Burbank, CA - Judges Jimmy Torano and Mandy Porter wasted no time posing questions to the 33 riders who tackled the Gymnastics Phase of the Platinum Performance/ USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals West. The course started with a canter rail to a vertical with a landing rail, and the rail fell often. Riders then had to trot into a grid comprising a trot rail to a vertical then 23 feet to an oxer followed by 21 feet to another oxer. Hannah Von Heidegger (Will Simpson, trainer) found the best...

Kate Mullen & "Elnieta" win the HorseShow.com/CDS Dressage Seat Equitation Challenge on the first day of the CDS Championship Show (Jennifer M. Keeler) Rancho Murieta, CA - California is well-known as home to some of the best dressage horses and riders in the country, and many of those were on display as the first championship titles of the weekend were awarded today at the California Dressage Society (CDS) Annual Championship Show at the Murieta Equestrian Center in Rancho Murieta, CA,...

John Pearce and Chianto jump to a win in the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, making it two in a row for Pearce at HITS Saugerties this week (ESI Photography) Saugerties, NY – On the heels of a win in Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix with Son of a Gun, John Pearce of Bermuda Dunes, California jumped his way to another blue on Sunday in the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented, by Zoetis, this time aboard Forest View Farm’s Chianto. Celebration, however, soon...

Team Weber on the marathon course at Caen. (Photo courtesy of Madeleine Augustsson) Ocala, FL – Nine-time U.S. national four-in-hand champion Chester Weber remains undefeated in France following his second win there in the CAI-A4 Caen August 23-25, against a field of 12 drivers and 60 horses representing seven nations. Team Weber’s win at the CAI-A4 Caen is especially significant as the competition was the test event for the 2014 World Equestrian Games. In early June, Weber had the...

Todd Minikus and Quality Girl on their way to a win in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, at HITS Saugerties (ESI Photography) Saugerties, NY - Quality Girl’s feet were lightning fast and her turns were tight as she carried Todd Minikus of Loxahatchee, Florida to a win in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, Friday at HITS Saugerties. Besting a field of 47, Minikus added another grand prix to a long list of top finishes with his own Quality Girl during...

Jumping at CSIO5* Hickstead started up Thursday with U.S. horses and riders faring well. In the opening speed class, the Royal International Vase, "Master of Faster" Richard Spooner and Oscany Inc's Let's Dance 46 sped to a 2nd place finish with a clear round in 65.58s. Hot on their heels were Reed Kessler and her own Ligist. They also keep the rails in the cups and finished their round in 66.18s. Neither was fast enough to beat the scorching 63.97s effort from Great Britain's own...

Stephanie Novas and Amyra R (Ashley N. Williams) Wayne, IL - It was a soggy day at the Grand Prix Arena where Equifest I at Lamplight Equestrian Center was sure to continue rain or shine. Wet footing had competitors using caution as they assessed the jumper course for Friday's competition in the Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper divisions. It was Stephanie Novas and Amyra R who gauged the conditions well for zero errors and the fastest time to earn the blue ribbon in the High Junior/Amateur-Owner...

Katherine Strauss and Chellando Z (Phelps Media Group, Inc. International) Lexington, KY - It was another picturesque day at the Kentucky Horse Park as the Junior and Amateur-Owner Jumpers took center stage in the Rolex Stadium. Only two riders produced perfect rounds in the High Junior Jumpers, and it was Katherine Strauss and Chellando Z who had the time in the jump-off to capture the win. In the High Amateur-Owner Jumpers Haley Schaufeld aboard Harley 86 won a foot race between five riders....

Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister on their way to a tenth place finish (Shannon Brinkman) Aachen, Germany – Cross country day proved to be influential at the Aachen CICO3* at the 2013 CHIO Aachen. Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister tackled the final phase with determination and finished in tenth place in a field of world-class horses and riders. The Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team finished in seventh place after unfortunate results plagued them throughout the day. Though a disappointing...

Lillie Keenan and Pumped Up Kicks jump their way to a win in the $125,000 Purina Animal Nutrition Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, at HITS Saugerties over the weekend (©ESI Photography) Saugerties, NY – Lillie Keenan and Pumped Up Kicks were pumped up just enough Sunday afternoon to win the $125,000 Purina Animal Nutrition Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis. The 15-year-old rider and Chansonette Farm, LLC’s Pumped Up Kicks closed out three weeks of spring shows at HITS-on-the-Hudson...