Harrisburg, PA ­- Nearly 300 young riders earned the privilege to compete for the coveted Pessoa/USEF Hunter Seat Medal Finals. They represented the best equitation riders from 34 states, British Columbia, Ontario and the District of Columbia. Despite an early lead being held throughout the daylong competition, the winner, Kimberly McCormack of Clermont, NJ, emerged from the final 42 riders. "Her round was fantastic, just great," said Judge Geoff Teall of Wellington, FL. "Her round just stood...

The Back Forte Equestrian Center will be hosting a hunter/jumper clinic with nationally renowned trainer Lee Dennie. The clinic runs September 15-17 and will have sessions each day for beginners (2’6”), intermediate (3’) and advanced (3’6”) riders, with the cost at $100 per day or $275 for all three days. Auditors and spectators are welcome at no charge. The picturesque 109-acre equestrian center is located in Enumclaw, WA, the gateway to Mount Rainier. Stalls are available at $25 per day, and...

Olivia Sweetnam and Ina (Andrew Ryback Photography) Harrisburg, Pa. – Thirty-three junior athletes took to the Harrisburg Coliseum at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show for the start of the USEF Junior Jumper National Championships . The $5,000 Individual Championship Phase I served as the premier event Thursday evening, and the combinations did not disappoint with their determined efforts over Nick Granat’s course. Zone 4’s Olivia Sweetnam and Ina were the second pair to go...

Hiller Farms' Center Court with John French (CapturedMomentPhoto.com) Del Mar, CA - Calm and cool described the unusual weather as well as the unusually talented horse who earned the win in the $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby. After a rainy morning that drenched Del Mar, the cool afternoon air created an interesting challenge for the high performance hunters. However, six-year-old Center Court, piloted by John French, impressed the judges from the first jump. The eleven elements in the...

Brunello and Boyd during their winning handy round (A Galvin/Phelps Media Group) Lexington, Ky. - -"I feel like it's a bit of a dream, like pinch me. I'm still a little bit in shock." That is what the winner of the 2014 USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals had to say after her finish, and it is no wonder Liza Boyd thought winning derby finals twice in a row aboard Brunello was a long shot. She gave birth to her second child just two and a half months prior to the competition, giving...

Bacardi in his winning presentation with owner Caroline Moran and ringmaster Gustavo Murcia (Sportfot) Wellington, Fla. - Havens Schatt and Bacardi are already off to a good start in 2014. In the seven-year-old KWPN gelding's first show of his second green year, Bacardi and Schatt were champions of the Equine Tack & Nutritionals Second Year Green Working Hunter at FTI WEF on Thursday afternoon. Schatt piloted Bacardi to four blue ribbon rounds over fences and placed third in the under...

Tara Metzner and Fabricio (Captured Moment Photography) Del Mar, Calif. - Del Mar International World Cup Week saw some extraordinary Hunter Derby competition this evening, as the 2013 Grand Prix Hunter Derby Series culminated with tonight's exciting Final. In tonight's event, two of the Del Mar Fairgrounds' arenas were put into play, as horses and riders were required to jump out of the Del Mar Arena and canter into the San Diego Arena to continue their course under the lights....

Dudley MacFarlane and Authentic (© Shawn McMillen Photography) Washington, D.C. - The $10,000 WIHS Adult Amateur Hunter Championship concluded day one at the 2013 WIHS with 29 entries showing over the first round course and the top twelve returning. Dudley MacFarlane of Darien, CT, rode her 17-year-old Royal Dutch Warmblood gelding Authentic to the championship with scores of 87 and 85.5 for a 171.5 point total.?? Devon Braswell and Showgirl placed second on a two-round total of 171 with scores...

Samantha Perry and Ramazotti (Al Cook Photo) Harrisburg, Penn. - Samantha Perry and Ramazotti sailed through both rounds of the $10,000 North American League (NAL) Children's Hunter Finals at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show topping the score board with a 162 combined score. A single point separated each of the three top finishers. In her first year visiting the NAL Finals, Perry, 18, of Dublin, Ohio, and Ramazotti bested a field of 30 competitors, who qualified for the year-end Finals....

The Los Angeles National Preview, November 4-8, hosted the Los Angeles Hunter Jumper Association’s (LAHJA) Medal Finals for junior, senior, and pony riders. In addition, the West Coast Pony Finals, one of the largest gatherings of ponies outside of the USEF Pony Finals, is in its ninth year of championships for both hunter and jumper ponies. "Many West Coast riders can't make the trek to Kentucky for the National Championship, so we started this event in 2000. It has grown into one of...