John French entered last week’s $10,000 Devoucoux Hunter Derby as a heavy favorite, and during the popular two-round classic, he showed exactly why when he captured the top two places in the class to conclude a fabulous week during Desert Circuit V at the HITS Desert Horse Park, in Thermal, CA. French, from Gilroy, CA, took the top placing aboard Lisa Martinez-Bates' Brego and was also second aboard Yellow Dog, LLC's Crown Affair en route to collecting $5,000 in prize money for the afternoon....

Daniel Kaiser, Top Ranked German Vaulter Working with US Vaulter Eric Garcia (Primo Ponies Photography) Dressage: Horses and riders with the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games and the 2011 Pan American Games on the brain got busy in Florida over the weekend training with 2009 FEI World Cup Champion Steffen Peters and US Technical Advisor Anne Gribbons. Peters helped the riders before they rode a test in front of Gribbons. Gribbons is also an ‘O’ judge with one of the keenest eyes in the...

Photo by Flying Horse Photography (Keri Potter and Rockford I) The all-new Devoucoux Hunter Derby kicked off with a bang at the 2010 HITS Desert Circuit when one of the top hunter riders in the country, John French, piloted Victoria Komisar’s Over the Moon to the inaugural win in the $10,000 Devoucoux Derby on the West Coast. French of Gilroy, CA, had the highest score in both the first and second rounds of the popular 3'3" class that featured 29 starters on a course set by John Manning, which...

The 2010 schedule of the Exquis World Dressage Masters, the globe's richest line up of competitions each with €100,000 (US$149,850) in prize money, was announced Monday. A WDM Rider Ranking award of €25,000 (US$37,000) is also offered by Nürnberger Versicherungsgruppe at WDM in Munich in 2010. Munich will also be the venue for a WDM gala celebration. The 2010 schedule of confirmed competitions of the Exquis World Dressage Masters, founded by Exquis and also sponsored by Moorland Stables and...

Several of Maplewood Warmbloods horses have had a successful 2009 show year. MWW Donnahall (Florencio x Donnerhall, by Pik Bube) is currently undefeated in qualifying breed shows. MWW Donnahall is currently ranked first in Region 8 and 11th nationally. MWW Rosie (San Amour x Rosenkavalier) recieved an 82% at a 2009 breed show and qualified for Region 8 GAIG Championships. MWW Sambuca (Sandro Hit x Rosenkavalier) received an 81% at a 2009 breed show and is currently ranked third in Region 8 and...

Beesd, The Netherlands - The 19th edition of the World Four-in-Hand Driving Championship, one of the major highlights of the driving season, opened impressively yesterday in Beesd, the Netherlands. The wonderful opening ceremony marked the start of one of the driving highlights of the 2008 season. Many enthusiastic spectators welcomed 59 competitors from 20 different nations, who were kicked off the competition with a presentation in the large stadium in traditional horse drawn carriages. Team...

Capitol Hill with Kenneth Wheeler, Sr. (Jordan Koepke) It was like déjà vu this year at the Sallie B. Wheeler/USEF National Hunter Breeding Championship presented by Vita-Flex as Kenneth Wheeler, Sr., handled a colt that would become the overall champion. With last year’s win with Spanish Spear still in Wheeler’s memory, it was another of his two-year-olds that would capture the title again for his Cismont Manor Farm. This year's Best Young Horse in the Sallie B....

The Arabian Horse Association (AHA) has announced that the Arabian Breeders Sweepstakes (Sweepstakes) program has paid more than $2.7 million in Sweepstakes prize money, Breeders Incentive and Nominated Sire payback to owners and breeders out of a $3.1-million pot of available prize money for 2006. More than $1.2 million was paid to owners who enrolled their horses in the annual Points program. More members received Sweepstakes earnings in 2006 than ever before. Payouts involved 5,922 horses...

The United States Equestrian Federation® (USEF) recently announced its team members for the 2006 World Singles Driving Championship set for September 20-24 in Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy. In exciting news for Morgan enthusiasts and American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) members, two of the three drivers chosen are AMHA members set to compete with Morgan horses. Scott Monroe of Sharon, CT, driving his 13-year-old Morgan gelding, Bethesda After Dark (Shadow), and Fred Merriam of Newfane, VT,...

It's official! Lil Ruf Peppy, owned by Green Valley Ranch in Aubrey, TX, has just been named the National Reining Horse Association's 11th Million Dollar Sire. At the start of the National Reining Breeders Classic (NRBC) held recently in Katy, TX, Lil Ruf Peppy was less than $3,000 short of the Million Dollar milestone. Limited and Intermediate Open Classic finalists Lil Santana, Pop Tart and Dry Ruf joined forces to put their sire over the top. Lil Ruf Peppy, bred by the King Ranch, Inc, hit...