Mavis Spencer (USEF/ Jennifer Haydon) Lexington, KY – The US show jumping riders got off to a fantastic start at the 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival on January 16, 2009. Led by 16-year-old Kylie Wright from Sparks-Glencoe, MD, the US filled the top two spots in the Individual Qualifier. She went first out of the 24 riders and produced one of only six clear rounds. No one went clear in the jump off but Wright, riding Pacific Wave, was the fastest of the four faulters with a time of...

Stadium Jumping, Inc., one of the nation's leading horse show production companies, is pleased to announce the official dates of the 2009 Tampa Equestrian Festival and 37th Annual $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational. This year the festival will host three weeks of equestrian competition with the world's best riders, horses and Olympians. The show will run from March 18-April 4 at the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, FL. The Tampa Equestrian Festival...

Lexington, KY – The US show jumping riders had their first training session on their borrowed horses at the 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney, Australia. The four riders all spent some time getting to know their borrowed horses and found both the horses and their Australian owners and riders very accommodating. Each nation is invited to bring four athletes between the ages of 15-20 and the four promising young stars representing the US are: Mavis Spencer, 17, from Santa Monica,...

The American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) recently created a Show Horse Hall of Fame, which honors registered Morgans with three or more world champion titles, or if shown prior to 1973, registered Morgans with three or more Grand Champion titles. These horses names will be embossed on a plaque that will reside at the AMHA Headquarters. Inducted as the inaugural horses into this prestigious Hall of Fame are these champions from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s: Chasley Superman, Gay Dancer,...

Lifelong horseman Art Gottfried passed away on Sunday, December 21, in the presence of his immediate family. Gottfried is survived by Rosalie, his wife of many years, his children, grandchildren, and his beloved dog, Ralphie. Gottfried was well known throughout the hunter/jumper sport for his lifelong involvement, and he was probably best known as a USEF Steward. Services for Gottfried were held on Friday, December 26, at the McCormick & Sons Mortuary in Laguna Hills. Rosalie asks that any...

The American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) is pleased to announce those members who will receive the top awards at its Annual Convention in February. For the first time, awardees are announced prior to the convention, with hopes that friends and family will be able to join them for this special recognition before the Morgan community. The 2009 AMHA Annual Convention will take place in Sacramento, CA, February 18-21. Man of the Year and Woman of the Year Awards honor those individuals for...

Thanks to the vision of the American Shetland Pony Club (ASPC), children in Hong Kong are enjoying the love and companionship of two very special Shetland Ponies. The ponies, FMF Imagination and PC Karmel Kid, were donated in the summer of 2008 as a way to salute Hong Kong’s efforts in hosting the 2008 Equestrian Olympics. “Karmel Kid is doing really well. He has been given the stable name of Bear and is loved by all. He has been fabulous with the lead rein kids and has also enjoyed a little...

The Unwanted Horse Coalition’s (UHC) National Survey to assess the magnitude of the problem of the unwanted horse will remain open until the end of January 2009. This is your final chance to participate. The Study on Contributing Factors Surrounding the Unwanted Horse Issue will be instrumental in filling factual gaps with actual data. The UHC still needs as many people as possible to fill out the 15-20 minute online survey. Again, the UHC is asking everyone with an interest in the welfare of...

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...

HITS is pleased to announce that the Stallion Services Department of the Equine Medical Center of Ocala will offer the Leading Mare Award to the mare that finishes the highest in the $100,000 DeLuca Toyota Tundra Grand Prix, presented by Great American Insurance Group on Sunday, March 15, at HITS Ocala. The award consists of a free embryo transfer that will be performed by Dr. Corey Miller, head of reproduction at the Ocala-based veterinary hospital. Any mare based in the United States who...