The American Horse Council (AHC) reports that the recently passed Senate Farm Bill includes several key provisions that would benefit the horse industry. The $286 billion bill, which passed the Senate on December 14 by a vote of 79 to 14, now includes the Equine Equity Act. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) offered this bill as an amendment to the Farm Bill, and it was accepted without objection. This provision would: (1) shorten the capital gains holding period for horses from 24 months to 12...

Lexington, KY ­– The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased to announce that Lizzy Chesson has been promoted to the position of Director of Show Jumping High Performance Activities. Chesson, 30, is deeply rooted in international equestrian sports. She groomed for her mother and was part of two World Championship Driving Teams in that capacity and in 1999 she was selected to drive a pair of horses in the World Pair Championship in Hungary. “Lizzy has been a great addition to the...

The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation is pleased to announce that Kelly Sult and Hollywood were presented with the Markham Trophy at the Fair Hill International CCI***, which ran from October 18-21, 2007. The prestigious Fair Hill Festival in Elkton, MD, hosted the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) CCI*** championship, which is one of two three-star competitions in the country. The Markham Trophy is awarded to the highest-placed rider under the age of 21. Sult competed...

The New England Dressage Association played host to Ingrid Klimke, one of Germany’s leading event and dressage riders, during NEDA’s annual Fall Weekend. As she has at previous symposiums, Klimke joined forces with Dr. Ina Goesmeier, one of the world’s leading veterinary practitioners in holistic medicine. Like her father, the late Reiner Klimke, Ingrid Klimke has achieved international success in both eventing and dressage. She shares with her father a strong belief in the importance of...

Legendary reining sire and National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Hall of Fame inductee Topsail Whiz has become only the second stallion to earn this incredible distinction, which is based on offspring earnings. The major milestone came just over one year after reaching the four-million dollar mark. Topsail Whiz, owned by Bob Loomis Quarter Horses, Inc., of Marietta, OK, is by Topsail Cody, another NRHA Hall of Famer and Million Dollar Sire, and out of Jeanie Whiz Bar. When contacted about...

The TSE/Tattersalls Fall Sale will be broadcast over the Internet on the American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA) website, www.saddlebred.com . The Saddlebred sale, as conducted by Teater Saddlebred Enterprises, Inc., is Thursday through Saturday, November 1-3, 2007. As it has done in the past for the 2006 Fall Sale and 2007 Spring Sale, ASHA will once again provide a live streaming video feed of each day of this fall’s sale in its entirety. The webcast will allow viewers to see the sale of...

It was a “typical day” at the office for Chester Weber as he went out and captured yet another USEF National Four-in-Hand Championship, his fifth in a row. Yet, Weber, of Ocala, FL, had some top-notch competition to challenge him as two previous five-time winners sought to win their sixth title. Both Tucker Johnson of Hobe Sound, FL, and James Fairclough of Newton, NJ, have accomplished what Weber has done, but neither has had the reign that Weber has maintained over the past five years. This...

At the August American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) Board of Director's Meeting, locations for the 2008 Judge's School were selected in be held conjunction with Diamond Jubilee in Del Mar, CA, in April; Southern States Regional Morgan Horse Show in Raleigh, NC, in May; and North Star Morgan Americana in St. Paul, MN, in July. These three-day events combine classroom work with learner judging under a stringent itinerary in an actual horse show setting. Overseen by two to three administrators,...

The United States Hunter Jumper Assocation (USHJA) held a judging clinic on Friday, August 3, in Wayne, IL, in conjunction with Showplace Productions during Equifest I. Diane Carney, a local trainer and clinician, acted as mediator between the crowd of more than 100 people and the judges. The clinic had three riders demonstrate both hunter and handy hunter rounds, while each spectator was given a judge's card and scored each of the rounds individually. The riders were Tina Judge, Brenda Mueller...

Late on August 2, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the funding bill for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for Fiscal Year 2008 after removing the overly broad language that was opposed by the horse industry. When the USDA funding bill was reported out of the House Appropriations Committee two weeks ago, it included language that was intended to apply to slaughter horses. But the provision was so broadly drafted that it would have applied to all horses and been...