American-bred Hanoverians vied for several special cash awards offered at Dressage at Devon, September 23-28. This was the second year that Paul Cohen of Associations Underwriters, Inc., & Ziplow Horse Insurance Agency (AUIZHI) donated $2,000 for Hanoverians bred by members of the Mid-Atlantic Hanoverian Breeders Club (MAHB) competing in the breeding division of the prestigious show in Devon, PA. The AUIZHI-MAHB award endows $1,000 to the highest-placed young horse and $1,000 to the...

Lexington, KY - Gold medals from this summer’s CN FEI North American Junior/Young Riders Championship at the Colorado Horse Park Presented by Gotham North spelled good things for competitors Sir Neel and Sophie Benjamin (Jennifer Wenzel/Rein Photography) in the 2008 Platinum Performance/USEF Talent Search Finals. Talent Search Final-East winner Sophie Benjamin followed in her teammate Hannah Selleck’s (who won the West Coast Final two weeks ago) footsteps by winning the East Coast...

Lexington, KY – The United States Dressage Team and the United States Equestrian Federation received an unexpected decision on September 22, 2008 when the FEI Tribunal handed down its ruling regarding the positive medication test of Mythilus, Courtney King-Dye’s Dressage horse, from the 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong. The result of the Tribunal’s decision means that King-Dye and the entire US Dressage Team have been disqualified from the Olympic Games. Mythilus tested...

The third episode in “The World Sporthorse Championships” series on Animal Planet airs this Saturday, October 4, at 3 p.m. ET. Featured in this episode is America's most prestigious show jumping event, The FTI Hampton Classic Grand Prix, from the Hampton Horse Show Grounds in Bridgehampton, Long Island. Busy Saturday? The program will re-air on Sunday morning (October 5) at 10 a.m. ET, so be sure to tune in and see America's top horses and riders compete for this prestigious title! And mark...

2008 was the 25th anniversary for the National Show Horse (NSH) Finals. The show was held September 17-20 in Springfield, IL. The weather could not have been better, and with over $200,000 in prize money available, you can almost always guarantee a good time with a lot of quality horses. This year was no exception. The judges were Cari Bartz, Gayle Lampe and Richard Petty. The National Show Horse Registry (NSHR) was very pleased with the addition of the Hackney Futurity, Hackney Pony and...

The Arabian Horse Association (AHA) Sport Horse National Arabian and Half-Arabian Championship Horse Show (Sport Horse Nationals) made its sixth annual appearance from September 23-27, 2008, at the Idaho Horse Park in Nampa, ID. The event featured 339 horses and 78 classes in four divisions: sport horse in-hand and under-saddle, dressage, pleasure carriage driving and hunter/jumper. “This was the best Sport Horse Nationals to date,” said Bill Pennington, Chair of the show’s commission. Sport...

Riders from The Oaks of Lake City’s Equestrian Center are already putting the new community in the limelight. Last week, The Oak’s equestrian member and young rider, Hannah Lisec and the five-year-old Oldenburg, Gladiator HU, swept all four of their classes at the Fall Classic Dressage Horse Shows in the Park in Newberry, FL. Lisec’s dressage scores ranged from 68-76%. Along with winning all of her classes, Lisec topped two divisions, winning both the First Level Championship and Junior...

Reining champion Big Chex To Cash is set to join the Breyer stable for 2009 as the most recent reining addition to Breyer’s product line-up since Colonel’s Smoking Gun was honored in 2002. At only six years old, the stunningly gorgeous Palomino overo Big Chex To Cash has lifetime earnings of over $200,000 and holds the title to multiple national reining championships. His palomino sire, Nu Chex To Cash, is one of reining’s all-time leading producers, having earned more reining points than any...

There is a happy end in sight for the 11 abandoned horses found in early September near Molalla, OR. At a public auction on September 10, six of the horses were purchased by good families. At the request of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) purchased the five horses who did not receive bids from prospective owners. The HSUS will house all five horses at its Duchess Sanctuary, a 1,120-acre horse sanctuary and rescue facility in Douglas County,...

The American Miniature Horse Registry (AMHR) National Championship Show announced the two winning young authors of the Youth Essay Contest in Tulsa, OK, this month. The 2008 winners were Katherine Richey and Allison Payne, each of who was awarded a Miniature horse for their efforts. The Youth Essay Contest was open to all current junior members of the AMHR. In the 13 to 17 age group, Katherine Richey from Meridian, MS, wrote a charming piece on why she would be the best person to win the...