Aachen, Germany - Aug. 25 – The United States show jumping team claimed a victory and a fourth place finish Thursday on the eve of the Samsung Super League Nations Cup competition at the World Equestrian Festival. Jeffrey Welles, of Ridgefield, CT, piloted his nine-year-old Holsteiner gelding, Sampras, to victory in the Youngsters Cup, while Laura Kraut of Oconomowoc, WI, finished fourth on the Dutch Warmblood gelding, Anthem, in the Preis von Nordrhein-Westfalen. Welles and Sampras finished in...

From the FEI: At the end of a thrilling Jumping phase, Australia’s Clayton Fredericks came out as the worthy winner of the 2005 FEI Eventing World Cup Final. Performing a magnificent clear round, he retained his overnight score of 42 penalties. The 2nd place goes to yet another Australian, Andrew Hoy, who had one rail down and one time penalty to finish on 44.3. Piia Pantsu follows in 3rd position only 0.1 points behind Hoy (44.4). A total of SEK 630,000 (EUR 68,000) was distributed in prize...

Annie Davidson Wins the 2005 USEF Pony Medal Championship 8 Year Old Lillie Keenan Makes Dreams Come True for Others (Lexington, KY) – In the blistering summer heat, Annie Davidson, age 12 of Newtown, Pennsylvania was named Grand Champion of the 2005 Pony Medal Championship held at the Kentucky Horse Park yesterday. The Championship was held as part of the USEF Pony Finals August 10-13. Annie received the Easter Sunday Memorial Perpetual Trophy, a cooler and tack trunk donated by Oakcroft Tack...

The Equus Projects, a company that partners professional dancers with horses and their riders, will perform three original works for dancers, horses and equestrians at the 2005 Ox Ridge Summer Dressage show, one of the most elegant and prestigious dressage shows in the nation. This three-day international competition, held August 19-21, will draw riders from all over the world to earn qualifying scores for the Olympic Games, the World Equestrian Games and the World Cup Finals, as well as for...

Show jumping legend Margie Goldstein-Engle galloped away with the blue ribbon in the $75,000 Footings Unlimited Grand Prix at HITS-on-the-Hudson II. The 2000 Olympic veteran, and eight-time American Grand Prix Association Rider of the Year thrilled the Sunday crowd aboard Hidden Creek's Wapino, a 17.2 hand nine-year-old Westfalian gelding. "I've been riding him at the grand prix level for a little over a year now. We had some wins in Florida, but this is the biggest in terms of money won," she...

Courtesy of Karina Benish (Karina and Hawkeye) He was the ugliest male I had ever seen in my life. He had a bloody wound on his nose, hair six inches long on his chest, and he weighed about 700-800 pounds—400 shy of his best weight. His name was Hawkeye, and he was my partner for more than 14 years. Hawkeye was a mustang horse, and it was he who taught me what it is to trust. Horses, in my opinion, given good care and a little attention, are high up in Maslow’s hierarchy. Since...

Randi Muster (McLain Ward) Lexington, KY – Exactly three-quarters of the way through a series of 12 qualifying competitions for the East Coast League, the dust of a heated race to the 2005 FEI World Cup Show Jumping Final is quickly starting to settle. Just as quickly, a clear trend in leaders begins to unfold, and Brewster, New York’s McLain Ward seems determined to lead the way to Las Vegas on April 20. Heading up a varied group of more than 60 riders, Ward holds onto the...

The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation officially announced that it has retained GráficaGroup as its Public Relations Agency of Record. The USET Foundation, based in Gladstone, New Jersey, supports American equestrian athletes competing in national and international competitions, including the World Equestrian Games, the Pan American Games, and the Olympics. Gráfica ( www.grafica.com ) is a nationally ranked, full-service, fully integrated advertising and public relations agency...

Show jumping action got underway on September 22 at the five-day "A"-rated Los Angeles International Jumping Festival (September 22-26, 2004) at the world class Los Angeles Equestrian Center. The $40,000 Grand Prix of Los Angeles, set for 7 p.m. Saturday night, looks to be an exciting class. Last night, 21 horses and riders competed in the $5,000 Welcome Stake. Typically, the grand prix riders use this class as preparation for the grand prix. Olympian Mark Watring piloted his Olympic mount,...

San Juan Capistrano, CA - Robert Dover and FBW Kennedy were even better today than they were last weekend. Just prior to Dover’s ride, Guenter Seidel on Aragon and Steffen Peters on Floriano had exceptional rides creating a super-charged atmosphere, but Dover and Kennedy marched down the center line, saluted and never looked back. Their score of 78.917% kept them firmly in the lead. Seidel and Aragon were second with 74.167%, Peters and Floriano were third with 71.875%, Leslie Morse and...