Lexington, Ky. - US Equestrian (USEF) announces the appointment of long-term US Equestrian employee Hallye Griffin as Director of FEI Sport. Griffin will assume the duties of former Director of FEI/High-Performance Sport, Graeme Thom, who has chosen to step away from his role to attend to personal matters. “Over recent months, I have encountered some evolving personal obligations that are limiting my ability to commit the necessary time in my role as Director of FEI and High-Performance...

Krystal Wilt (Pat Hendrick Photography) The Dressage Foundation is pleased to announce that the inaugural Karen Skvarla Fund Grant has been awarded to young professional, Krystal Wilt, of Sand Lake, NY. Krystal intends to use the $500 grant to ride two horses in Eastern New York Dressage and Combined Training Association’s Gary Rockwell clinic in May. Krystal is a high school biology teacher who devotes the rest of her hours to dressage training. She would like to build her dressage...

Cannes, France - Laura Kraut entetred the GCT Grand Prix CSI5* in Cannes on Saturday one point back of the GCT Championship rankings lead. After a four fault effort over two rounds with Jubilee d'Ouilly and a top ten finish, Kraut is now back on top with 132 points. She lost the top ranking to Portugal's Luciana Diniz in London one week ago, but with the dust settling in Cannes is now 8-points ahead of Germany's Christian Ahlmann. Only five combinations jumped clear in the first...

Final Preparations My horse Verdicci and I have less than one week left to prepare for the 2011 FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships! I can’t wait to represent Region 5 on the Young Rider Dressage team! I have dreamed of being a Young Rider ever since I was twelve years old, so four years later it is great to finally be stepping up to the “big leagues” after competing in the Junior division for the past three years. It is especially great since I thought I...

Last March I made my inaugural visit to Wellington, FL and the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center for CSIO week, which included the USEF Selection Trials for the US Show Jumping Team for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games and the $75,000 FEI Nations Cup presented by CN. My partner in crime, Melissa Davis, and I set-up our Merchandise “Fort” and sold-out of nearly all the USA and patriotic coats, polos and hats we’d shipped down. Unseasonably chilly temperatures for Palm Beach...

Jacobs and Leap of Joy. (Photo The Book LLC©.) Wellington, FL and East Aurora, NY - February 9, 2011 - Charlie Jacobs rode his mount Leap of Joy to two blues and the weekend's championship tricolor during in the fourth week of the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. The duo won both classes during the High Amateur-Owners, completing four clear efforts over the technical track. Over the 12 weeks of the circuit, Jacobs chooses to show for six weeks....

Dr. Tim Holekamp was elected President of the American Trakehner Association at its 36th annual convention in Jacksonville, FL. Holekamp and his wife Cheryl own New Spring Farm in Columbia, MO, and are possibly best known for their acclaimed Trakehner stallion Windfall*Pg*, a U.S. Olympic team bronze medalist. “We started in 1984 with two Trakehner mares that we bought at the ATA auction in Columbus, Ohio,” said Holekamp, explaining that it took just one trip to an ATA convention for him to...

Dressage rider Leah Winston and Lusitano stallion Amintas Interagro. (Photo courtesy of JRPR.) Jacksonville, FL – The Lusitano breed was in the spotlight at the recent United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Annual Convention in Jacksonville, FL, when an award-winning Lusitano took part in the symposium and two lucky audience members won tickets to the upcoming 2011 Lusitano CollectionTM International Horse Auction. The auction, which will be held at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in...

Fairfield, CT - The Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) has announced a realigning of its National Zones, compressing nine Zones into eight, and reflecting several new changes. In brief: * Former Zone 7 was absorbed into Zones 8 and 5 * Zone 9 was renamed Zone 7 * New regions were created in Zones 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 (former Zone 9) * Zone 1 sent a region to Zone 2 * Zone 2 shifted a region to Zone 3 * Zone 3 lost two regions - one to Zone 4 and another to Zone 6 * Zone 4 shifted a...

Tucker Johnson and Karen O’Connor to Carry Flag for U.S. Delegation at 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Lexington, KY – The athletes of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) have selected Driver Tucker Johnson and Eventing rider Karen O’Connor as flag bearers for Opening Ceremonies for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG). Johnson and O’Connor are both veteran athletes who have collected accolades for the United States on multiple occasions. Johnson helped the U.S....