Steffen Peters finished fourth yesterday in the grand prix special with a 75.200%, just out of the medals. They finished sixth tonight in the musical freestyle on a score of 78.600%. (Bob Langrish) Crowds were spilling out of the 2006 World Equestrian Games on Saturday, with record crowds jamming not only the dressage freestyle, but the cross-country course, as well as the show grounds. Across the day, more than 44,000 fans of eventing were on-hand; 40,000 tickets were sold (and 60,000 were on...

SusanJStickle.com (Steffen Peters on Floriano) Gladstone, NJ – There’s nothing better than a hat-trick, but how about a hat-trick times three…all three championships held at the USET Foundation Festival of Champions were clean sweeps by Rebecca Hart, Michelle Gibson and Steffen Peters. Hart was the winner of all three classes that make up the 2006 USEF National Para-Equestrian Championship, Gibson took the honors winning all three of her classes to in the 2006 Collecting...

Gladstone, NJ – After two days of rigorous testing, topped off with a final-four ride-off, 16-year-old Brianne Goutal surpassed even her own expectations with a well-earned, but nonetheless, surprise victory. “I was never expecting to get into the top four,” Goutal says. “I asked my trainer before the last round what score I would need and she wouldn’t give me an answer. She just said ‘ride well.’” And ride well, she did. Give her a few years, and...

Oirschot, Netherlands – Five U.S. athletes and their ponies made the journey to the FEI Driving World Championship for Combined Ponies, which took place Aug. 30-Sept. 3 at Steenhof Stables in the Netherlands. The championship featured single, pair, and four-in-hand ponies with teams and individuals from nine countries competing for world champion titles. Katie Whaley. ©Krisztina Horváth/Hoefnet The U.S. contingent included singles drivers Amy Cross and Hilary Mroz-Blythe, pair...

Lexington, Ky. – The $60,000 Adequan ® USEA Advanced Final came to an exciting conclusion on Friday evening at the United States Eventing Association (USEA) American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds (AEC) . The Advanced division also served as the USEF Advanced Horse Trials National Championship, and Liz Halliday and Miks Master C won the national champion title as well as the legendary Jack Le Goff Trophy after leading the field from start to finish. Halliday...

Aachen, Germany - Chester Weber (Ocala, Fla.) and his team of First Edition, Julius V, Kadora, and Kasper D, drove to an impressive win in the driving phase of the CAIO-4* at CHIO Aachen finishing the first phase of competition on a score of 38.85. The win marks another top performance Weber has achieved at Aachen throughout the years. The team finished atop the podium in a field of 25 entries. Weber has been a mainstay at CHIO Aachen for the U.S. Driving program, having competed at the venue...

This week, USEF Network viewers can tune in to the livestream from the Big D Charity Horse Show in Fort Worth, Texas. The show features exciting classes for American Saddlebreds , Morgans , and other breeds in saddle seat , driving, equitation, roadster , and pleasure classes. Big D is a longstanding tradition in the region, tracing its beginnings to 1971. In addition to being a favorite early season stop on the show circuit for many exhibitors, Big D has had a philanthropic mission since its...

The winning Adequan® U.S. Para Dressage Team of (front row) Rebecca Hart, Roxanne Trunnell, Fiona Howard, (back row) Cynthia Screnci, and Chef d'Equipe Michel Assouline (Kimberlyn Beaudoin/KTB Creative Group) Lexington, Ky. – The Adequan® U.S. Para Dressage Team delivered quality rides at the Perrigo CPEDI3* held March 10-12 at the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival Week 9. The team of Rebecca Hart and El Corona Texel, Fiona Howard and Solitaer 40, Cynthia Screnci and Sir...

Wellington, Fla. - The FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ USA CDIO3* and CDIOU25 wrapped up with more honors for U.S. combinations on Sunday at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival. The Dutta Corp. U.S. Dressage Team combinations Christian Simonson and Son of a Lady and Charlotte Jorst and Zhaplin Langholt won gold and silver, respectively, in the FEI Intermediate I Freestyle. Simonson and Son of a Lady finished on a score of 78.445 percent while Jorst and Zhaplin Langholt scored a 76.205, both of...

Blacksburg, Va. – On Dec. 7, the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab released the results of its first-ever rating of equestrian helmets. Over the past two years, Virginia Tech researchers analyzed over 100 videos of riders falling off horses, precisely measured the hardness of the sand, dirt, grass, and synthetic surfaces underfoot at equestrian events, and dragged dummy heads and other equipment — and boxes and boxes of helmets — out to Virginia Tech’s equestrian facilities to...