Alexa Effron Sweeps the Coldwell Banker Children's 14 & Under Hunters Wellington, FL - The second week of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival came to a close today, and competition in the International Arena was fierce with the $25,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic. Marie Hecart (FRA) was the fastest clear round in the jump-off on Ecurie Michel Hecart's Oceane de Nantuel. Second place went to last week's 1.50m winners, Nick Skelton (GBR) and Beverley...

CALENDAR DD Mighty Hector. (Photo courtesy SHN Payback, Inc.) Columbia, MD Sport Horse National Payback (SHN Payback) today announced the top winners for the 2010 season. Mirage V+++// with two Reserve Championships and three Top Ten wins narrowly captured Super Stallion honors. Beth Conti of Catori Creek Arabians in Arizona received a trophy, ribbon, and custom embroidered cooler. The prizes were donated in memory of the 2008 Top SHN Payback Sire, Bey Oro, owned by Mark and Tania Dunlap. KB...

Baltimore, MD - The 56th Annual Convention of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, held December 4–8 in Baltimore, MD., attracted a crowd of 5,504 veterinary professionals, guests and exhibitors, making it again the largest equine veterinary continuing education event in the world. The convention returned to the Mid-Atlantic region for the first time since 1998. “The AAEP has many members who practice in the Mid-Atlantic states and the Northeast, which made Baltimore a very...

Nate Chambers and Rolling Stone II (Photo courtesy Classic Communications) Fair Hill, MD - Nate Chambers, 23, of Vienna, VA, maintained the lead in the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) CCI*** at the 22nd annual Dansko Fair Hill International Festival in the Country following the cross country test on Saturday. Riding his 14 year-old warmblood gelding, Rolling Stone II, Chambers ended the day with a penalty score of 46.6. "I was very happy with the way he went today," said Chambers of...

Plantation Field Horse Trials in Unionville, PA, was the host site for the preliminary phase of the United States Eventing Association (USEA) Equine Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Research Study over the weekend of September 18-20. The USEA Equine Safety Task Force headed by Drs. Kent Allen and Catherine Kohn and a team of eminent veterinarians and human cardiologists carried out the study on the horses competing in the CIC*** division. Task force member, Mark Hart, MD, visited every stall and...

Hunters will dominate both rings on Monday, September 27, at the Capital Challenge Horse Show in Upper Marlboro, MD, but it will be the outdoor arena that showcases the industry's future stars. The Future Hunters division has been a great addition to the Capital Challenge since its introduction nine years ago. Future Hunter horses may not be flawless, but that raw talent gives us a hint of what's to come in later professional hunter divisions. The division has provided professionals with an...

The Swedish Warmblood Association of North America (SWANA) is pleased to announce their 2009 Inspection Tour. The international team of Swedish judges includes Jan-Ove Olsson of the Stallion Committee and Lasse Berglund, jumping judge. The Inspections are fun and educational. Everyone is welcome to come enjoy the horses and learn; the Swedish judges are very good about explaining what they are looking at; always with an eye to finding the best points of a horse and explaining the Swedish sytem...

Each year at the USEF Pony Finals National Championships, Welsh Pony and Cob Society of America (WPCSA) President Dr. Ruth Wilburn, with the help of computer guru Robin Nowak, host a grand competition for registered Welsh and Half-Welsh ponies. Again the WPCSA would like to salute the winners whose riders are amply rewarded for their talents; they receive a $250 cash stipend from Dr. Wilburn, a halter from Just For Ponies, and a silver plate from USEF, plus they were photographed with the...

The Potomac Valley Dressage Association will host its fourth annual Ride for Life recognized dressage horse show, a fund raiser for the Johns Hopkins Breast Cancer Center in Baltimore, MD. The show will be held on June 30-July 1 at the Prince Georges Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD. The show includes a dancing horse competition and exhibition with FEI riders including Bent Jensen, former Olympian. Competitors collect donations and get sponsors for the show, and in return compete for...

USEF CEO John Long with Craig Ferrell, M.D. (Riders4Helmets.) Lexington, KY U.S. Equestrian Team Physician and Chair of the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) Medical Council, Craig Ferrell M.D, will be attending the International Olympic Committee International Federations’ Medical Commission Chairpersons Meeting in Monaco April 6, 2011. The meeting is for international sport federation national chairmen, and is sponsored by the IOC. Dr. Ferrell intends to provide updates during the...