Photo: Laura Elcock One of the best ways to contribute to your particular breed or discipline—and become a more knowledgeable competitor at the same time—is to join the ranks of licensed officials. There are 154 different licenses, including licenses for judges, stewards, technical delegates, and course designers. “For me, the most important reason to do it is to give back to the industry, and I also think it’s a responsibility and an honor to be in a position to guard...

Lexington, K y. – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and the University of Kentucky have entered into a Letter of Intent to develop an equine regulatory testing laboratory based in Lexington, Ky. In January 2018, the USEF Board of Directors appointed a task force headed by Tom O’Mara to work with senior leadership to analyze USEF’s laboratory functions and future options for their sample testing program. The creation of the task force led to conversations with the...

Allentown, N.J. – Five USEF Preliminary Combined Driving National Champions were crowned at the Garden State Combined Driving Event CDE at the Horse Park of New Jersey on October 12-14. It was the debut of national championships at the preliminary level in order to serve as a catalyst to ignite further interest in the combined driving discipline, and cultivate combinations for the development and elite levels. Berndl and Impressive (Photo by Conklin Photographic LLC) Leslie Berndl...

Mill Spring, N.C. – The U.S. Reining Team turned in an epic performance to start the FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) Tryon 2018 on a high note for the U.S. contingent. Under the guidance of Chef d’Equipe Jeff Petska, the team of Casey Deary and Heavy Duty Chex, Dan Huss and Ms Dreamy, Jordan Larson and ARC Gunnabeabigstar, and Cade McCutcheon and Custom Made Gun clinched the fifth consecutive team gold medal for the U.S. with a score of 681.0. The U.S. Reining Team, 2018 WEG team...

Lexington, Ky. - The United States Equestrian Federation (US Equestrian) has named eight show jumping athletes to the Short List for the FEI World Equestrian Games™ (WEG) Tryon 2018 NetJets® U.S. Show Jumping Team. Athletes named to the Short List will compete at two of the following NetJets U.S. Show Jumping Team observation events: FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Poland, June 14 – 17; The Netherlands, June 21 – 24; CSIO5* Aachen, Germany, July 17 – 22; and Ireland,...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian (USEF) grieves the loss of one of equestrian sports’ leading figures, Keith Bartz (Naples, Fla.), who passed away on Saturday, January 27, at the age of 84. Bartz’s impact spanned equestrian sport, as he was a competitor, trainer, governance leader, and champion for the American Saddlebred. Keith Bartz (Adam Brennan - www.picturesbyab.com ) “Keith Bartz gave [back] to the horse-showing industry in so many ways. He had a strong moral...

Wayne, Ill . – The nation’s most talented group of young dressage athletes will gather at the Lamplight Equestrian Center for the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions running Friday, August 25 through Sunday, August 27. The event, which coincides with the Markel/USEF Young & Developing Horse Dressage National Championships and USEF Dressage Seat Medal Finals, features four national titles up for grabs including the AGCO/USEF Young Rider Dressage National Championship, AGCO/USEF...

CH Extremely Fortunut is going for her sixth Devon three-gaited country pleasure championship with rider Molly Codeanne. (Doug Shiflet) The Devon Horse Show and Country Fair in Pennsylvania has been very good to the aptly named American Saddlebred mare CH Extremely Fortunut, who competes in the three-gaited country pleasure division at this show. Devon, a United States Equestrian Federation Heritage Competition that runs through June 4, also features top-class hunter, jumper, and driving...

Lexington, Ky. – The United States Equestrian Federation (US Equestrian) has reluctantly accepted the resignation of its U.S. Eventing Technical Advisor David O’Connor. “Over many years, David has been a leader for US Equestrian as a whole and for eventing in particular,” remarked Murray Kessler, President of US Equestrian. “We reluctantly accept David’s resignation and support his desire to focus on chairing the Fédération Equestre...

Dr. John Steele (Kenneth Kraus) Acclaimed veterinarian Dr. John Steele was the linchpin behind the success of some of equestrian sports’ biggest names and their mounts. Up until his passing last month, one could find the 91-year-old Dr. Steele, or “Doc,” as many throughout the equestrian sport community knew him, hustling around show grounds, administering the utmost care to his equine clients. His tireless dedication to the horse and its rider made him one of the most...