Future Event Horse (FEH) classes will be held in conjunction with the Irish Draugth Horse Society of North America's 2009 Annual Horse Show. The FEH classes will be held on Thursday, October 1, in Lexington, VA, at the Virginia Horse Center. This will be a great opportunity to get your babies used to showing as the Virginia Horse Center is the same venue where the FEH Championships will be held on October 30. Remember there is no qualifying score needed to attend the championships; the only...

Photo by Captured Moment Photography (Caroline Ingalls and Small Town) The USEF National Junior Hunter Championships-West Coast, hosted by Blenheim Equisports, took place August 11-12 on the West Grass Hunter Field at the beautiful Oaks Blenheim facility in San Juan Capistrano, CA. After two days of exciting competition and elegant exhibitor parties under cloudless skies, Caroline Ingalls and Small Town were crowned the new champions. With an overall three-phase adjusted score of 251.6,...

With great sadness, Mo and Jim Swanson of Rolling Stone Farm announce the passing of a World Champion dressage legend on August 11, 2009. The Hanoverian stallion Welcome S (World Cup I-Grebina/Grande) was euthanized in August 2009, due to infirmities of age. He was 22 years old. Welcome was owned by Jan van der Kamp and was managed by his daughter, Patricia Stemerdink of Dekstation de Havikerwaard in De Steeg, The Netherlands. The Swanson’s leased Welcome for breeding after a chance meeting in...

WHAT: Interview with Mary Jordan, Equestrian and multiple sclerosis (MS) patient, competing in the 2009 FEI European and Open Para-Equestrian Dressage Championships WHO & WHY: Jordan’s story of managing her MS to compete in the sport she loves is an inspiration to many and has gained media interest throughout the United States. Her competitive resilience so touched one Dutch family that they loaned her a horse to be able to compete in the championships. In 2002, Jordan was first diagnosed with...

Doug Payne, acclaimed rider and board member of the Professional Riders Organization, won top honors at the Millbrook Horse Trials this past weekend in New York. Payne's placings included three wins. "To date, I have not had an event which went so smoothly," Payne said. "And I can't say enough about the horses this weekend." Payne competed with eight horses in six divisions. "I'm excited that several of these horses will be competing for years to come," Payne continued. "Hopefully, their...

The USEF Education Department has established a weekly blog on ClubEquestrian.com to share information with members. “Equine U” provides interesting and helpful information about the Federation and also anything relating to horse ownership, competing at all levels and all things equestrian. USEF will post articles from various guest writers as well as from staff's own experiences at competitions, clinics, and seminars. Check it out at www.clubequestrian.com/blogs/equineu/default.aspx . In...

Marilyn E. Smith passed away on Friday, August 7. Smith was born May 14, 1939, in Fort Wayne, IN. For the past six years, she was the office manager at Hamilton Family Medical Center in Hamilton, IN Smith was a graduate of Stephens College in Columbia, MO, and Indiana University, and had a Master's Degree in Education. She taught second grade at Slocum Elementary School. Smith had been President of the Junior Division of the Fort Wayne Women's Club, and was the current president of the Phi Mu...

On August 1, the Youth National Arabian and Half-Arabian Championship Horse Show came to an end after eight days of top-level horse show competition, a shopping expo and the Arabian Horse Youth Association (AHYA) Annual Convention. This was the show’s 17th year in Albuquerque and is estimated to bring about $10.2 million to the city. The largest class, Arabian Hunter Pleasure Junior to Ride, age 14-17, hosted 79 horses and was won by Kool Enuff, owned and ridden by Kirsten McKillop of Alamo, CA....

Lexington, KY – After nearly four months of top competition between the best show jumping nations in the world, the title of Meydan FEI Nations Cup Champion came down to the final round of the final leg at the Dublin International Horse Show in Dublin, Ire. With the US jumpers holding their own throughout the duration of the tour, they ended up barely beaten for the top spot in the standings by France. The two countries tied for fourth on 20 faults a piece in the final, which left France with a...

Ailish Cunniffe is crowned Equisport Insurance/USEF Pony Medal Championship Final winner. (USEF Archive/Randi Muster) Lexington, KY—By midday Sunday, the Kentucky Horse Park began to look vacant. Ponies were unbraided and cooled, loaded trailers rumbled toward home and the usually lively vendor row was filled with merchants striking their tents and packing their wares. After four days of fierce competition in the Pony Hunters and Jumpers, the whirlwind that is the 2009 USEF Pony Finals...