Last year the United States Hunter Jumper Association proposed a rule change to the point structure for the professional hunter divisions to effectively go from deciding champions based on points earned to money won. USEF, the governing body of equestrian sports, passed this rule in January of 2009 with a December 1 start date. Bob Bell, President of Classic Company and the show organizer for the Jacksonville Winter Series, has decided to use the new rule to make some giant changes to the...

Dana Fiore and her eight-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Redford, rode away with the victory in the Prix St. Georges class at the Gold Coast Fall Fling show, the kick-off show for the Gold Coast Dressage Association’s winter dressage series. Equilite, the makers of the award-winning Sore No More products and Botanical Animal Flower Essences, sponsored the Prix St. Georges, and Fiore took home a giant tote bag filled with Equilite products. “Redford was very supple, and he was forward. He did the...

The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased to announce that Louisville, KY, will once again play host to the USEF Annual Meeting. This event will take place January 13–17 at the Louisville Marriott Downtown,located at 280 West Jefferson Street. The hotel features 616 guest rooms and over 50,000 sq. ft. of meeting space. This four-diamond property offers contemporary design and unparalleled guest service. It provides pedway connection to Louisville’s bustling Fourth Street Live...

Oklahoma City, OK—Record setting triple-digit temperatures and blazing hot scores were the buzz at the 2009 AdequanÒ/USEF National Reining Championships presented by Equine Motorcoach in Oklahoma City, OK. Held during the annual NRHA Derby, the championships determined the nation’s top reining horses and riders after a year of qualification. Using portable fans and high-powered misters to cut the heat for competing horses, the event was able to care for the horses and athletes alike in the...

The new outdoor stadium at the Kentucky Horse Park officially opened on Wednesday afternoon, April 22. John Nicholson, Executive Director of the park, along with special guests Governor and Mrs. Steven L. Beshear, welcomed a crowd of government officials, business leaders, equestrian and tourism industry representatives, and the public. The new outdoor stadium is one major component of a master capital improvement plan that will allow the Kentucky Horse Park to continue to attract large horse...

Marilyn Little-Meredith captured her first ever grand prix at a Winter Equestrian Festival on Thursday, March 19, aboard Comtesse Du Lys in the finale round of the $30,000 Braman Motor Cars WEF Challenge Cup Series. Little-Meredith of Frederick, MD, and the mare Comtesse Du Lys, owned by Raylyn Farms, Inc., and Beverly Sheehy, were just nine points short of dislodging Great Britain's Peter Charles and Murka's Pall Mall from the top of the WEF Challenge standings. Charles' finish in 17th place...

Lendon Gray, President and CEO of The Dressage Foundation, announced that Jan Brons of Wellington, FL, has won the 2009 “Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize.” The purpose of the prize, established at The Dressage Foundation, is to provide financial assistance for coaching and training to a talented, committed, qualified rider whose plan is to reach and excel at the elite, international standards of high-performance dressage. “A strong field of applicants applied for this important new prize,...

Brazil's Rodrigo Pessoa clinched a berth in the FEI World Cup Final in Las Vegas with a win Saturday night aboard his Olympic mount Rufus in the $150,000 FEI World Cup Grand Prix, presented by Spy Coast Farm, at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington. Michelle Spadone of Califon, NJ, on the Belgian Warmblood mare, Melisimo, who has never seen a World Cup Final and was a last-minute addition placed second in the competition with 45 starters from nine countries. Among them were...

In recognition of the current economic climate, promoters of all the major winter circuits are examining ways to help exhibitors minimize ancillary expenses in an effort to maximize their opportunities to show and enjoy their winter circuit experiences. While United States Equestrian Federation rules do not mandate braiding, the winter circuit managers from Gulfport, HITS, Jacksonville and the Winter Equestrian Festival have decided to go on record advising all judges that exhibitors who opt...

In only it's sixth year of existence, the Springpferdezuchtverbandes Oldenburg-International or "OS" has made history with the Champion of the 2008 Stallion Licensing who will now be known as 'Le Champ Ask' after being purchased by Stutteri As—the jumping stallion station of Blue Hors—for 1.1 Million Euro. The OS branded stallion was impressive from the first moment of the testing. The stunning presence of this stallion along with his expressive trot and balanced canter on the lunge...