Liza Boyd and Crack On (Shawn McMillen Photography) pper Marlboro, MD – Professional riders gain points all year in order to be the top six in the country and qualify for the WCHR Professional Finals, sponsored by the John R. Ingram Fund, at the Capital Challenge Horse Show. This year, the top six were Liza Boyd, Kelley Farmer, John French, Peter Pletcher, Amanda Steege, and Scott Stewart, and it was Liza Boyd who finished the competition with top honors. In the afternoon session, Haleigh...

Alison Cooney and Wittewa (Shawn McMillen Photography) Upper Marlboro, MD – The Capital Challenge Horse Show began today at the Prince George's Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD. This is the first day of the Capital Challenge Equitation Championship Weekend, presented by Bigeq.com. The Capital Challenge Horse Show runs through Sunday, October 6. The equitation age divisions were held today with over fences classes in the outdoor and indoor rings, joined by a flat class indoors....

Calgary, AB – The prestigious Spruce Meadows 'Masters' Tournament opened today with two classes in the International Ring and featured exciting competition. The victory in the $85,000 Finning Cup 1.60m went to Christian Ahlmann (GER) on Taloubet Z. Kent Farrington (USA) and Blue Angel flew to the win over a field of 17 in the jump-off of the $50,000 AKITA Drilling Cup 1.50m. The 'Masters' continues through Sunday, September 8, and features the $1 Million CN International...

Welcome to the fourth installment of a different kind of blog from WDAA! The purpose of this post is to allow the reader "into the heads" of both a trainer/judge/competitor, Karen Abbattista and her student, Deborah Herbert, a Florida WDAA member. We would like to share with you some moments in Deb's journey as she pursues her riding goals with her AQHA mare "GenuineArcticSpring", barn name "Belle". Please enjoy as you follow along with these posts that we consider interesting or...

Welcome to the third installment of a different kind of blog from WDAA! The purpose of this post is to allow the reader "into the heads" of both a trainer/judge/competitor, Karen Abbattista and her student, Deborah Herbert, a Florida WDAA member. We would like to share with you some moments in Deb's journey as she pursues her riding goals with her AQHA mare "GenuineArcticSpring", barn name "Belle". Please enjoy as you follow along with these posts that we consider interesting or challenging...

Holly Shepherd and Triompf claim the $35,000 Grand Prix de Lamplight victory with speedy tie breaking jump-off (Kendall Bierer/PMG) Wayne, IL - The resounding cheers and applause could be heard throughout the Lamplight Equestrian Center as six horse and rider combinations faced off in today's $35,000 Grand Prix de Lamplight, presented by Saddler's Row. It came down to a battle of speed as each consecutive rider bested the next, but it was Holly Shepherd and Triompf that came away the...

Aaron Vale and H&M Cisco (PMG) Lexington, KY - Although there were grey skies in the area for the second day of the Kentucky Summer Classic, the weather did not dampen the competition in the Rolex Stadium. Both the 1.40m and 1.35m Open Jumper classes were determined by just fractions of a second. As the last in the class, Aaron Vale had the draw on his side as he bested Juan Pablo Gaspar and Shamrock with H&M Cisco in the 1.40m Open Jumpers. In the 1.35m Open Jumpers, Geoffrey Case and...

Hillary Simpson guided Arkansas to victory in the $30,000 Mount Equinox Grad Prix, on Saturday, July 27, at the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT. (David Mullinix Photography) East Dorset, VT - Arkansas’ racing days may be far behind him, but he is still quite the speed demon. Hillary Simpson piloted the 10-year-old Thoroughbred gelding to victory in the $30,000 Mount Equinox Grand Prix Saturday afternoon at the Vermont Summer Festival. Simpson was only one of two double clear...

Tatiana Dzavik and Dahlia Lexington, KY - Perfect weather greeted riders as competition got underway during the Kentucky Summer Series at the Kentucky Horse Park. The Open Jumper riders gathered at the Rolex Stadium, where the first 1.40m Open Jumper class focused on speed and Tatiana Dzavik had the winning key with Dahlia. She topped Shane Sweetnam and Fineman by just 3/10ths of a second to claim the blue ribbon. The final event of the day was the 1.40m Open Jumper Table 2 Section 2b jump-off...

Amanda Steege guided Tony Arena’s Majestic to the High Performance Hunter Championship title during WCHR week at the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT. (David Mullinix Photography) East Dorset, VT - World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) competition took place throughout the third week of competition, held July 17-21, at the Vermont Summer Festival, attracting the East Coast’s top hunter riders as they prepare for WCHR Finals this fall. Professionals were among the first to...