Spruce Meadows, Calgary, AB - The sun shone on Saturday at the 2012 Spruce Meadows ‘Canada One’ Tournament. This was particularly true for American veterans McLain Ward and Mario Deslauriers. Fifty nine horse/rider combinations saddled up for the 1.45 meter Direct Energy Cup this morning, competing for top spot over the 500 meter long course designed by Anthony D’Ambrosio (USA). Over 16 jumping efforts, the field was narrowed down to the 13 combinations who moved into the jump...

Chester Weber and his team tackle the cones phase during the 2012 CAI Lähden. (Marie de Ronde-Oudemans) Lähden, Germany – American Combined Driver Chester Weber kicked off his summer European tour in style, proving that he truly is “Mr. Dressage” and that Team Weber-Clark has the ability to take Europe by storm. Weber, the nine-time USEF National Four-In-Hand Champion, competed at CAI Lähden in Germany where he set the dressage ring on fire with a score of 36.35 to...

Hungary, one of five countries confirmed as official candidates to stage the FEI World Equestrian Games™ in 2018, has withdrawn from the bidding process. The Hungarian capital Budapest had been named as one of the five 2018 bid cities earlier this month, but in a letter to FEI Secretary General Ingmar De Vos this week, the President of the Hungarian National Federation Vilmos Lázár confirmed that the Hungarian bid has now been withdrawn. In the letter Mr Lázár...

Scott Brash and Sanctos van het Gravenhof (Sportfot) Wellington, FL - Great Britain's Scott Brash guided Sanctos Van Het Gravenhof to victory in Saturday night's $200,000 FEI World Cup™ Grand Prix CSI 4* presented by The Bainbridge Companies at the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). In a suspenseful jump-off, Brash beat out Richard Spooner (USA) and Cristallo, and Kent Farrington (USA) and Voyeur, who finished second and third. Sponsored by the Bainbridge Companies,...

Jordan MacPherson and Piccobello Du Val De Geer Top $15,000 Artisan Farms Young Riders Grand Prix, Erica Felder Guides Thumbs Up to Pine Hollow Short Stirrup Hunter Championship Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Checkmate 4 gallop to the win (Sportfot) Wellington, FL - A large field came to compete on Sunday in the $32,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic, and it was Olympian Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (GER) on Octavia Farms LLC's Checkmate 4 who came away with the win. Cian...

Wellington, FL - Following Ashley Holzer's winning ride with Pop Art in the Wellington Classic Sunshine Challenge CDI3*, a qualifier for the World Dressage Masters Palm Beach presented by International Polo Club Palm Beach, competition organizer Wellington Classic Dressage and the WDM management found themselves faced with a sports issue that has necessitated a decision to amend the schedule of the show. American Heather Blitz on Paragon, second in the CDI3* Grand Prix behind Holzer and Pop...

The FEI has today given final sign-off on the footing that will be used for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events at Greenwich Park. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) conducted footing tests at a site near Preston in the north of England on 20 and 21 December 2011. The mix for the footing is now composed of non-waxed sand, felt and fibre. Testing of the new footing concluded on 21 December when international riders Geoff Billington...

Leslie Howard and Lennox Lewis 2. ManciniPhotos. Wellington, FL - Leslie Howard and her longtime mount Lennox Lewis 2 took home the first big win of the week at Equestrian Sport Production's (ESP) 2011 Holiday and Horses competition. The show kicked off on Wednesday at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL, highlighting the exciting $10,000 Wellington Equestrian Realty Open Stake class in the International Arena. Wellington Equestrian Realty has been a great...

Hagen, Germany - Ricky Neal saved his best performance of the U.S. Show Jumping Young Rider European Tour for the CSIOY Hagen Grand Prix. And the 19-year-old was rewarded with a major victory on Transmission. He topped a strong field of 48 competitors to take the top spot over Stephanie van den Brink and Wapper from the Netherlands and Germany's Andreas Kreuzer on Kanazia. The top eight from the first round went forward to the jump-off and Neal flew to victory over the short course with a...

Lamprechtshausen , Austria - Building on their win in the Nations Cup at CSIOY Lamprechtshausen, the U.S. Young Rider Show Jumping Tour capped off a successful weekend with a one-two finish in the Young Rider Grand Prix. Reed Kessler took the top spot for the U.S. on Ligist, she jumped the only clear round in the jump-off for the win. Jessica Springsteen was second on Cincinnati La Silla, she had the fastest short-course round by more than five seconds, but had one rail to settle for second....