Courtney Cooper got into breeding with every intention of producing upper-level event horses. Colleen Rutledge simply wanted to dabble in breeding with no particular expectations. They each took a chance on the process, and the U.S. eventing athletes believe they are on the right track with their four-star, homebred horses. Cooper and Who’s A Star and Rutledge and Covert Rights (CR) will each compete together in the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover for the second...

"I shot an arrow in the air. She fell to earth in Berkeley Square"; so goes the line from Kind Hearts and Coronets. Well apparently some mischievous soul shot a rifle round in the air and it fell to ground in the equestrian media centre here in Rio. It has been amusing reading the varying reports and through varying connotations and use of English, differing implications. A round did come through the media tent roof but it was not a large calibre (more rifle size) and had, I would suggest,...

Lexington, Ky. - The Brooke, the world's largest international equine welfare charity, has announced the selection of Emily Marquez-Dulin for the newly created position of executive director for their American division, Brooke USA. Ms. Marquez-Dulin will advance Brooke USA's objective to introduce donors in the United States to their unique mission: alleviating the suffering of working horses, donkeys and mules in the world's poorest countries. At least 100 million working equines...

Lexington, Ky. - USA Equestrian Trust has awarded nearly $300,000 in grants to help fund more than a dozen projects by equine non-profits. Since the inception of the Trust’s grants program, the organization has awarded more than $1.8 million in grants. The projects funded as part of the grant application period ending in May were: AMERICAN MORGAN HORSE EDUCATIONAL CHARITABLE TRUST ($44,500) to develop an online home school module that teaches courses through horsemanship and to purchase...

A five-part series to learn more about the exciting new discipline of Western Dressage Part 1: What is Western Dressage? When most equestrians think of "dressage", they envision the graceful harmony of beautiful horses with riders clad in top hats and tails, dancing together through musical freestyles in an Olympic stadium. But now, an increasing number of competitors entering dressage arenas will be wearing Western hats and boots with their horses outfitted in stock saddles. What's going...

Major equestrian competitions attended by U.S. athletes, both domestic and overseas, are listed in this weekly preview. Please look below to find competition listings by discipline* and breed. We hope you will follow the competitions that most interest you, but check Equestrian Weekly on Monday for a report of any top finishes by U.S. Equestrians. Arabian Sport Horse Nationals September 18-22 Lexington, Virginia The Arabian Horse Celebration September 18-21 Louisville, Kentucky Dressage NEDA...

Kristin Hardin and Aran are too fast to beat in $10,000 Circuit Opener Grand Prix (Sheri Scott) Woodside, CA - The jump-off of the Woodside Circuit Opener (June 19-23) Grand Prix was a case of fast, faster, fastest, and it was veteran Kristin Hardin on the inexperienced Aran (Pamela Levin, owner) who topped the 24-horse field over Danny Foster’s challenging track. Only four horse and rider combinations managed clear rounds over the demanding course, with the combination toward the end...

An Equestrian Weekly guest blog post from Liam Killen of the Equestrian Creative Network Creative thinking has long been prized and praised, but the need for creative thought and execution has never been more valuable or vital for brands. And this need is no less urgent in the equestrian sector. For our highly specialized brands, it's not good enough to resort to the same old clichés in whichever field of creative work we're commissioning. We need new thinking for our writing,...

Lexington, KY - The Wellington Dressage Nations Cup CDIO3* presented by Stillpoint Farm will be broadcast live on USEFNetwork.com from the Adequan Global Dressage Festival on Friday, April 12th. The USEF Network competition broadcast will include the Grand Prix and Prix St. Georges on Friday night and will be streamed live at www.usefnetwork.com/featured/2013DressageNationsCup/ . The Wellington Nations Cup CDIO3* will include teams from the United States, Canada, Australia, Colombia, Venezuela,...

Tiffany Sullivan scored her first big win after moving up to 1.50-1.60m competition this weekend at HITS Thermal. She and Tristan topped the $54,500 Purina Animal Nutrition CSI-W2* Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis (Flying Horse Photography) Thermal, CA - A grand prix victory is always impressive, but when it’s your first, and it’s in a 1.60m class, that bumps it into the realm of stunning, and stun the crowd is exactly what Tiffany Sullivan did Saturday night, riding Tristan to the...