Maggie Jayne and Frosted Blue win the $25,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby at the Chicago Festival of the Horse (Allyson Lagiovane/Phelps Media Group) Wayne, Ill. - The final day of World Championship Hunter Rider week at the Chicago Festival of the Horse began differently than most. David Cormalleth played tribute to the late Russel Frey with a rendition of "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes before riders in the $25,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby entered the Grand Prix arena to compete...

Piber Köflach, Austria – The U.S. Driving Team of Donna Crookston, Sterling Graburn, and Suzy Stafford, along with individual Leslie Berndl, made a valiant effort at the 2016 FEI World Driving Championships for Singles, which proved to be a true championship test. The strong international field consisted of 75 combinations from 23 countries, and after four days of competition, the U.S. team finished 14th. Sterling Graburn and Mannkato (Krisztina Horváth/Hoefnet.com) Graburn (Paris,...

Giavanna Rinaldi and Dulf Van Den Bisshop (Devaney Iglesias/Phelps Media Group) Wayne, Ill. - After a gallop to the final line and a double-clear effort, the crowd at Lamplight Equestrian Center rose to their their feet and cheered for Giavanna Rinaldi and Dulf Van Den Bisschop. The 17-year-old was all smiles as she crossed the finish line, while her mount soaked in the applause and celebrated their victory in the $75,000 Grand Prix at the Chicago Festival of the Horse. "He knew he did well,"...

Early nights all round for the dressage and eventing teams; and I bet there are a ton of people out there that wish they could turn in to their slumber pits early as well. Overnight equine arrivals plus the huge amount of work that the equestrian experts supporting the Rio 2016 Organising Committee have had to undertake, has ensured that there are many tired people out there. But these experts have done an excellent job getting the venue ready and whilst there remain frustrations and areas...

This is stressful. Sitting in the Team tack room watching a procession of athletes destroying our supplies of snacks, drinks, and other culinary delights: Clearly they do not get fed at home and this is an enjoyable adventure for them. Ok, I get it, they and the grooms are who matter most but all the bottles and snacks were lined up in regimental rows and now a tornado has destroyed the illusion of order. Rewind. Monday morning (Europe time) Clan Dressage deployed to Rio; horses from Liege...

This may not be a photo likely to win any photographic competitions but it was taken at 2:30 a.m. from my bedroom. No, I am not some weird stalker or peeping tom but this is a photo of the merry bunch of selfish insomniacs that decided to have a very loud speaker (top right quarter of the photo) playing until about 3:30 a.m. Yes, I kinda wish I had something more persuasive to hand than a Canon camera… in fact a canon would have done very nicely. The eventing horses have settled in very...

Aaron Vale and Carlo win the $50,000 Flintfields Farm Grand Prix, sponsored by Meijer, during the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival. (Kendall Bierer/Phelps Media Group) Traverse City, Mich. - It was déjà vu for spectators on the final day of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF) as Aaron Vale and Carlo blazed their way to the victory in the $50,000 Flintfields Farm Grand Prix, sponsored by Meijer, topping the ranks with a double-clear posted in 37.269 seconds. Only one-week...

Saugerties, NY (July 25, 2016): Riders and horses turned out for the event of the weekend at HITS-on-the-Hudson IV, the $75,000 Horze Equestrian Grand Prix, for a chance to claim the lion’s share and blue-ribbon bragging rights. Leslie Burr Howard and Utah on their way to a $75,000 Horze Equestrian Grand Prix win. (C) ESI Photography Seven advanced to the jump-off over the course set by Bernardo Cabral of Lisbon, Portugal. It was a race against the clock in a down-to-the wire challenge,...

Best Young Horse Arbor Hill with Handler Richard Taylor (Rebecca Walton/Phelps Media Group) Devon, Pa. - For the second year in a row, Richard Taylor and Arbor Hill stood front and center in the Dixon Oval on the final day of the Devon Horse Show and Country Fair. Owned by Kenneth Wheeler and handled by Taylor, Arbor Hill took home the Kenneth Wheeler Perpetual Trophy for Best Young Horse. Taylor and Arbor Hill (Redwine - Paisley), kicked off the day by winning the Three-Year-Old Other Than...

Haley Gassel and Quite Dark 2 (Rebecca Walton/Phelps Media Group) Devon, Pa. - Friday night at the Devon Horse Show and Country Fair was all about speed, and only one athlete had all the answers during the $25,000 Open Jumper Devon Speed Challenge sponsored by the World Equestrian Center. Haley Gassel and Quite Dark 2 were the only duo able to master the speed track and leave all the fences intact to capture the winning prize. "This is unbelievable," the young rider said, smiling. "People dream...