From the USEF Driving Department Lexington, KY – The USEF has named the following Drivers and Horses to represent the United States at the 2009 World Driving Championships. The Pair World Driving Championships will be held in Kecskemet, Hungary August 20-23, 2009. Driver/Age/Hometown Horse/Age/Breed/Sex/Owner Larry Poulin/59/Petersham, MA Wiley/10/Hanoverian/G/Natasha Griggs Rivage/11/Oldenburg/G/Natasha Griggs Cody/12/Swedish Warmblood/S/Natasha Griggs Keady Cadwell43/Southern Pines, NC...

Six-year-old Bijoux, owned by Janet Rolfs and ridden by Missy Fladland, is off to a phenomenal start to her young dressage career. Among her many honors, her most recent victory includes taking the reserve champion title at the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Central Selection Trials. The young Hanoverian mare (Bugatti Hilltop x Whimiscal L), bred by Margaret Drury, started her performance career only a year and a half ago as a coming five-year-old in the fall of 2007. After seven months of...

Iron Spring Farm lost a beloved member of the family when Heinse 354 succumbed to colic last week. The 15-year-old stallion was known for his impressive performance career as both a dressage and driving horse, as well as for his successful offspring, which includes three approved sons. The handsome Friesian exemplified the best traits of the breed—beauty, athletic ability and an excellent temperament—and is already missed. "Heinse was the type of horse that anyone would love to have...

As September 2010 and the opening of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, KY, steadily approach, the American Saddlebred Museum is preparing for the arrival of the world at its front door. The museum plans to showcase the American Saddlebred horse in worldclass fashion for this unprecedented opportunity. The intention is to send international guests home full of enthusiasm and excitement about this wonderful and versatile breed. Along with construction of a new wing and...

Iron Spring Farm has added Meinse 439, a five-year-old KFPS stallion by Heinse 354, to their already impressive lineup of Friesians. An exciting young First Premium stallion, Meinse was imported earlier this year after receiving scores as high as 70% at the Pavo Stallion Competition at L level in The Netherlands. The handsome black stallion will spend the winter at Iron Spring Farm South in Ocala, FL, where he will be prepared for his American debut in the dressage ring. “We are already having...

Despite a tumultuous economy, the first Stallion Service Auctions of the new year started on a high note, as American Saddlebred enthusiasts from across the country came together in Wisconsin and Kentucky in support of the breed. Leading the auctions with $273,000 was the Fifth Annual All American Cup Stallion Service Auction on Saturday, January 24, at Claudia Sanders Dinner House in Shelby County, KY. The auction topper, at $34,000, was Callaway's Blue Norther, setting a record for American...

Thanks to the vision of the American Shetland Pony Club (ASPC), children in Hong Kong are enjoying the love and companionship of two very special Shetland Ponies. The ponies, FMF Imagination and PC Karmel Kid, were donated in the summer of 2008 as a way to salute Hong Kong’s efforts in hosting the 2008 Equestrian Olympics. “Karmel Kid is doing really well. He has been given the stable name of Bear and is loved by all. He has been fabulous with the lead rein kids and has also enjoyed a little...

In only it's sixth year of existence, the Springpferdezuchtverbandes Oldenburg-International or "OS" has made history with the Champion of the 2008 Stallion Licensing who will now be known as 'Le Champ Ask' after being purchased by Stutteri As—the jumping stallion station of Blue Hors—for 1.1 Million Euro. The OS branded stallion was impressive from the first moment of the testing. The stunning presence of this stallion along with his expressive trot and balanced canter on the lunge...

The American Saddlebred Registry (ASR) Sweepstakes total payout of over $210,000 in 2008 tops the 15-year high of $199,424 in 2007 and is the most prize money awarded in one year since the Sweepstakes’ all-time high set in 1992. Coupled with its futurities, American Saddlebred Registry prize programs distributed close to half-a-million dollars ($473,744) over the course of approximately three weeks during the Kentucky State Fair (August 17-23) in Louisville and the All American Horse Classic...

For five days during the National Walking Horse Association (NWHA)’s 2008 National Championship Horse Show in Murfreesboro, TN, 339 sound, naturally-gaited Tennessee Walking Horses—more than at any previous NWHA National Show—showcased the versatility, athleticism and natural gaits that distinguish the breed, earning their way into the final day’s championship rounds. More than 1,600 entries competed in 153 classes ranging from rail, driving and dressage, to Western riding, water...