The Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA) has a TEAM CHA youth Horse Connection Reward Program for kids 15 years and younger. The participants keep track of their hours working with horses, whether they have them or not. They can count activities, such as taking riding lessons, watching non-fiction videos and reading non-fiction books about horses, grooming, cleaning stalls, cleaning tack, feeding and so on. As part of this membership, the youth also receive a quarterly newsletter full of...

Last year’s winner, William Fox-Pitt will be defending his title at the 2009 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, September 3-6.The leading British rider, one of 100 international entries for this year’s event, will have to overcome some serious classy opposition from many of the world’s top riders and horses before he can take home the Land Rover Perpetual Challenge Trophy and £50,000 first prize for a second year. If successful, a consecutive win would put his name in the record books—he...

Jean Mutrux of St. Louis, MO, took the championship title in the 2009 USEF Saddle Seat Adult Amateur Medal Final at the Lexington Junior League Horse Show on Friday, July 10. Mutrux was coached to the win by her daughter, Abigail. “Coach” Abigail took home the Silver “trainer’s trophy.” As champion, Mutrux was honored with many awards including a beautiful cast resin sculpture created for this event by artist Patricia Crane, a hand-crafted USEF leather cabin bag made by Freedman Harness, a...

Margie Engle, one of the winningest grand prix riders in the history of the sport, recently added another accolade to her long list of accomplishments. The Olympic and Pan American Games veteran reached the $1 Million Club of the United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) Rider Recognition Program sponsored by World Equestrian Brands. The program was created in 2005 to track the overall lifetime money earnings of professional hunter and jumper riders. Each year, total monies won are added...

From the USEF Reining Department Take the fast track to the Long List at the CRI* National Championship to be held at the NRHA Derby June 26, 2009 in Oklahoma City Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) will offer an opportunity for reiners not on the USEF Reining Long List for 2009 to compete for the USEF CRI* National Championship Title at the USEF CRI* National Reining Championship. This championship will be held concurrently with the Adequan/USEF National Open...

Lexington, KY— The UPHA has initiated a new program designed to reward saddle seat equitation riders for their community service involvement and fundraising efforts for approved charitable organizations. Jim Taylor describes Ribbons of Service as “a shared-commitment program that encourages riders to show an American Saddlebred, Arabian (including Half-Arabians), Morgan or National Show Horse in saddle seat equitation competitions, and encourages donors to pledge funds for charity for each...

HITS, Inc., is pleased to announce the HITS Saugerties spring and summer horse show dates at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, NY. This year, HITS Saugerties will offer seven weeks of AA-rated hunter/jumper competition at its state-of-the-art facility, as well as several special events, including the 2009 USEF Junior Hunter East Coast Finals and the 19th Annual Marshall & Sterling League National Finals. "Our spring and summer show series in Saugerties are quite special, as they provide a...

Mark your calendars and register early for the Fifth International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot (ILC), November 6-8, 2009. Registration, program, presenter information, and exhibitor information is available online at www.laminitisconference.com . Who: Dr. James A. Orsini is the Director of the International Equine Conference (ILC) on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot. He is a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania and Associate Professor of Surgery in the...

Results of a United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) online survey conducted in May and June 2008 concerning the USEF Dressage Performance Standards Proposal showed that 65% of the over 1,250 respondents feel that there should be a proficiency requirement in order to advance through the levels in dressage competition. In addition, 56% of respondents indicate that the levels of proficiency identified in the draft proposal were appropriate. Important concerns about the USEF Dressage...

Lexington, KY - The final United States Equestrian Federation National Eventing Championship of the year wrapped up the season at the Galway Downs International Three-Day Event. Held in Temecula, CA (concurrently with the CCI**) on November 1-2. Juniors and Young Riders shone in the 2008 USEF National Junior/Young Rider CCI* Team Championship-West. The team made up of three riders from Area I and VI, triumphed in the long format CCI* over the team from Area VII to claim the Championship. Suzy...