Lillie Keenan and Clearway (Sportfot) Wellington, FL - Fifteen-year-old Lillie Keenan rode to victory in the 6th Annual George Morris Excellence in Equitation Championship, presented by Alessandro Albanese, during week eleven of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF). Keenan, of New York City, piloted Heritage Farms' Clearway to a score of 89 during round one before upping the ante in round two with an astounding 98.5. Keenan was in second with a total score of 187.5 going...

The top three teams with Artisan Farms' Carlene Ziegler and ringmaster Cliff Haines (Sportfot) Wellington, FL - Thursday's competition concluded in the International Arena at PBIEC with the $20,000 Artisan Farms Young Rider Grand Prix Team Event, held in a Nations Cup format shown over two rounds of competition. With five teams of four competing, Team 5 was the winner. The team, made up of Wilton Porter riding Sleepy P Ranch LLC's Paloubet, Catherine Pasmore riding Freddy Star, Eugenio...

Quotable and Holly Orlando (Anne Gittins Photography) Wellington, FL - The hunters have officially taken over the International Arena during week seven of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF). Week seven showcases hunter competition at its finest as riders and horses go head-to-head as they battle to qualify for Saturday night's USHJA World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) Peter Wetherill Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular. Holly Orlando and Kelley Farmer took home an...

How can you practice anything on your horse when there’s six inches of snow on the ground, it’s below freezing, the wind is blowing, and you’re not blessed with an indoor arena? Here in Colorado, we often have beautiful, sunny days where we can exercise our horses outdoors for hours. On other days, not so much. As a friend of mine said, "it’s not how you ride your horse; it’s how you live your life." He was referring to work you can do off your horse, such as...

Conor Swail and Carlotta Singular (Sportfot) Wellington, FL - The second week of competition at the 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) kicked off on Wednesday, January 16, with a win for Conor Swail (IRL) and Carlotta Singular in the $8,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Jumpers at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. The second week of FTI WEF competition, sponsored by Wellington Equestrian Realty , will run January 16-20. Highlight events include the $33,000 Ruby et...

Rodrigo Pessoa and HH Let's Fly. (Sportfot) Wellington, FL - Brazil's Rodrigo Pessoa and HH Let's Fly galloped to victory in the $30,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 1 on the second day of competition at the 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) on Thursday. After kicking the year off with a second place finish in last weekend's inaugural $100,000 Trump Invitational Grand Prix, the duo is off to the races with a win to start their winter circuit. Week...

Jacob Pope completes the Final Test at the Alltech National Horse Show aboard Patrick to win the coveted ASPCA Alfred B. Maclay Finals (Rebecca Walton/PMG) Lexington, KY - It was another fairytale day for Jacob Pope of Columbia, MD, during the 2012 Maclay National Championship for the ASCPA Alfred B. Maclay Horsemanship Classes. The Alltech National Horse Show, 129th Edition, welcomed 152 riders for the prestigious event. At the end of the day, it was 18-year-old Pope whose horsemanship...

Tim Gredley and Unex Valente (Rebecca Walton) Lexington, KY - Great Britain's Tim Gredley proved to be one of the world's bravest riders Firday evening when he galloped up to a 7'6" wall aboard his talented mount Unex Valente. The pair was already champions of the $50,000 Puissance at Alltech National Horse Show, 129th edition after being the only horse and rider combination to clear the 7" wall. Although they were unsuccessful during their final attempt, the crowd was on their feet...

Sassafras Creek and Daisy Farish. (Shawn McMillen Photography) Washington, D.C. - The 54th annual Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) concluded competition at Verizon Center in downtown Washington D.C. on Sunday, October 28, with the presentation of championship awards in the pony hunter divisions. Twelve-year-old Daisy Farish, of Versailles, KY, earned the coveted Grand Pony Hunter Championship aboard Bibby Hill’s Sassafras Creek after topping the Medium Pony hunter division....

The eighteenth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder The latest addition to the Western Dressage information network is a new Facebook page dedicated exclusively to calendar events around the nation. The new page is called, appropriately, “Western Dressage Shows & Events” and is maintained by Vaquero Training Center in Connecticut. The page is designed to keep Western Dressage enthusiasts informed about what is going on all over the country. It is a brand new FB...