Randi Muster (McLain Ward and Sapphire) It came down to a four-rider jump-off speed round at the 2006 Rolex/USEF National Show Jumping Championship at the 123rd National Horse Show in Wellington, FL, on Sunday afternoon. And in a finish befitting the championships sponsor—Rolex—the crowds counted split seconds in the final speed test. When the last rider left the course and the points were tallied, McLain Ward and his Sapphire bested all challengers to win the title in a suspenseful, yet...

Horses Unlimited, one of the premier sport horse breeding establishments in the United States, hosted three inspections this fall for the Oldenburg Registry of North American/International Sport Horse Registry (OLD/ISR,) the Rheinland Pfalz Saar International (RPSI) and the American Hanoverian Society (AHS.) “We are very fortunate to be able to host these inspections,” said the CEO of Horses Unlimited, Anne Sparks Whitten. “The inspectors are always willing to share their knowledge and...

International Friesian Show Horse Association's (IFSHA) Grand National Horse Show Manager, Gareth A. Selwood, is pleased to announce that the third annual International Friesian Show Horse Association’s Grand National Horse Show will be held November 10-12, 2006, at the incredible “state of the art” South Coast Casino and Equestrian Center in South Las Vegas, NV. Room block pricing for Friesian enthusiasts can be seen at www.southcoastcasino.com . The facility is located in the heart of the...

Lexington, KY – The two top teams from the 2005 Samsung Super League did a flip-flop from where they finished last year leaving Germany with the top honors this year, while Team U.S.A. came in a solid second after a long, tough battle, which ended with the eighth and final show in the Samsung Super League tour CSIO Barcelona, Spain (September 14-17). In Barcelona, all team points accumulated counted as double. Germany finished with a total of 65.125 points while the U.S. finished on 46 points....

Beezie Madden and Authentic made the final four cut in show jumping's Rolex World Championship. (Bob Langrish) The show jumpers returned to day four of five in a hotly contested race to the medal podium. America’s Beezie Madden and Authentic have dazzled the legions of show jumping fans that have traveled to Aachen to witness the very best of the best. Today’s two-round go was the decisive test of which four horse-and-rider pairs were asked to return for one last round on Sunday....

Team USA does it again by bringing home the Team Gold medal in reining. Pictured are: Dell Hendricks, Tim McQuay, Aaron Rahlston and Matt Mills. (By Ceci Flanagan-Snow) More than 38,000 fans of reining and driving descended on the 2006 World Equestrian Games on Friday to watch the exciting marathon phase of four-in-hand driving and the Team medal competition in the Western discipline of reining. It was a Gold-medal day for Team USA’s reiners, while three American drivers took to the...

The Dressage at Devon committee recently announced that it is offering $10,000 in prize money for the Grand Prix Freestyle winners at the 2006 show, stating that it is believed to be the most prize money for an individual class ever offered at a dressage show in the United States. Prize money for the same class in 2005 was $5,000. The winner of that class was George Williams of Delaware, OH, on the Westphalian mare, Rocher. “Despite the fact that dressage horses train longer than those in other...

Bob Langrish (American Kathryn Downs was the highest-placed American in 17th in endurance.) Long before the sun rose over the first day of competition at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Aachen, a flurry of activity was going on as the stage was set for the first medal decisions made in the equestrian discipline of endurance. The consensus is that today’s championship served as the biggest in the sport’s interesting development and history, and the fact that temperatures...

Mara Dean on Nicki Henley during the dressage phase of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Farnam. (Marc Manning) If there was one thing that stood out the first day of the 2006 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Farnam – other than the international-level competitors and their beautiful mounts – it was the abundance of blue skies and sunshine that surprised even veteran Rolex attendees. Legions of fans of eventing came from around the world to watch the highest...

Show jumping fans from around the world gathered for opening day of the final week of action at the 2006 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington and were greeted with beautiful sunny skies and mild temperatures. The CN Wellington Finale CSIO*****, the last week of show jumping before the festival moves on to Tampa for the final two weeks of competition, got underway on Wednesday at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club. Wednesday’s mid-morning featured event was the 1.45 m Time First Round...