year-old horses. The Summer Cutting Spectacular is the third leg of the prestigious...

The National Horse Show Association of America, Limited (NHSAA), is pleased to announce that this year's hunter divisions at the 126th National Horse Show will be 'AA'-rated. The 126th National Horse Show will be held in conjunction with the Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament on October 28-November 1, 2009, in Syracuse, NY. "We are thrilled to receive an 'AA'-rating for our hunter divisions," said National Horse Show President Mason Phelps, Jr. "The National Horse Show has a long...

Oklahoma City, OK—Record setting triple-digit temperatures and blazing hot scores were the buzz at the 2009 AdequanÒ/USEF National Reining Championships presented by Equine Motorcoach in Oklahoma City, OK. Held during the annual NRHA Derby, the championships determined the nation’s top reining horses and riders after a year of qualification. Using portable fans and high-powered misters to cut the heat for competing horses, the event was able to care for the horses and athletes alike in the...