Photo by Randi Muster (Victoria Birdsall and Baheera captured the Third Annual George Morris Excellence in Equitation Exhibition.) The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) is winding down as it finished its 11th week of competition on March 24-28. The week featured the highlight event of the season, the $500,000 FTI Consulting Finale Grand Prix, CSI*****, along with a full schedule of hunter, jumper, and equitation classes, including the prestigious Third Annual George Morris Excellence in...

Nicole DelGiorno and Lamborghini Dane (Flashpoint Photography) Lexington, KY—The 2009 Adequan FEI North American Junior Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North went out rocking with the Junior freestyle dressage tests. The top 15 Juniors came back to perform their choreographed routines in the USDF/Platinum Performance North American Junior & Young Rider Dressage Championships, and the crowds cheered them on under sunny Kentucky skies. After the scores were tallied, Nicole...

Connaught is Back to Defend his Title (Mike McNally ) Lexington, KY – The 12th Rolex/USEF National CCI**** Eventing Championship got underway Wednesday, April 22 with the first horse inspection at the 2009 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. Fifty-one horses were presented before the Ground Jury of David Lee, Nicoli Fife and Marilyn Payne. Dr. Catherine Kohn is serving as the Veterinary Delegate for the 2009 competition. Of those 52, two of which were held for a second look by the Ground...

The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, set to return to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, April 23-26, will feature a Who's Who of the world's best eventing horses and riders. The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, a part of the HSBC FEI Classics™ Series, will run a CCI**** and the 12th championship for the United States Equestrian Team Foundation Pinnacle Cup, signifying the zenith in eventing competition in the United States. The event draws over 100,000 spectators and...

Photo by Daniel K. Lew (Sally Swift at the 2008 American Horse Publications Seminar..) Sarah Rodman Swift, known to her worldwide following as “Sally Swift,” passed away on April 2, 2009. Swift was less than three weeks away from her 96th birthday. She was born on April 20, 1913 in Hingham, MA, to Rodman “Tod” Swift and Elizabeth Townsend Swift. She had one sister, Agnes, who died in 2004. Swift was known all over the world for her innovative horse-riding methodology...

Becky Holder and Courageous Comet (Shannon Brinkman) Hong Kong, China – Becky Holder cashed in on a lifetime of preparation today when she cantered down the centerline of the dressage ring of her first Olympic Games. She put in a fantastic effort to lead the US Eventing Team to a second place finish after three riders. The US Team finished on a score of 121.50 behind the Australians who were on fire with a three rider total of 102.8. Riding the 13-year-old Thoroughbred Courageous Comet...

Gina Miles and McKinlaigh (Shannon Brinkman) Hong Kong, China – Becky Holder cashed in on a lifetime of preparation today when she cantered down the centerline of the dressage ring of her first Olympic Games. She put in a fantastic effort to lead the US Eventing Team to a second place finish after three riders.The US Team finished on a score of 121.50 behind the Australians who were on fire with a three rider total of 102.8. Riding the 13-year-old Thoroughbred Courageous Comet (whom she...

Parker, CO ­– Region 7 won the Young Riders team Gold Medal in the USDF/Platinum Performance Dressage Division at the 2008 CN North American Junior and Young Rider Championships at the Colorado Horse Park Presented By Gotham North The CN North American Junior and Young Rider Championships at the Colorado Horse Park Presented by Gotham North are the premier equestrian event in North America for riders age 14-21. Run in a format similar to the Olympic Games, the Championships feature...

Lexington, KY – The U.S. duo of Chester Weber and Tucker Johnson equaled an Chester Weber Drives to Third Place (Franz & Andreas Steindl) American best on Sunday by placing third overall in the Four-in-Hand Nations Cup at the World Equestrian Festival CHIO Aachen. Weber made a mistake at the very first cone and added some time faults in the final phase to finish the three phases in third individually, a personal best in Aachen, by less than a point on a score on 154.06. “We had...

Theodore O'Connor wins the Farnam®/Platform™ USEF Horse of the Year Award. (Geoff Oliver Bugbee/USEF Archives ) Louisville, KY—Among the regalia of the United States Equestrian Federation’s (USEF) historic Horse of the Year Awards program and black tie gala, eventing champion and newly-crowned star Theodore O’Connor was named the 2007 Farnam®/Platform™ USEF Horse of the Year at the Downtown Marriott in Louisville, KY. Bred by P. Wynn Norman and owned by Theodore...