Julie McCrady won the 2015 Third Level Freestyle Adult Amateur Championship with her Hanoverian mare Remanessa, and looks to return to Lexington again this year to try for a Fourth Level title. (Susan J. Stickle) Lexington, Ky. - “You bet I’ll be back. I’ve declared and I made my hotel reservations in Lexington months ago!” Every November since 2013, Julie McCrady and her husband have made the trek to Kentucky from Raymore, Mo. with their home-bred Hanoverian mare...

Ali Wolff and Caya on their way to a $34,600 Saugerties Jumper Classic win. (ESI Photography) Saugerties, N.Y. - The most prestigious week of the season at HITS-on-the-Hudson, The HITS Championship, commenced on Wednesday with the $34,600 FEI Saugerties Jumper Classic. Riders and horses from half a dozen nations descended on the Grand Prix Ring at HITS Saugerties to contend for the first big victory of the jam-packed week. Many talented names filled the order of go, including 2016 Olympic...

Christine McCrea and Wannick WH on their way to a $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix win. (ESI Photography) Saugerties, N.Y. - Thirty-four horses and riders turned out to compete for the top prize in Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix during Week VII at HITS-on-the-Hudson. The victory belonged to Christine McCrea of East Windsor, Connecticut aboard Wannick WH, owned by Candy Tribble and Windsor Show Stables, Inc. Husband and wife, Christine and Jonathan McCrea, would keep four of the top five...

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Dressage competition got underway Wednesday at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, as 29 of the total 60 competitors representing 19 countries took to the main arena under cloudy skies at the Deodoro Olympic Equestrian Center to perform in the Grand Prix, the first test in the team competition. The U.S. team, going eighth in the order of the 11 nations, finished day one in fourth place after two superb performances from Allison Brock and Kasey Perry-Glass. Leading the...

Nicolas Astier (FRA), Michael Jung (GER), and Phillip Dutton (Shannon Brinkman Photo) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – U.S. Olympic Eventing Team member Phillip Dutton capped off three days of brilliant riding by winning the Individual Bronze medal at the Rio Olympic Games. Dutton finished on a score of 51.80. Michael Jung of Germany won the Individual Gold medal for the second consecutive time and Nicolas Astier of France took home the Silver medal. The energy and excitement for the final day of...

Phillip Dutton and Mighty Nice (Shannon Brinkman Photo) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Cross-country, the heart of eventing competition, proved to be demanding for the 64 athlete-and-horse combinations who contested Pierre Michelet's technical course at the Olympic Equestrian Center at Deodoro on Monday. Only three entries finished double-clear, and only 26 crossed the finish without jumping penalties. U.S. veterans Phillip Dutton and Boyd Martin rode brilliantly and stand fifth and sixth,...

Lexington, Ky. - The stage is set for the 2016 US Pony Finals presented by Collecting Gaits Farm to begin at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. From August 9-14, over 800 ponies from across the country will compete with their youth riders in hunter, jumper, and equitation classes. The live stream on the USEF Network is presented by the USHJA Foundation and will cover all of the competition from the Walnut and Alltech Arenas. Through Saturday, competition for the US Hunter Pony...

Photo by Shannon Brinkman Allentown, N.J. - The JFI Organizing Committee is pleased to announce that - following long-running negotiations with State, county and local entities responsible for the land encompassing the Horse Park of New Jersey - the Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event (JFI) will expand competition access to additional acreage abutting its present Cross-Country courses. The area has most recently been available to JFI for competitor hacking during the Event but will now...

Laura Chapot and Quointreau Un Prince on their way to a $75,000 AIG Grand Prix win. (ESI Photography) Saugerties, N.Y. - As the curtain closed on Week V at HITS-on-the-Hudson, riders and horses gathered to take a shot at bringing home the lion’s share of the purse in the $75,000 AIG Grand Prix. The rider to beat all week was Laura Chapot of Neshanic Station, New Jersey. Chapot garnered top honors including the win and two more spots in the top five in both Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak...

Laura Chapot and ISHD Dual Star on their way to a $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix win. (ESI Photography) Saugerties, N.Y. - Thirty-one riders and horses descended on the Grand Prix ring at HITS-on-the-Hudson for the fifth $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix of the season. The order-of-go was stacked with talent, including the likes of Kevin Babington and Manuel Torres ,but Neshanic Station, New Jersey equestrian Laura Chapot once again swooped in to steal away with not only the victory, but with second and...