Lexington, Ky. - Mette Rosencrantz of Topanga, Cal. was grinning from ear to ear as she accepted congratulations for becoming the first Finals champion crowned in 2014. Her long journey all the way from the West Coast ultimately proved worthwhile as she guided Anne Solbraekke's elegant black Hanoverian gelding De Noir 3 (De Niro x Maharani by Matcho) to a resounding victory in the Open Intermediate I Championship, earning the unanimous win under all three judges for a total score of 72.632%....

Los Angeles, Calif. - Jane Richard Philips, Longines Ambassador of Elegance, took the top prize at the first edition of the Longines Speed Challenge in Los Angeles, competing the course on board Dieudonne de Guldenboom in a blistering 60.97 seconds. Winning the event presented by Longines was a great way to close out Friday’s competitions. Timing and precision: these are the keywords of this Masters Grand Slam class, now held on three continents. Known as one of the fastest competitions...

The vaulting portion of the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games is underway in Normandy with the Horse Inspection taking place on Monday. All U.S. horses passed and vaulters in the Individual Female, Individual Male, Pas de Deux, and Squad championships are ready to begin the competition and represent their country. FEI World Squad Vaulting Championship Having a fantastic year in 2014, the Woodside Vaulters will represent their country in Normandy in the FEI World Squad Vaulting...

The Bronze medal-winning U.S. Team (Marie de Ronde-Oudemans) Sandringham, England- The United States closed out a successful weekend at The Royal Estate in Sandringham, England on Sunday by capturing Team Bronze at the 2014 FEI Para-Equestrian Driving Championships for Singles and adding Individual Silver to their medal haul. The team of Bob Giles, Virginia “Boo” Fitch, and Diane Kastama kicked off competition on Friday by driving into third place in the dressage and holding their...

Wiesbaden, Germany – Lauren Hough (Wellington, Fla.) and her own Ohlala beat 42 other riders in the Lotto Hessen Preis Saturday at CSI3* Wiesbaden. They jumped clear in 58.89s to win the class, nearly a second faster than runners-up Cameron Hanley & Newton du Haut Bois of Ireland. See full results at reitturniere-live.de .

Lexington, Ky. - The United States’ Kimberly and Cassidy Palmer are set to make history over the weekend as they compete in the pas de deux competition at the 2014 FEI World Cup Vaulting Final in Bordeaux, France. This is the first year the division will be held at the annual FEI championship as it joins the Individual Male and Female competition and will run February 7-8. The Palmer Sisters (www.barny-th.de) The Palmer sisters head to Bordeaux in strong form after earning top finishes...

Stuttgart, Germany - At the Stuttgart German Masters CSI5*-W Friday young female American riders continued to show why they are a force to be reckoned with now, and will be for a while. Reed Kessler (Lexington, Ky.) won the 1.45m speed class, Prize of Raumpflege, with her own Soraya de l'Obstination, Lucy Davis (Los Angeles, Calif.) took second with Old Oak Farm's Hannah, and Alexa Pessoa (Wellington, Fla.) finished fourth with Rodrigo Pessoa's Levade. Kessler was second in the...

Spooner and Caretol 2 (From @csiogijon on Twitter) Gijon, Spain - After a second place finish on Thursday, the "Master of Faster" Richard Spooner one-upped himself and won the LACERA "speed and handiness" competition Friday. With Caretol 2 Spooner (Agua Dulce, CA) sped to a clear round in 79.83s, just fast enough to beat out France's Patrice Delaveau. Delaveau and Quenndal de Lojou HDC finished in 79.92s. For full results click here . Follow U.S. Jumping internationally here .

Lexington, KY - U.S. drivers are off to a strong start at the Minden CAIP-B4 in Minden, Germany. Katie Whaley (Paris, KY) stands in seventh place in a field of 24 following the driven dressage in the Pony Team division. She drove Mia Allo’s team to a score of 53.18. In the Pony Pair division, Wendy O’Brien lies fourth on a score of 44.29 after the dressage. The Aiken, South Carolina resident is driving her own pair of ponies in the ultra-competitive 35 strong field. For more...

The pairs driving competition at CAIO Riesenbeck finished up on Sunday with the cones phase of competition. The U.S Team of Misdee Wirgley-Miller, Scott Dancer, and Rachael Blanchard finished in 4th place behind Germany, Austria, and Hungary. Dancer, with the team of Redfordt and Wimbeldon 44, was the top American through the cones with 8.94 total penalties, but it was Wrigley Miller with Sam and Clemens that was the top U.S. driver of the competition. She started off hot with a 5th place...