Wellington, FL - Respected rider and trainer Debbie Atkinson, 44 of Columbia, KY, sustained a serious injury after taking a fall while competing at the Kentucky Classic Horse Trials in September. She crushed her C1, C2 and C3 vertebrae and injured her spinal cord causing paralysis, but is totally coherent in mind and soul. Atkinson wishes to have one of her successful horses, Pantera, continue to compete with rider Cathy Wieschhoff of Lexington, KY. Sponsored by Nutrena and the Ocotillo Group,...

Gladstone, NJ – October 7, 2006 – Maggie McAlary, 16, of Amherst, NH is in the lead by the slimmest of margins following the first day of the USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals – East. McAlary, riding Mid-Accord, and Addison Phillips, 17, of New York, NY, aboard Icon, both received the same combined score of 227 points, but McAlary received the higher score of 144 points in the Gymnastics Phase, pushing her into the top spot. Phillips now stands in second by virtue of her Phase II score of...

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...

By Bob Langrish (Beezie Madden and Authentic are leading all show jumpers at the WEG for two days in a row.) It’s double duty again at the 2006 World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Aachen, Germany, as two disciplines played out simultaneously – one of them in the Main Stadium (show jumping) and the other having its first-day opener in Stadium 2 (four-in-hand driving). Both of the disciplines have fans running back and forth to take in the action. In show jumping, it’s Day One of a...

PhelpsPhotos.com/USEF Archives (Kaitlin Campbell on Rockette during the 2006 USEF Pony Finals National Championships.) Lexington, KY – At the close of what was the longest and largest USEF Pony Finals National Championships to date, Kaitlin Campbell of Upper Black Eddy, PA, was one happy camper. The 14-year-old Campbell rode five ponies at this year’s event and ended her sixth year at Pony Finals with the Overall Grand Champion title in the Wild Horsefeathers/USEF National Hunter...

The nine-year-old Brazilian-bred mare Shakira Do Jacare beat both the field of 32 and the stormy weather to take first prize in the Week Two Horses Helping Horses Lucky Sevens Welcome Classic. The Classic, presented by The Plaid Horse Magazine , was a repeat victory for Shakira and owner/rider Sergio Campos, having bested last week’s field of 35. “The course was a lot of fun,” Campos said of Buddy Brown’s challenging field, which utilized natural obstacles, such as hills and banks, causing many...

The Colorado Horse Park Two-Star Three-Day Event has been postponed. The event, usually held over the Memorial Day weekend holiday, typically draws several hundred horses and riders from beginner novice to Olympic medalists. Yet, even with its success, the volunteer Eventing Committee recommended postponement of the event in order to upgrade the footing, update the course and to find funding to make these improvements. Ideally, enough enhancements can be made to hold the Fall Horse Trials,...

Lexington, KY – When asked to choose one word that best describes who she is, Teal Dowling pauses, laughs a little and gives a word that all who know her would heartily agree with. The word would have to be “original,” she told the panel of judges in her interview as a finalist for 2005 USEF Junior Equestrian of the Year. The delightful 18-year-old from Spring Prairie, Wisconsin does her best to live up to that word, charting her own course as she navigates life and the world...

In a brilliant display of skill and finesse, Sara Schmitt, of Glen Gardner, NJ, drove her Morgan stallion, High Country Doc, to one of only a few clean and clear rounds in the cones phase at The Laurels at Landhope and her first national championship. The last in the order of go on Sunday, September 11, Schmitt had some wiggle room. Ahead by only four points under the new rules where a ball down is now a three-point penalty instead of five. This gave her a small margin of error, one that could...

Ramiro Quintana won the testing Speed Challenge at the American Gold Cup last year, and he will return with the same mare, Carousel, to defend his title at this year’s event, September 15-18, at the Devon show grounds in Devon, PA. The Speed Challenge is a very exciting class, which pits professionals against juniors and amateurs, and Quintana, who also won this event four years ago, placed first and third in last year’s event. The five top professionals from their qualifying class on Fast...