Photo by Robbi Meisel The crescendo for the 2010 Gulf Coast Winter Classics’ six weeks of competition occurred Sunday with the final $15,000 National Hunter Jumper League (NHJL) Nordic Lights Junior-Amateur Jumper Classic and the announcement of this season’s Circuit Champions. Zionsville, IN-based Allen Rheinheimer gave the jumpers their swan songs as course designer for the last week of competition in the Gulf, creating layouts that challenged the will of both rider and horse. Sunday...

An eBay store to aid with Courtney King-Dye’s medical expenses has been established by King-Dye’s long time sponsor, Succeed® Digestive Conditioning Program. The store can be found at https://stores.ebay.com/Courtney-King-Dye-Medical-Fund and features a variety of items donated by individuals in the equestrian community. 100% of the net proceeds from sales of all items at this store will go to the Courtney King-Dye Medical Fund. King-Dye, a top dressage rider who competed for the U.S. team in...

Photo by SusanJStickle.com (Canada's Belinda Trussell and Anton won the opening class in the WEF Dressage Classic, the FEI Grand Prix CDI***. ) The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) featured four disciplines in its tenth week of competition on March 17-21. The week featured the $75,000 Equine Couture/TuffRider Grand Prix CSI** and the WEF Dressage Classic, CDI***, along with a full schedule of hunter, jumper, and equitation classes. The week ten title sponsor was Equine...

Lexington, KY—The Paso Fino Horse Association (PFHA) has announced a call for resumes in search of a new Executive Director. The position of PFHA Executive Director will have overall operational responsibility for the health, wellness, growth and financial viability of the association. The Executive Director carries forward and implements the strategic views of the PFHA Board of Directors. It is the responsibility of the Executive Director to ensure the association operates within the PFHA...

Lebanon, OH-based Wilhelm Genn has done it again, winning both the $25,000 Nordic Lights Grand Prix and the $25,000 Budweiser Grand Prix during the fifth week of the 2010 Gulf Coast Winter Classics. International great Dave Ballard took up the reins of course designing for the double prix week. For Thursday’s $25,000 Nordic Lights event the co-creator of the 2008 Olympic layouts built a 15-effort test full of curves that had some riders struggling to keep the horses balanced, add to this...

Husband Jason Dye Thanks Dressage Community for Its Support As Courtney King-Dye, a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Dressage Team, remains in a coma in a Florida hospital after suffering a serious head injury earlier this month, an award winning New York fashion designer and two California equine photographers hope that sales of a t-shirt honoring Courtney will help with the mounting expenses associated with her medical care. The black-on-white silkscreened t-shirt for women, designed by indie...

Pikko del Cerro HU claimed the 2009 Markel/USEF National Championship for Six-Year-Olds (phelpsphotos.com) Lexington, KY - Following a banner year in 2009 for the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Program, the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased to announce the continuation of Markel Insurance as title sponsor as the 2010 Championship season gets under way. Markel Insurance has been a steadfast supporter of the USEF Young Horse Dressage Program since 2002. A long time supporter...

After an exciting evening of competition at the International Polo Club Palm Beach on Saturday evening, Team International The Seley Parker Group of Merrill Lynch performed a beautiful quadrille for a score of 95.3 to take home top honors in the 2010 Challenge of the Americas. The Challenge, in its ninth consecutive year as an annual fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, was held under the lights on Piaget Field and was presented by International Polo Club Palm Beach (IPC). The...

The American Hackney Horse Society Foundation (AHHSF) will be offering three $2,500 college Scholarships. These scholarships will be awarded to the selected students based on financial need, academic success, and a commitment to the Hackney breed, whether present, past or future. The first Scholarship is funded by the Al Haugen Memorial and is awarded on an annual basis to an incoming freshman. The second Scholarship is funded by the American hackney Horse Society Foundation and is also awarded...

When 15-year-old Chelsea Dowdy entered one of Kentucky’s many county fairs in 2009 with El Diamante, she could feel their usual synergy. With all the fun she had, it was an easy decision to enter another. And another. By season’s end, they had not only claimed top honors and a collection of garlands and ribbons—they had amassed a respectable college fund totaling $10,799.31. That hefty chunk of change came courtesy of the Kentucky Breeders’ Incentive Fund (KBIF), earmarked for a...