Todd Minikus and Pavarotti. (Photo by Sportfot©.) Wellington, FL - After missing the beginning of the 2011 show circuit due to a shattered collarbone, Todd Minikus (USA) made his return to the winner's circle at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) today riding Pavarotti to a victory in the $31,000 WEF Challenge Cup Round 10. This was the pair's second time back in the ring this season and they made it look easy with two fast and faultless rounds. The FTI WEF's tenth week of competition,...

Gulfport, MS A very positive-minded 23-year-old Sarah Mechlin of Cincinnati, OH, partnered with Yes Indeed took the top spot over 50 competitors in the $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby during the fourth week of the Gulf Coast Winter Classics. Fifty equine athletes were being braided before dawn and began lunging at 5:30 Friday morning in preparation for their first big test, the official presentation and jog before the panel of judges- Mike Rosser, Ray Francis, Betsy Perry, Tucker...

Nick Skelton and Big Star. (Photo by Sportfot©.) Wellington, FL - February 13, 2011 - The fifth week of competition at the 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival concluded on Sunday with the $25,00 Suncast 1.50m Championship Jumper Series Classic, and it was Nick Skelton (GBR) and Big Star, owned by Beverly and Gary Widdowson, who proved victorious over a field of 65 entries. Alan Wade of Co. Tipperary, Ireland, designed today's courses and set a first-round track that 11 combinations would clear....

Silvio Mazzoni and Remonta Habano. (Photo by ESI Photography©.) Ocala, FL - February 11, 2011 - After a successful two-week Pre-Circuit and a short break, show jumping resumed at HITS Post Time Farm in Ocala, FL, on Tuesday with the Ocala Winter Classic, the first of six AA-rated weeks of competition. Silvio Mazzoni of Leesburg, VA, piloted his own Remonta Habano to a decisive win in Thursday afternoon’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health. “It was a beautiful...

San Antonio, TX - A record number of attendees gathered in San Antonio, TX, for the sixth annual United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) Annual Meeting, presented by the Texas Hunter Jumper Association. There they discussed a number of issues, including standardizing zone children’s and adult specifications, a revamped amateur definition and whether or not money won in derbies and classics should be counted toward Horse of the Year Awards. The 346 attendees traveled to the Westin La...

Looking north, the views from the new berms at the Jumper 1 ring at the HITS Desert Horse Park in Th (©HITS Staff. ) SAUGERTIES, NY (November 24, 2010) -- With just two months to go before the rings open at the HITS Desert Horse Park in Thermal, California, preparations are in full force for the Desert Circuit’s much-anticipated 20th Anniversary season. The six-week circuit will kick off on Tuesday, January 25, and run until Sunday, March 13, when the season finale $200,000 Lamborghini Grand...

Syracuse, NY - The final day of competition at the 2010 Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament featuring the 127th National Horse Show came to a close with the 2010 ASPCA Maclay National Championships. Riders worked all year to qualify for this event and after three phases of competition and it was 17-year-old Hayley Barnhill of Collierville, TN, leading the victory gallop and taking home the championship honors. In the first round of competition, 153 riders were tested on a course...

McLain Ward and Sapphire (Photo by Shannon Brinkman for USEF) Lexington, KY - After a fantastic start to the Individual competition on Monday, four members of the U.S. Show Jumping Team returned to the Rolex Stadium as the Jumping World Championships presented by Rolex began on Tuesday morning at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, KY. Monday's action set the stage for big things for the U.S. Team after two riders ended the Speed Round in the top two places. Mario...

Karen O'Connor and Mandiba (Photo by Shannon Brinkman for USEF) Lexington, KY - Sunday's third and final phase of the Eventing World Championship by Reem Acra will be a hotly contested face-off between three nations: Great Britain, the United States and Canada, each separated from the other by only a handful of points on the leader board. The showdown for the Gold Medal is scheduled to air LIVE on NBC Sports at 1:00 PM [ET], as part of a five-hour equestrian sports marathon from the 2010...

Becky Holder with Carl Bouckaert and Deborah Sandford from Land Rover (Leslie Threlkeld/USEA Photo) Jumping The Spruce Meadows Masters attracted some of the sport's top horses and riders to compete for $2 million in total prize money over five days. Ashlee Bond and Cadett 7 got the week started taking second in the $31,000 AKITA Drilling Cup. Thursday saw multiple wins for U.S. riders: Beezie Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo won the $50,000 CANA cup, Shelly Fellers and Cascade won the $10,000...