Saugerties, N.Y. - Quality Girl is no stranger to clean rounds with Todd Minikus of Loxahatchee, Florida and at the top of her game as of late. Highlighted by their Open Jumper success at Devon last weekend and Friday, winning the HITS $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix the 11-year-old Oldenburg mare continues to shine. Todd Minikus and Quality Girl were the top pair in Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix presented by Zoetis at HITS Saugerties (©ESI Photography) “She’s turning into a...

Devon, Pa . – The 2014 Devon Horse Show & Country Fair hosted its first day of Open Jumper competition on Tuesday with double wins for local favorite Laura Chapot of Neshanic Station, NJ. Chapot and the 10-year-old Selle Francais gelding Quointreau Un Prince (Diamant de Semilly x Rosire), owned by Chapot and McLain Ward, took the win in the first jump-off class. Laura Chapot and Quointreau Un Prince (© The Book LLC) An Open Jumper speed competition was also held in the evening with...

SAUGERTIES, NY – Darragh Kenny first saw Alpha VDL at the VDL Sport Horse Auction in Florida two years ago, and instantly knew he wanted to ride the then 7-year- old Dutch Warmblood gelding. Kenny had to be patient however, until this past January, for his wish to come true. The pair was quick to find their way to the top, winning the $50,000 Grand Prix during Week V at HITS before topping the field in Darragh Kenny’s partnership with Alpha VDL may not have come as soon as he would have...

Rome, Italy - Kent Farrington, the only American rider at Piazza di Siena this year, galloped to victory with Blue Angel in the Premio MAG-JLT Small Grand Prix this afternoon and now has his sights firmly set on securing the new D’Inzeo Brothers Trophy tomorrow afternoon. Uliano Vezzani’s track produced only eight first-round clears from a starting field of 63, partly due to a very tight time-allowed of 78 seconds. The jump-off line-up was world-class however, led by Germany’s...

Chester Weber and his team during the cones phase. (Photo courtesy of PicsofYou.com) Ocala, FL - From a record 11th national title for four-in-hand’s Chester Weber to two-time NFL Superbowl linebacker Max Montoya scoring a win in the Intermediate Pair Horse division, this year’s Live Oak International Combined Driving had it all. Ocala, Florida, known as the ‘Horse Capital of the World’ saw hometown hero, Chester Weber drive Jane Clark’s KWPN geldings to an...

Lexington, Ky. - It will be an action-packed weekend when the Kentucky Reining Cup returns to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, April 25-27. Not only will this year's Reining competition serve as the Adequan USEF Open Reining National Championship and the Selection Trial for the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games U.S. Reining Team, but on Saturday evening, stars from the world of Eventing will try their hand at Reining during the Kentucky Reining Cup's World Championship...

Wellington, Fla. - Clear rounds were the order of the night on Friday evening as 12 teams went to task over Steve Stephen’s 12-obstacle track in the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup presented by G&C Farm, the feature competition Laura Kraut and Cedric (StockImageServices.com) of CSIO4* Wellington. The Hermès U.S. Show Jumping Team headed into the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center’s International Arena for the two-round competition, held in conjunction with the FTI...

Nayel Nassar and Lordan jump to a win in the $33,500 FEI HITS Desert Classic, presented by Zoetis, at HITS Thermal (Flying Horse Photography) Thermal, Calif. - It all came down to the gallop in the $33,500 FEI HITS Desert Classic, presented by Zoetis, at HITS Thermal on Thursday. With only two horses in the jump-off, Nayel Nassar put the speed of his nine-year-old Hanoverian gelding Lordan to the test and bested Bliss Heers by fractions of a second. Nassar of Santa Clara, California represents...

Pau, France - The 2013 FEI Pony World Driving Championships kicked off Thursday with the first of two days of driven dressage. Pair Pony and Pony Team drivers took their first steps toward world titles as they performed their tests in front of the Ground Jury composed of Klaus Christ, Anne-Marie Turbe, Jennifer Matheson (Mary Phelps-phelpsphotos.com) Diana Brownlie, and Dot Wilcoxson. U.S. competitors got off to a strong start with all four drivers cruising into the top 12 in their respective...

Kent Farrington and Blue Angel (Shawn McMillen Photography) Washington, D.C. - The 2013 Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) continued on Thursday with the first day of classes for the Junior Hunters and several International Open Jumper and Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper classes at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The International Open Jumpers had two classes with a win for Kent Farrington (USA) and Robin Parksy's Blue Angel in the $33,000 International Open Jumper Welcome Stake. Top...