Patrick Seaton and Good Guiness not only won the $20,000 Bayfest Grand Prix the second week of the Woodside Summer Circuit, but Seaton also earned a $5,000 rider bonus for winning two of the three major jumper classes at the 2008 Woodside Summer Circuit aboard the same horse. If he can make it a hat trick by clinching the $30,000 Golden Gate Grand Prix, Seaton will be the first rider to claim the Woodside Jumper Accumulator bonus worth $20,000. "When I started the Woodside Jumper Accumulator...

Steffen Peters and Ravel (Amy McCool) San Juan Capistrano, CA – There was no one busier than Steffen Peters at the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions today and he saved his best performance for last. Peters rode Ravel to another win in the third leg of the USEF National Grand Prix Dressage Championship (which also serves as the USEF Selection Trial for Dressage) with a score of 75.25%. The 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding continues to impress everyone on hand at...

Todd Minikus and his ride Ultimo Van Ter Moude cruised past the star-studded field of 38 starters to secure $7,500 in prize money in Thursday's $25,000 Ariat Grand Prix at HITS Saugerties. Course designer Doug Russell sliced the large first-round field to 12 for the jump-off, making it a very competitive race over fences. “I was happy to have 12 come back for the jump-off," said Russell. "To be honest with you, I thought we had the right 12 come back. None of them got scared and they all walked...

The Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA) has just released its newest edition of the CHA Composite Horsemanship Manual . Written by 30 professional horsemanship instructors from around the United States and Canada, this four-level manual contains a complete program for all levels of riders. Written and riding tests at the end of each level progress you or your students to the next level in horsemanship. From how to halter to flying lead changes, this educational manual has it all. The CHA...

Horse Shows by the Bay, a three-week equestrian festival held in beautiful Traverse City, MI, will feature many social events for exhibitors and their families at the show. The horse show, which has three weeks of hunter/jumper competition and two dressage events, runs from July 16-August 3 at the Flintfields Horse Park. The social event of the horse show will be the Third Annual Celebration Dinner held on Sunday, July 20, at the stunning Bowers Harbor Inn on the Old Mission Peninsula. The...

At a tense horse auction in Sugarcreek, OH last weekend, Pure Thoughts Horse Rescue left angry horse "kill" buyers no choice but to haul their trailers home empty. One hundred sixty three horses stood for sale that night facing the same grim future: a grueling trip to a painful slaughter in Canada or Mexico, then on to fill overseas dinner plates. But Pure Thoughts co-founder Jennifer Swanson and sponsor Victoria McCullough gave every one of those horses a second chance. "I have bought...

Young Horse Finals were featured on the closing day of the 12-week CN Winter Equestrian Festival, presented by Zimmerman Advertising, at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. As she had done throughout the circuit, Laura Chapot of Neshanic Station, NJ, continued to dominate the young jumper division. The $20,000 Seven- and Eight-Year-Old Young Jumper Final was the featured class in the International Arena on Sunday, April 6, attracting a total of 48 entries. From the original starting...

Statement by David O’Connor: Recent injuries and the media coverage of those injuries and our sport give us all reason to pause and reflect on the evolution and safety of equestrian sport and in particular Eventing. Many of us have devoted our professional lives to the joy of partnering with the horse and skillfully riding a course. Underlying the fun and excitement of the sport, for that matter any sport, is reasonable risk with the assumption of reasonable safety. In fact, our sport is...

After winning the Hunter Derby at Pin Oak, Peter Pletcher and Argentum took home the Gold for the second time in two weeks, winning the $10,000 United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) International Hunter Challenge Derby Classic at the Spring Gathering Horse Show in the Houston suburb of Katy, TX. The class was held under the lights in the main arena at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center. An enthusiastic crowd cheered their favorites as 23 entries competed over the first round-track...

Ocala, FL ­– Two USEF National Driving Championships are up for grabs at the CAI-A Ocala running March 27-30, 2008. Known as the Live Oak Plantation Combined Driving Event presented by Budweiser, the showcase of the country's best drivers and horses is taking place at Chester Weber's Live Oak Plantation in Ocala, FL. The competition also serves as the second USEF Selection Trial for two of the World Driving Championships. The USEF Single Horse Championship got the day started and dressage was...