Lexington, KY – In a conference call held today in cooperation with the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), five members of the U.S. 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) team answered a wide range of general media questions. On the phone from Germany were dressage team members Guenter Seidel from Cardiff, CA, and Debbie McDonald from Hailey, ID; vaulting team members Elizabeth Ioannou from Saratoga, CA, and Blake Dahlgren from Sun Valley, CA; and on the phone from Florida was show jumper...

Susan Summers, riding Mags Motivator, finished first in a ride time of 9:54:59 at the CEI*** 100-mile endurance ride in Ashland, MT, on Sunday, June 11. Her average ride time of 10.48 miles per hour put her four minutes ahead of second-place finisher, Heather Stevens, riding RSA Count Laquen. Forty riders took the trail in the 4:30 a.m. eastern Montana dawn. The trail would take them over ranch land and through the Custer National Forest. Twenty-six FEI riders began this third and last...

The Mission Pacific Vaulting Selection Trials were held May 13-14 in Somis, CA, and with only two more selection trials before the short list is named, the competition is tight, especially among the women. A seasoned athlete at age 18, Megan Benjamin of Saratoga, CA, led the women with a strong score of 8.608 on her horse, Faronia, a 17-hand Dutch Warmblood. Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Osborn of Menlo Park, CA; 22-year-old Mary McCormick of Woodside, CA; and 16-year-old Ali Divita of Redwood...

The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) is pleased to announce the new USDF Breeder of the Year Award program, which will be initiated for the 2006 competition season, which started October 1, 2005. This is a year-end award, based on performance in a given competition year. Breeders of dressage performance horses and breeders of dressage in-hand horses will be able to vie for top honors. Scott Hassler, Chairperson of the USDF Sport Horse Committee, stated, "Over the last few years, a...

Wellington, FL – In a night that would prove golden for our Irish friends, a young team led by famed Chef d’Equipe Eddie Macken set the standard for the Samsung Nation’s Cup at CSIO Wellington March 11, shutting out even the closest contenders by a roomy eight points. Riders Darragh Karrins, Jennifer Crooks, Conor Swail and Kevin Babington earned the Gold medal with a team total of 12 faults, split between two rounds. Babington and It’s Morado were in fact the only horse and rider pair able to...

Hagen, Germany - The United States will be well represented by a strong contingent at the CDIO5* Hagen in Hagen, Germany, from July 8-12. Located in western Germany, Hagen hosts top international dressage competition in the big stadium at Hof Kasselmann. The 2015 event will be contested by four dynamic pairs from the U.S.: Shelly Francis and Patricia Stempel’s Doktor, Charlotte Jorst and Kastel Denmark’s Kastel’s Nintendo, Arlene Page and her own Woodstock, and Kathleen Raine...

Las Vegas, Nev. – Returning to the U.S. for the first time in six years, the FEI World Cup Finals will take over Las Vegas, Nev., this week, hosting many of the finest jumping and dressage athletes from around the world. The U.S. will be represented by an impressive line-up of athlete-and-horse combinations, including three former champions and four athletes currently ranked within the top ten in the world. Taking place April 16-19 at the Thomas and Mack Center, competition will include...

Lisa Goldman and Morocco sped to the top of the $10,000 Welcome Stake in 32.842 seconds during the Showplace Productions Fall Classic Championship. (Phelps Media Group) Wayne, Ill. - The air was crisp and the horses fresh as the Showplace Fall Classic Championship Horse Show got underway at the Lamplight Equestrian Center. The LUXMAX USA Grand Prix Ring was alive with action early in the morning with the Young Jumper Championships, but the heat turned up later in the day when riders faced off...

Shane Sweetnam and Bijzonder (Rebecca Walton/Phelps Media Group) Lexington, Ky. - Ireland's Shane Sweetnam is well known for helping produce top young mounts, and Thursday he showed how it is done with the 8-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Bijzonder. When seven horses go double clear in the $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic, the only way to win is with speed, and although Bijzonder is just learning to go fast, he clearly has a knack for it. Sweetnam sped across the finish line two seconds...

Lexington, Ky. - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has named 10 show jumping athletes to the Short List for the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Athletes named to the Short List will compete on U.S. teams in Nations Cup competitions at CSIOs Spruce Meadows 'Continental', Rotterdam, Aachen, Hickstead, and Dublin. The following 10 riders have been named to the Short List (in alphabetical order): Lucy Davis (Los Angeles, Calif.) Katie Dinan (Wellington, Fla.) Margie...