Photo by Jon Kassel (Grand Prix Course at the sold out Alliant Energy Center Arena .) The 10,000 seat John Deere Coliseum at Madison's Alliant Energy Center was standing room only Saturday night as five of 38 entries passed the course's first test and were asked back for the tie-breaking round. Ultimately it was the feisty chestnut mare Happy Z and Ohio's Wilhelm Genn who laid down an unbeatable jump-off track for the win. Laura Linback and As di Villagana, competing last, also put in a...

Photo by ESI Photography (Peter Leone and Nerval de la Batia win their first Grand Prix of the season at HITS Culpeper.) Peter Leone and Nerval de la Batia, owned by the Beaupre Group, are on the road to the Pfizer Million as they took home the victory in Sunday's $40,000 EMO Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, to highlight the Commonwealth National. "It means a lot to me to come here and kick-off the season," said Leone of Greenwich, CT, who competed in his first of eight needed...

A national Welfare Code of Practice has been endorsed by the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the American Quarter Horse Association, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the United States Equestrian Federation and the U.S. Trotting Association. The Welfare Code of Practice, drafted by the American Horse Council, outlines in generic terms what it means for an organization to be committed to the responsible breeding, training, care,...

The Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) kicked-off it's opening day of competition with the professional hunter divisions at the Verizon Center on Tuesday, October 20. Scott Stewart shot to the top of the leaderboard with his mounts Declaration and Way Cool. Declaration took home three blue ribbons with Stewart during the Green Conformation Hunter division, while Way Cool and Stewart were awarded two blue ribbons in the First Year Green Working Hunter division. The Amateur Owner Hunter...

Two Champions "Three-Peat" as Breed Show Wraps Up When individual breed classes took center stage on day three of Dressage at Devon 2009, two horses who had dominated the news in the prestigious show's first two days continued to grab headlines. Perfect Qredit, a yearling colt by Quaterback, added an 83.80% win in the Oldenburg (GOV) division to his Grand Championship, Young Horse Championship, Colt Championship, and Yearling Colts and Geldings title for owner Michelle Coursin, an air-traffic...

Considering the present situation, the Chairman of the FEI Dressage Committee today decided to present her resignation, which has been accepted by the FEI. The FEI Bureau wants to thank the chair for the good work she has been doing during almost eight years of contribution she has made to the development of the dressage sport during this time. Mariette Withages will present the Dressage Committee report to the General Assembly.

James R. Wolf has been selected by the USEF to assume the leadership of the Federation’s High Performance discipline programs as the Executive Director of High Performance. He had been serving as Interim Executive Director. Jim has many years of administrative and competitive experience in horse sports. Prior to joining the USEF staff full-time, he managed the USET’s three-day eventing squad at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, where he was responsible for the coordination of the...

One step out of the ring, internationally renowned equestrian Lynn Seidemann and Phoenix B knew they had put on a good show. Slated to ride second to last in the line-up, the pair pulled out all the stops to wow the judges with a spectacular performance Thursday. Make that a Silver medal-winning performance that surprised even Lynn. “It was a good day,” Lynn said modestly after the news started to filter back through the time zones into the States. With a Silver medal in tow and a...

The International Jumping Riders Club (IJRC), in partnership with the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), has launched a major new initiative to recognize the world’s best rider according to the Rolex Rankings. Starting at the 2009 Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final in Paris, the leading rider will wear a green and gold armband featuring the words "Number 1, The Rolex Rankings" at FEI Jumping events throughout 2010. The Rolex Rankings are updated every week and officially released at the start of...

Gladstone, NJ – After two days of rigorous testing, topped off with a final-four ride-off, 16-year-old Brianne Goutal surpassed even her own expectations with a well-earned, but nonetheless, surprise victory. “I was never expecting to get into the top four,” Goutal says. “I asked my trainer before the last round what score I would need and she wouldn’t give me an answer. She just said ‘ride well.’” And ride well, she did. Give her a few years, and...