Today’s speed competition course looked a little bit like a Hunter Derby Finals course. I don’t know that they used any of the same jumps, but it really brought me back to Derby Finals. It was a great-looking course and used the entire stadium. The course theme was “The Nature of Kentucky” according to course designer Conrad Homfeld. It included a Kentucky Folk Art fence, a Natural Arch fence, a Kentucky Fence Line (which caused quite a few problems), a Farm Entrance...

ESI Photography. (McLain Ward and Sapphire in the Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix. ) Saugerties, NY - Two-time U.S. Olympic Gold medalist McLain Ward of Brewster, NY, and his majestic, "million-dollar" mare, Sapphire, owned by Ward and Blue Chip Bloodstock, won the inaugural Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix on Sunday, September 12 at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties. The legendary duo of Ward and Sapphire proudly added their names to the show jumping history books once more when they bested a field of...

Flying Horse Photography. (U.S. Chef d'Equipe George Morris and HITS President Tom Struzzieri.) Saugerties, NY - The inaugural Pfizer Million, with the richest purse in show jumping, scheduled for Saugerties, New York, on September 12th, will play host to a world class line-up of the country's best horse and rider combinations. That already glittering roster of stars got even brighter this weekend when HITS President Tom Struzzieri awarded one of the five coveted Manager's Wild Card picks for...

Photo by Robbi Meisel (Wilhelm Genn and Happy Z) The third week of competition at the 2010 Jacksonville Winter Series got in full swing with the $5,000 Open Jumper Classic being won by Lebanon, Ohio’s Wilhelm Genn, as both owner and rider, piloting the brilliant mare Happy Z. Presented by Farm House Tack, the Jumper Classic served as a prelim to the next evening’s featured event, the $25,000 Marco Family Foundation benefitting H.O.R.S.E. Therapies, a nonprofit therapeutic equine program to air...

Classic Company President Bob Bell is feeling pretty special thanks to the kind folks of the Georgia International Horse Park, City Manager Tony Lucas, and Randal Mills, the Mayor of Conyers, who proclaimed Friday, November 7 as “Bob Bell Day” in the city of Conyers. The proclamation was an expression of appreciation to The Classic Company for 15 years of quality hunter/jumper events held at the former Olympic venue. Mayor Mills shared how Classic Company was the first major equestrian event to...

It was another exciting day of competition at the 2009 Washington International Horse Show (WIHS), as the schedule featured four jumper classes for amateur-owner, junior, and open jumpers on Thursday. The highlight class of the day was the $30,000 Open Jumper Time First Jump-off class, and Olympic Gold medalist McLain Ward of the United States took the top prize on Couletto K James. Andres Rodriguez of Venezuala and Da Vinci were victorious in the $20,000 Open Jumper Gambler's Choice Costume...

Three regional qualifying competitions were recently held for the 2009 ASPCA Maclay National Championships. They were the last Regionals held, and the final list of qualifiers is now available (please see below). The 2009 ASPCA Maclay National Championship will be held at the Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament on October 28-November 1, 2009. Zazou Hoffman was the winner of the Region 1 qualifier at the Grand Fall Classic in Westbrook, CT. Hoffman finished second at Regionals last year...

Courtesy AHA Pictures/Amy Train (Five-time Arabian Park Horse Champion Aequus+// was retired at the age of 20.) The 42nd annual U.S. National Arabian and Half-Arabian Championship Horse Show (U.S. Nationals) made its debut in Tulsa, OK, at Expo Square, October 17-25. A total of 1,889 horses were entered in the show that provided 125 classes across a variety of disciplines that included reining, cutting, working cow, trail, mounted native costume, pleasure driving, show hack, halter, sidesaddle,...

(Lexington, KY) – Pam Lane has joined the United States Equestrian Federation as Director of Para-Equestrian and Vaulting effective March 5th. She is located in the Gladstone, New Jersey office and will report to Jim Wolf, Executive Director of Sports Programs. Pam has extensive experience with the USEF and the dressage discipline. Since 1997 she has organized West Coast athlete and developing rider training sessions and has been an event organizer for such competitions as the 2002 qualifiers...

Riding For Reading, a non-profit organization (501 (c)3) dedicated to promoting reading, literacy, and education through equestrian sports and activities, is pleased to announce that it has received two important grants to augment its 2007 budget. The Equus Foundation selected Riding For Reading as a recipient of one of its 2007 grants, and the United States Hunter Jumper Association also provided a grant. These grants will be used to help fund Riding For Reading’s equestrian based literacy...