With the close of the 2009 competition year and in anticipation of the United States Equestrian Federation’s annual Pegasus Awards celebration in January, the Federation is proud to announce the candidates in line to become the coveted 2009 Equestrian of the Year. Known as the USEF Equestrians of Honor, these seven stars of equestrian sport across breed and discipline have each been named recipients of one of seven different competitive trophies awarded during the Pegasus Awards on January 16...

Measured by nearly 1,000 horses stemming from 42 states and four foreign countries, nearly 1,950 entries, beautiful weather and plenty of extra activities, the American Paint Horse Association's first Fall World Championship Paint Horse Show is now complete. The split format was introduced this year with the Youth World Show being the focus of the summer event, while the Open and Amateur World Show, plus the slot classes and Breeders' Futurity, were the focus of the Fall World. The expanded...

Michael Blowen, founder and president of Old Friends, is pleased to announce the opening of his organization’s first satellite facility for retired Thoroughbreds. Cabin Creek, a 40-acre farm just outside Saratoga in Greenfield Center, NY, will begin receiving horses immediately. An official opening and celebration is planned for July 22, 2010. This premiere auxiliary space will be named in honor of trainer Bobby Frankel, who passed away last week after a battle with leukemia. A native New...

The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) is pleased to announce that Kariel Swanfeldt of Ayer, MA, has been selected as the recipient of the 2009 USDF Youth Volunteer of the Year Award, presented by The Paddock Saddlery and sponsored by the USDF Youth Executive Board. This prestigious award honors one outstanding youth volunteer who has contributed on a national and local basis to USDF and dressage. As the recipient of this award, Swanfeldt’s name will be engraved on a perpetual trophy,...

Every two years, while the selection committees ponder who will represent the United States, another selection process is under way to determine who will feed our horses while they represent our country. For the last four games—2002 Jerez World Equestrain Games (WEG), 2004 Athens Olympics, 2006 Aachen WEG, and 2008 Beijing Olympics—Pennfield Feed was the feed of choice for our equestrian teams, because just like them, Pennfield demonstrates the highest level of consistent quality....

It was another exciting day of competition at the 2009 Washington International Horse Show (WIHS), as the schedule featured four jumper classes for amateur-owner, junior, and open jumpers on Thursday. The highlight class of the day was the $30,000 Open Jumper Time First Jump-off class, and Olympic Gold medalist McLain Ward of the United States took the top prize on Couletto K James. Andres Rodriguez of Venezuala and Da Vinci were victorious in the $20,000 Open Jumper Gambler's Choice Costume...

The dual sportswoman, who combines careers as a three-day eventer and trainer with that of a professional race car driver and performance driving coach, won the Open Pre-Novice category of the British Eventing Horse Trials at Tweseldown riding her horse Donovan (Intrepid). The event marked a return to competition for Donovan who has missed the past four months due to a muscle injury. What was planned as a gentle return to action became a complete domination of the Open Pre-Novice category as...

Seventeen-year-old Jessica Springsteen was the biggest star at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show as her famous parents cheered her on. She bested 237 riders over two rounds of competition, and a four-ri Jessica Springsteen (Photo by Al Cook) der work-off to win the nation's top equitation prize, the Pessoa/USEF Hunt Seat Medal Final. Course designer Steve Stephens, in conjunction with judges Ellen Raidt and Leo Conroy, were very specific about the distances they required between related...

The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) and DressageTrainingOnline.com (DTO) are pleased to announce that they have now expanded their partnership to allow USDF members to earn USDF University Program Credit through the DTO site. By working together, USDF and DTO hope to provide dressage education to a broader audience and recognize those individuals who continue to expand their dressage knowledge. Any USDF member, who is a current member of or joins DTO, is eligible to earn USDF...

The Equine Facilitated Mental Health Association (EFMHA) and NARHA (which was created in 1969 as the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association) are excited to announce that a full integration of vision, membership and programs has begun. The integration is intended to: • Embrace, more fully, NARHA and EFMHA missions • More efficiently steward EFMHA and NARHA resources • Ensure inclusion After years of leading the way through innovation and organization of leadership in the fields of...