On Monday, just days before the start of the first leg of the 2010 Exquis World Dressage Masters (WDM) in Palm Beach, the WDM organization announced the signing of a letter of intent to consider staging an event in Brazil in 2011. Camil Smeulders, Managing Director of WDM, announced the signing of the letter of intent with the company Haras Vale da Raposa operated by world renowned Brazilian architect Bennett Nisencwajg and his son, Heitor. WDM said it viewed the discussions as a major step in...

Photo by Ken Braddick (A frisky Satchmo with rider Isabell Werth during the vet check.) All 16 horses that were presented for veterinary inspection were passed Wednesday to start in the €100,000 (US$138,000) Exquis World Dressage Masters at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. Three German combinations, three Dutch, six from the U.S., three from Canada and one pair from Denmark will perform in the €10,000 (US$14,000) Nürnberger Versicherungsgruppe Grand Prix at 1 p.m. It is the only...

HITS would like to congratulate all of the riders in this year's 2009 ASPCA Maclay National Championships, which was held on October 31 at the Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament, featuring the 126th National Horse Show. Of the top 10 ribbon winners, nine of the riders compete at HITS winter show circuits, either in Thermal, CA, or Ocala, FL. Winner Zazou Hoffman of Santa Monica, CA, is a past regular competitor in Thermal, as are Samantha Harrison (fourth place) and Lucy Davis (sixth)....

Besides delighting my readers with scintillating stories (we writers like to use words like "scintillating" because we think it makes us sound writerly), my main purpose for being at Sport Horse Nationals here in beautiful, damp Kentucky is to help out (in other words, provide slave labor for) my good friend and mentor, Patience Prine-Carr. This means that I get a lot of mane pulling and braiding practice every day. While it's good for me to get the practice, it's frustrating because...

The American Horse Council (AHC) has launched a new effort to collect information on access issues equestrians are experiencing on federal lands. The centerpiece of this effort is an online form equestrians can use to report their personal experiences regarding trails and federal lands that have been closed to them or other access issues. Americans who use horses and pack stock enjoy a unique experience when they ride on trails and public lands. It is an experience that ties them to the...

The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is pleased to announce that the Chattahoochee Hills Three-Day Event on May 15-17, 2009, will be a part of this year’s Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series. Chattahoochee Hills offers several events throughout the year at the state-of-the-art facility in Fairburn, GA. “Chat Hills” as it’s known to its fans, kicked off their first events last year, offering divisions from novice through intermediate. This year, they’ve included FEI divisions, and the CIC**...

The focus groups formed by FEI Anti Doping and Medication Commission members, selected experts and FEI staff have begun their work. Four working groups were created: Lab Group, Legal Group, List Group, and Communications and Education Group. Three groups—Lab, Legal and List—met on January 29-30 and February 4, respectively. The remaining group—Communications and Education—will meet on February 9. The groups' composition and main tasks are as follows: Lab Group The main...

After years of research and planning, a much-awaited plan that allows piroplasmosis positive horses to compete in the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) was announced at November’s FEI General Assembly, by the World Games 2010 Foundation in coordination with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The Games will be held in Lexington, KY, at the Kentucky Horse Park September...

The Arabian Horse Foundation has established a scholarship in honor of Myron Krause, President of the Arabian Horse Association for the past four years. Krause served longer than any other president in the association’s recent history. Announcement of the scholarship came at the association’s annual convention that was held in November in Denver. Approximately 400 delegates and alternates attended the three-day convention. The scholarship established as “The Myron Krause Equine Research...

A new round of major improvements focused on footing in the competition arenas has begun at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in preparation for 2008/2009 circuits including the showcase Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). Footing created by Olympic provider Bart Poels that was installed in PBIEC's International and DeNemethy arenas last year will be extended to the DeNemethy warm-up ring and the Mogavero arena. Footing in Rings 7 and 8 and the arenas at the South Grounds...