Photo by Flying Horse Photography (Keri Potter and Rockford I) The all-new Devoucoux Hunter Derby kicked off with a bang at the 2010 HITS Desert Circuit when one of the top hunter riders in the country, John French, piloted Victoria Komisar’s Over the Moon to the inaugural win in the $10,000 Devoucoux Derby on the West Coast. French of Gilroy, CA, had the highest score in both the first and second rounds of the popular 3'3" class that featured 29 starters on a course set by John Manning, which...

Steffen Peters, Jessica Ransehousen, Maxance McManamy (Geoff Oliver Bugbee) Louisville, KY – In January of 2009 Steffen Peters was honored with the USEF’s Equestrian of the Year Award for his uncanny sportsmanship and his achievements on the field of play throughout 2008. In 2010, at the USEF Pegasus Awards dinner he was bestowed the title again – this time for simply blowing the doors off the dressage world in 2009. Made even sweeter by the fact that the beloved horse who made it all possible...

Photo by Randi Muster (Pablo Barrios and La Gran) The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) began their competition on Wednesday, January 14, with opening jumper classes in the International Arena. The first week of the FTI WEF is sponsored by G&C Farm and runs through Sunday, January 17. The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of competition that conclude on April 4, 2010, and almost $6 million in prize money will be awarded through the circuit. This week's course designer is...

Mikala Munter Gundersen and Festivo Win Equilite Sponsored Class International dressage trainer and competitor Mikala Munter Gundersen was in the ribbons at the Wellington Classic Holiday Challenge, winning the USEF Third Level Test 3 with Christine DeHerrera’s Westphalian gelding Festivo. The class was sponsored by Equilite, makers of Sore No More, Herbal Blends and Botanical Animal Flower Essences, and Gundersen took home a giant tote filled with Equilite products. “Christine, who owns...

The SmartPak Equine/United States Eventing Association (USEA) Area II Adult Riders Training Three-Day Event, October 22-25, at Waredaca Farm in Laytonsville, MD, hosted 37 riders in three divisions. The event was a huge success with all but two riders completing the exciting long-format course. When it came time for the award ceremonies, it was three grey horses that earned the blue ribbons. D.C. McBroom aboard Twain won the A division on a 35.30 having added no additional penalties to their...

The program for the USET Foundation Holiday Gala Fundraiser is shaping up to be big as many of the country’s top riders have now signed on to participate. A pioneer among women in the equine industry, Lynn Palm Pittion-Rossillon, has announced that she will perform her famous Bridleless Musical Exhibition during the weekend’s events. German vaulter Kai Vorberg has also been added to the list of participants and will perform an exciting vaulting demonstration. SUCCEED® and Wellington Classic...

The Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA) honored top individuals, horses and organizations at the annual awards banquet held at the International Conference in Fort Collins, CO, at Colorado State University on October 10. Clinic Instructor of the Year Clinic instructors are the CHA Master Level Instructors that are clinic staff and certify instructors for CHA throughout North America. At the end of each clinic, participants write evaluations of the clinic staff. It is from these evaluations...

The premiere event of the American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC), the annual National Championship ride, proved to be a weekend of celebration in Northern California on September 11 and 13. At the site of the annual Patriot’s Day ride in Greenville, CA, competitors arrived from all over the western U.S. and Canada to compete for AERC’s top prizes. The 100-mile championship ride, held Friday, was won handily by Lindsay Graham, a fourth-year veterinary student at the University of California...

Kecskemet, Hungary – Team USA is in fifth position in the Team standings after the dressage and marathon at the FEI World Pair Driving Championship in Kecskemét, Hungary. The Dutch are still in the lead, ahead of Hungary, Germany and Switzerland. Team USA is less than five points away from the bronze medal, and anything can happen in tomorrow’s deciding obstacle driving competition. Keady Cadwell, Larry Poulin and Lisa Singer dropped one place in the Team standings after a...

George Morris (USEF Archives) By Joanie Morris Lexington, KY – The pursuit of Show Jumping excellence in the United States continues. The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and George Morris have renewed Morris’ contract to serve as Chef d’Equipe and Technical Advisor through 2012. Morris has steered the US Jumping program to tremendous success over the first four years of his tenure. His attention to detail and meticulous preparation of his teams is world renowned....