Lausanne (SUI) - The FEI Driving World Championships, due to be held behind closed doors in Valkenswaard (NED) from October 7-11, have been canceled due to increased case numbers of COVID-19 in the Netherlands. The decision to cancel the Championships, which were for four-in-hand horse teams, was made by the City of Valkenswaard today. “It is devastating that the FEI Driving World Championships at Valkenswaard have had to be cancelled at the last minute, as everyone involved has put in so...

Wayne, Ill. – Talented combinations delivered quality performances on the penultimate day of competition at the 2020 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions at HITS Chicago at the Lamplight Equestrian Center. Four titles were determined on Saturday in the Markel/USEF Young Horse Four-Year-Old Dressage National Championship, Markel/USEF Young Horse Five-Year-Old Dressage National Championship, Adequan®/USEF Junior Dressage National Championship, and Markel/USEF Developing Horse Prix St....

Wayne, Ill. – Horse-and-rider combinations have been doing their homework in preparation for the 14 national championships held at the 2020 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions, and it was evident in the first two classes of the show. In the first day of competition at HITS Chicago at Lamplight Equestrian Center, Endel Ots and Sonnenberg’s Everdance won the FEI Prix St. Georges Test, while Sara Hassler and Harmony’s Boitano took top honors in the FEI Intermediate II Test. USEF...

When fellow equestrians and Paso Fino enthusiasts first suggested that Heidi Young consider riding with a drill team, Young demurred. “I had bought myself a very good-looking Paso Fino, and they said, ‘You should try this, because it’s fun, and your horse would look great,’” recalled Young, a Connecticut native and US Equestrian member who now resides in Horseshoe Bend, Idaho. “I said, ‘Oh, no, I don’t do that kind of thing. I don’t like...

Nicole Aden, Sound Prospect, and Allie Knowles at the 2017 Pau CCI4* (Courtesy of Nicole Aden) Grooms are a vital part of any competition barn. While grooms often are behind the scenes or alongside the ring, some of them also compete themselves. Nicole Aden, Meg Kepferle, and Andi Lawrence are three current or former eventing grooms who have found their own success in national and FEI eventing competitions. A few weeks ago, all three finished in the top 16 in the competitive CIC2* A division at...

Mill Spring, N.C. – The U.S. Para-Equestrian Team presented by Deloitte wrapped up the team portion of competition at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ (WEG) Tryon 2018 on Friday. Rebecca Hart and Roxanne Trunnell performed the Team Tests in their respective grades, which were added to Thursday’s team scores for an overall result of 214.940%. The U.S. placed fifth out of 14 nations, and although the U.S. did not qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics through their participation...

North Salem, N.Y. - During the 2017 Adequan®/FEI North American Youth Championships presented by Gotham North (NAYC), Region 4’s Tillie Jones and Apachi, the 13-year-old KWPN gelding she owns with her mom Tish Jones, overcame pre-competition adversity to win the 2017 United States Dressage Federation (USDF) North American Junior Rider Dressage Freestyle Championship. In addition, they anchored the Region 4 team to a bronze medal finish. They return this year as members of the Region...

Derek di Grazia’s courses are known for being challenging but fair and safe. (Mike McNally Photo) Derek di Grazia knows what it’s like to ride—and win—the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover: he won it in 1985 on Sasquatch, a Thoroughbred/Appaloosa cross. These days, as the Rolex Kentucky event’s cross-country course designer, di Grazia is the man asking the questions of the four-star horses and riders galloping over the Kentucky Horse...

Reggie and Kathleen Murray (center) were joined by Buck Davidson (left) and Cassandra and Carl Segal when they evented at training level this winter in Florida. (Photo Courtesy Kathleen Blauth Murray) Thursday will mark the end of an era for Kathleen Blauth Murray at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover. Murray, eventing athlete and Buck Davidson’s longtime groom, will perform the dressage test ride aboard Carl and Cassandra Segal’s Ballynoe Castle R.M.,...

Matthias Hollberg and Czechmate (Lauren Baker/Phelps Media Group) Littlestown, Pa. - After getting the ride on Czechmate just six short weeks ago, Matthias Hollberg and the chestnut gelding showcased their winning ways in Saturday's $25,000 Quentin Fall Classic Grand Prix, marking their second grand prix victory together. Hollberg also claimed the second-place spot aboard another mount, his own Aletta. "I didn't wake up this morning thinking this would happen, but I was certainly...