Adrienne Sternlicht and Quidam MB (Sportfot) Wellington, Fla - Equestrian Sport Productions hosted the first day of competition for the 2014 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) on Wednesday with a full schedule of hunter, jumper and equitation competition at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, Fla. The day kicked off with a win in the International Arena for 20-year-old Adrienne Sternlicht (USA) of Greenwich, Conn., riding Quidam MB in the...

Karl Cook and Banba (McCool Photography) Las Vegas, Nev. - Brazilian course designer Guilherme Jorge is brilliant at asking just the right questions for the field. With sixty-six entries, Jorge created a course that tested the technique necessary to tackle tight turns and tidy tracks. It included an interesting option fence - a skinny 1.40m gate 'winged' by a simpler vertical on each side. Heading home as fence 4, the skinny was the quicker choice to rollback to 5a-b; and later going...

Christian Heineking and NKH Selena are unstoppable in the $50,000 LEGIS Grand Prix of Los Angeles (Flying Horse Photography) Los Angeles, Calif. - Christian Heineking (GER) heard the German national anthem for the second weekend in a row as he clinched another win aboard NKH Selena (NKH LLC, owner) in the fast and furious $50,000 LEGIS Grand Prix of Los Angeles (a World Cup Qualifier). “I definitely rode the momentum from last week’s grand prix win,” Christian commented....

Buck Davidson and Petite Flower, winners of the CCI3* at the Galway Downs International Three-Day Event. (Amy McCool photo) Temecula, Calif. - Almost nothing about the Galway Downs International Three-Day Event worked out like Buck Davidson expected. Except that he came here from Pennsylvania to win the CCI3*, and he did, on Petite Flower, scoring 59.2 penalties. Jolie Wentworth rode GoodKnight to second place (59.7) and Liz Halliday-Sharp rode HHS Cooley to third place (61.6). Davidson also...

Lillie Keenan piloted Clearway to the 2013 ASPCA Alfred B. Maclay Finals Championship at the Alltech National Horse Show (Shawn McMillan Photography) Lexington, Ky. - In many ways, it came as no surprise when the champion of the 2013 ASPCA Alfred B. Maclay National Finals was announced as Lillie Keenan of New York, NY. The young phenom has been at the top of the sport since she was a pony rider, and this has been an exceptional year for her career. It began with the 2013 North American Junior...

Pau, France - The United States sent six drivers onto the marathon on Saturday at the 2013 FEI Pony World Driving Championships and finished the day in seventh place on a total of 426.7. The Netherlands leads the field on a score of 326.2, with Germany currently in Silver medal position on 351.9, and Hungary occupies third place with a total of 370.9. Tracey Morgan and Fuego 88 (Mary Phelps-phelpsphotos.com) In the Single Pony Championship, the U.S. was represented by Tracey Morgan and Paul...

Victoria Colvin and Monsieur Du Reverdy (Phelps Media Group, Inc.) Lexington, Ky. - Earlier in the day, the jumper action kicked off with the Deeridge Farm $10,000 Junior Jumper Welcome Stake. Eight combinations traversed the track without fault, but it was Victoria Colvin of Loxahatchee, FL, who proved to have the key to winning aboard her own Monsieur Du Reverdy. After competing in last week's WIHS Equitation Classic, they transitioned back to the jumper ring, and Colvin utilized her...

Todd Minikus and Quality Girl (Shawn McMillen) Lexington, Ky . - When $50,000 is up for grabs it brings out the best horses and riders in the world, putting their best foot forward. That is how the Open Jumper division at the 2013 Alltech National Horse Show kicked off today. Todd Minikus and Quality Girl left nothing to chance as they sped around Conrad Homfeld's challenging track, besting the field by two seconds to win the Taylor Harris $50,000 Open Jumper Welcome Speed, presented by...

Emma Kurtz and True Love (Shawn McMillen Photography) Washington, D.C. - Young riders competed in the WIHS Pony Equitation Finals at the Washington International Horse Show Sunday afternoon with a win going to 13-year-old Emma Kurtz of Hudson, OH, riding True Love. Trained by Amanda Lyerly and Mike Rheinheimer, Kurtz scored an 86 over fences and moved from second to first with her ride in the work-off under saddle to take the lead. She was presented The Jane Marshall Dillon Memorial Perpetual...

Elkton, Md. - The Dutta Corp Fair Hill International hosts top U.S. combinations this week in Elkton, Md., as competitors vie for national titles at the CCI2* and CCI3* levels. The prestigious competition celebrates its 25th anniversary as it hosts 114 entries at the international levels, with 95 setting their sights on USEF National Championships, October 17-20, 2013. Wednesday afternoon hosted the first Veterinary Inspection; the CCI3* will be contested by 45 competitors, while in the CCI2*,...