Lexington, KY - USA Equestrian Trust has awarded $95,000 in grants to help fund four more equine projects as part of a historic year of grant-giving for the foundation. The awards come on top of nearly $240,000 awarded in May to 11 equine non-profits. The Trust's volunteer leadership approved an expansion of the program earlier this year, offering a second grant application period for the first time in the foundation's history. The organization saw even greater need from interested...

The fourteenth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder The last several weeks I’ve talked about how to get started in western dressage. If you are curious, you’ve checked out the website, taken advantage of the free basic membership by becoming a member, read the rules, reviewed the tests, read the articles, participated in the Forum discussions, found WD groups on Facebook, visited YouTube and chatted with your friends about it. Maybe you’ve contacted your local...

Kent Farrington and Voyeur, winners of the $250,000 FTI Grand Prix at the Hampton Classic Horse Show. (Shawn McMillen) Bridgehampton, NY - Kent Farrington set the pace as the first rider to go in the decisive jump-off for the $250,000 FTI Grand Prix at the 37th Annual Hampton Classic Horse Show, and it was a pace his two competitors couldn’t match. Riding Voyeur, Farrington, of Chicago, Ill., was the first starter in the jump-off, and they kept all eight jumps standing as they sped to a...

Scott Stewart riding Enjoy, one of the horses that helped him earn the Leading Hunter Rider title at the Hampton Classic Horse Show. (Shawn McMillen) Bridgehampton, NY - Scott Stewart, of Wellington Fla., was the Leading Hunter Rider of the 37th Annual Hampton Classic Horse Show, winning three hunter championships. He was presented with the Charlie Weaver Memorial Trophy for the second consecutive year and for the sixth time in his career. “This means a lot to me,” said Stewart....

Bridgehampton, NY - McLain Ward is hard to beat at the Hampton Classic Horse Show. On Friday afternoon Ward rode Pjotter Van De Zonnehoeve to victory in the $50,000 Spy Coast Farm/Young Horse Show Series Grand Prix Qualifier, and he grabbed third place on Antares F. As the third rider to start in the 13-horse jump-off, Ward, on Antares F, stopped the timers just 0.02 seconds short of the mark Kent Farrington had set right before him on Venus (42.26 seconds). Four more riders tried and failed to...

Bridgehampton, NY - Allison Toffolon, of Bronxville, N.Y., coolly earned the highest scores in both rounds of the Sam Edelman Equitation Championship, to edge Victoria Colvin and Sylvia de Toledo, on Thursday afternoon at the 37th Annual Hampton Classic Horse Show. Riding her own horse Class Action, Toffolon, 16, scored 90 points in the first round and 89 points in the second round. “I took a lot of deep breaths to stay calm before I rode the second round,” she said. The...

Bridgehampton, NY - McLain Ward, of Brewster, N.Y., won his second jumper class of the 37th annual Hampton Classic Horse Show on Thursday morning, guiding Vocas to the fastest clean jump-off round in the $7,5000 Prudential Douglas Elliman 1.45m Open Jumper class. Riding about halfway through the 35-horse class, Ward and Vocas recorded a faultless first round and then finished the jump-off clean in a time of 34.98 seconds to take the lead. They then withstood the challenges of 13 other horses in...

Bridgehampton, NY - Irish rider Ronan McGuigan scored a narrow victory on Capall Zidane in Wednesday morning’s $7,500 Wolffer Estate 1.4m Open Jumper class, but McLain Ward, a two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist, galloped to victory on Lucky Lord 20 in the afternoon’s $7,500 Equinimity 1.45m Open Jumper class, presented by Ariat. McGuigan, 38, now lives in Far Hills, N.J., and with a time of 55.46 seconds, he topped an Irish sweep, as Shane Sweetnam took second on Elastique (56.50)...

Bridgehampton, NY - I nternational veteran Jeffery Welles of Pound Ridge, N.Y., ruled the Grand Prix Ring on Tuesday at the 37th Annual Hampton Classic. Welles won both the afternoon’s American Eurocopter $7,500 1.45m Open Jumper class and the fist section of the morning’s Newsday $7,500 1.40m Open Jumper class. Welles, 50, won the more difficult afternoon class on Merlin in a time of 61.80 seconds, defeating Darragh Kerins on S&L Farms’ S&L Zeppelin (62.06) and Shane...

Bridgehampton, NY - Horses stabled on Long Island had their day in the spotlight on Sunday, competing in the local hunter divisions in the newly renamed Anne Aspinall Ring or in Hunter Ring 2. The brightest star of the day was Mariano, owned by Stephanie Riggio and ridden by Sandra Ferrell. The pair won the Local Hunter Professional Championship on the way to winning the Grand Local Hunter Championship, awarded to the horse who earns the most points on the way to his divisional championship. To...