When 15-year-old Chelsea Dowdy entered one of Kentucky’s many county fairs in 2009 with El Diamante, she could feel their usual synergy. With all the fun she had, it was an easy decision to enter another. And another. By season’s end, they had not only claimed top honors and a collection of garlands and ribbons—they had amassed a respectable college fund totaling $10,799.31. That hefty chunk of change came courtesy of the Kentucky Breeders’ Incentive Fund (KBIF), earmarked for a...

Kentucky Horse Shows, LLC, the management company for hunter/jumper competitions at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, is pleased to announce that Hagyard Equine Medical Institute will be the proud sponsor of the Hagyard Challenge Series. The 2010 Hagyard Challenge Series consists of five grand prix show jumping competitions at the world-class horse park. These classes start in May at the Kentucky Spring Horse Shows and conclude in August at the Bluegrass Festival Horse Show. The rider who...

Colombian dressage rider Marco Bernal lived every rider’s dream during the 2010 Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI, when he heard his country’s national anthem played three times for three great wins. Bernal’s success came aboard his Westphalian stallion Farewell IV, the same stallion that he set the world record on at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in 2005 when they scored a record high score of 85.385%. “This was the best show for me so far. It is nice when you work so long with a horse and...

Bridle Creek Equestrian Development and Phillip and Evie Dutton are pleased to announce the third annual Olympic Gala in Aiken, SC, Tuesday, March 9, 2010, at 7:30 p.m. Supported most generously by Bruce Duchossois and Jack Wetzel, the Olympic Gala gives the Aiken community a chance to come together in support of the U.S. Eventing High Performance Programs as a portion of the proceeds will go to the United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation. "Partnering with Bridle Creek Equestrian...

The Morgan horse breed was celebrated in Lexington, KY, at the 2010 American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) Annual Convention, held February 17-20. "The true measure of a successful convention is the satisfaction and feedback the Board and staff hear from attendees," said AMHA Executive Director Julie M. Broadway. "By all accounts, the 2010 convention was not only successful in terms of being educational and informative, but fun too! The convention committee did a great job with fabulous farm...

Photo Courtesy Minitube Internationa (Biopsita with surrogate mom.) Minitube International has achieved a scientific breakthrough that will allow for genetic testing and preservation of equine embryos. The world's first foal from a biopsied and vitrified embryo transferred into a surrogate mare was born on Wednesday January 27, 2010, at Minitube International Center for Biotechnology in Mount Horeb, WI. Both the mother, "Lola," and foal are doing well. The birth of "Biopsita" marks a new era in...

Show jumping will never be the same. The first Pfizer Million Grand Prix qualifier and the $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Derby made a big impact on the show jumping circuit, in what will be a mainstay throughout this year's HITS Ocala Winter Circuit. The winner of the $25,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health and first prospective Pfizer Million qualifier was Callan Solem on Allison. With 32 horse and rider teams eager to win, it was a competitive field. "She [Allison] invented me,"...

Photo by Geoff Bugbee/USEF Archives (Bernard Uechtritz, President of Horse TV, accepted the award.) Lexington, KY – The high-impact, high-energy discipline of driving doesn’t easily lend itself to videography. It all comes down to logistics—especially when it involves covering miles of varied terrain during the Marathon phase, filled with obstacles that not only prove challenging for horse and driver, but for camera crews seeking the best vantage point from which to capture the excitement. It...

Photo Courtesy HITS (The beautiful Grand Prix arena at the HITS-on-the-Hudson show grounds in Saugerties, NY.) As riders gear up for the 2010 grand prix season, qualifying for the Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix on September 12 in Saugerties, NY, is topping the list of priorities. Kent Farrington, Jimmy Torano, and McLain Ward were among those announcing intentions to become one of only 46 potential riders to vie for a top prize of $350,000 in September. With a limited number of spots available on...

As the USEF Horsemastership Training Clinic drew to a close, the United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation honored participating riders during a luncheon at the White Horse Tavern on Saturday, January 9. Speakers John Madden, USEF, and Bonnie Jenkins explained the importance of the George H Morris Horsemastership Training Clinic in developing not only the careers of the participating riders, but also the future of the equestrian sport in the United States of America. Addressing the...