Wellington, FL —With seven World Cup slots hanging just out of reach, and the possibility of two wild cards factoring in, East Coast League riders hold a collective breath as the latest round of qualifying points is tallied. After eight rounds of competition, the rivalry stays ever close, with McLain Ward emerging the new leader as the group takes a short recess for the Winter months. Closely following Ward’s 92 points are Kimberly Frey with 81, Laura Kraut with 72, and Lauren Hough...

Traverse City, Mich. – Dressage competition started with a bang at the 2023 FEI North American Youth Dressage Championships presented by USDF, with the Young Riders and U25 divisions completing their team tests. Marie Claire Piller and Caterina. ©KTB Creative Group In the Young Rider division, a total of 22 combinations representing six teams entered the arena for their first tests of this year’s NAYC. The Region 3 team proved dominant, earning a team total of 212.353 to take...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce the athletes who will represent the Land Rover U.S. Driving Team for the FEI Driving World Championship for Combined Ponies. This championship will take place August 30-September 3, 2023, in Oirschot, Netherlands. Single: Amy Cross (Chestertown, Md.) and Eulenhof Spencer , a 2010 Welsh Pony gelding owned by Wendy O’Brien Hilary Mroz-Blythe (Leverett, Mass.) and Bijou , her own 2006 pony cross mare Alternate: Anna Koopman...

Megan “Meg” Kepferle of Long Valley, N.J., was a longtime groom for Sinead Maynard (née Halpin) before starting her own business and pursuing her own riding goals. Kepferle groomed multiple times for Maynard at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian™, and she made her riding debut at the 2023 event in the CCI4*-S with Anakin, Rogue Won Syndicate LLC’s 2009 Thoroughbred gelding. When asked about her favorite memory grooming at the...

James "Jimmy" C. Wofford (Chrissy Miller of Szemere Photography) James “Jimmy” C. Wofford had a profound influence on the shaping of equestrian sport as we know it today. He was a complete horseman, focused and skilled competitor, and a “teacher’s teacher” who will be remembered for his humor, charm, and wit. Wofford was born into an equestrian family on November 3, 1944, in Junction City, Kansas. His father, Col. John W. Wofford, competed for the U.S. Jumping Team...

Lexington, Ky. - US Equestrian is pleased to announce Ryder Richardson (Parker, Colo.) as the winner of the 2022 USEF Youth Sportsman’s Award in recognition of his contributions and achievements this year. The USEF Youth Sportsman’s Award identifies outstanding youth members actively involved in their respective discipline or breed organizations and acknowledges their potential as future leaders in the equine industry. The American Connemara Pony Society and United States Hunter...

Traverse City, Mich. – The 2022 edition of the Adequan ® /USEF Junior Hunter National Championship – East came to its exciting conclusion today as the entries completed their handy rounds under blue skies at Flintfields Horse Park. Grand Champion titles went to Dom Perignon and Alexa Leong (Sacramento, Calif.) in the 3’3” and Arabesque and Clara Propp (New York, N.Y.) in the 3’6”. Dom Perignon and Alexa Leong. ©Andrew Ryback Photography Junior Hunter...

Traverse City, Mich. – The second day of competition at the 2022 Adequan ® /USEF Junior Hunter National Championship – East brought horse-and-rider combinations into the ring for the under-saddle phase to be judged on their performance on the flat. Clara Propp and Arabesque. ©Andrew Ryback Photography For flatwork, the classes were divided into groups of no more than 12 entries at a time with awards given for four sections in each of the two heights. Their scores for the...

Ocala, Fla. – Four newly minted USEF National Champions exited the arena on Sunday, March 6, at the conclusion of the 2022 Live Oak International CAI. After the event was cancelled in 2021 due to COVID-19, competitors and their families were happy to be back at Live Oak International in Florida’s warm and sunny late-winter weather. Sunday’s competition brought the cones phase to the main arena, and the athletes and their horses and ponies rose to the occasion with numerous...

Gladstone, New Jersey – Natalie Jayne (Elgin, Ill.) and Charisma secured a win in the prestigious Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals – East after three days of intense competition at the historic United States Equestrian Team headquarters in Gladstone, New Jersey. Jayne rode to a final phase four score of 365 to earn the victory ahead of Dominic Gibbs (Colorado Springs, Colo.), who finished in second place with a final score of 359. Audrey Schulze (Saddle...