Dressage The first weekend of the 2010 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of Champions got underway at the USET Foundation Headquarters in Gladstone, NJ. Along with the National Intermediaire I Championships the first phase of the National Grand Prix competition, which is serving at the USEF Selection Trial for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games also took place. The Prix St. Georges (the first leg of the National Intermediaire I Championships) kicked off the competition on Friday;...

F.A.C.E. Team Vaulters (Photo by Carole Dwinell) Santa Barbara, CA - Cool weather, a facility with more than 50 years of experience hosting championship horse shows, and the top vaulters in the United States came together at the site of the famed Santa Barbara National Horse Show to wow spectators with the classic and historical beauty of equestrian vaulting. Long the basic training for those entering the military cavalries...from early Macedonians to the Romans in the fourth century, to...

Photo by Terri Miller In this economy, businesses are looking for unique ways to reach new markets and expand their presence with their existing customers—all in a very cost-effective manner. For niche industries, like premiere equestrian events, the challenges businesses are facing have resulted in an interesting opportunity. This year Dressage at Devon (DAD), the premiere dressage show in North America, celebrates its 35th anniversary at the Devon Horse Show Grounds. Historically the...

The US wins big in Rotterdam (Erin Cowgill) Lexington, KY – The US Show Jumpers bounced back from two disappointments on the Meydan FEI Nations Cup to storm to the win at CSIO Rotterdam. The second tour of riders for the US, jumping in their first Meydan Nations Cup of the year, they delivered with phenomenal jumping and stopped the French sweep finishing on a score of zero. Their win was convincing over the British who finished on 7 faults. Lauren Hough proved a dominant pathfinder for the US...

Weirden, the Netherlands and Lexington, KY – It wasn’t easy, but the Young Riders representing the US on the US Show Jumping Young Rider Tour fought hard through two rounds of the Nations Cup to force a jump-off with the home team and eventually outran the Netherlands for their first Nations Cup win at CSIOY Weirden. The squad of Jennifer Waxman and Venturo, Michael Murphy and Katina 12, Nick Dello Joio with Malcolm and Karl Cook on Uno de Laubry recovered from a 17 fault performance in the...

Fifth Third Bank has joined the sponsorship ranks of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, as both the presenting sponsor of the Kentucky Experience and the Official Community Bank of the Games. Fifth Third Bank, as presenting sponsor of the Kentucky Experience, is supporting the showcase of the state’s tourism destinations to hundreds of thousands of Games visitors. The Kentucky Experience will be a series of spectacular pavilions encompassing over 25,000-plus square feet in the heart...

McLain Ward and Sapphire Look to go One Better in 2010 (Shannon Brinkman/ USEF Archives) Lexington, KY - With 10 riders representing the United States at the 2010 Rolex/FEI World Cup Final (April 15-18), the American assault on Geneva looks very strong. Led by 2009 runner-up McLain Ward and his legendary Sapphire, the 34-year-old will look to go one better in Switzerland than they did in Las Vegas one year ago. Fortunately, they won't have the fleet-footed Shutterfly to chase as the defending...

Photo by Amy McCool (Adrienne Lyle) Adrienne Lyle, the 2008 USEF National "Brentina Cup" Champion, was on fire during Thermal’s Dressage Getaway show, winning grand prix with both of her horses and earning top scores aboard all of her mounts. Lyle, an Ambassador for Trilogy Dressage Saddles, competed at the Dressage Getaway in Thermal in January and continued her winning streak in February at Thermal’s Dressage Getaway CDI. “I was thrilled with my horses during January’s show. Wizard and Felix...

Photo Courtesy HITS (The beautiful Grand Prix arena at the HITS-on-the-Hudson show grounds in Saugerties, NY.) As riders gear up for the 2010 grand prix season, qualifying for the Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix on September 12 in Saugerties, NY, is topping the list of priorities. Kent Farrington, Jimmy Torano, and McLain Ward were among those announcing intentions to become one of only 46 potential riders to vie for a top prize of $350,000 in September. With a limited number of spots available on...

McLain Ward and his Beloved Sapphire at the 2009 Rolex/FEI World Cup Final (Shannon Brinkman for USEF) Gladstone, NJ -The USET Foundation is pleased to announce that the Whitney Stone Cup has been awarded to McLain Ward of Brewster, NY. The Whitney Stone Cup is awarded annually by the USET Foundation Executive Committee to an active competitor who displays consistent excellence in international competition, high standards of sportsmanlike conduct, while also serving as an ambassador for the...