Lexington, KY – Aiken, SC resident Meghan Benge won an Individual Gold medal today at the 2008 FEI World Championships for Drivers with Disabilities CPEAI4* in Greven, Germany. Driving Jack, a pony borrowed from England, Benge won the dressage and never looked back. She also led the U.S. to a Team Silver at the conclusion of today’s Cones competition. Benge’s teammates were Arroyo Grande, CA.driver Diana Kastama, who drove her own horse Jasper to the Individual Bronze medal, followed very...

The 2008 Beacon Hill Equestrian Grand Prix presented by Mackenzie Keck, Inc., has been expanded this year to include a day dedicated to junior equitation riders. This year’s show will begin on Thursday, June 19, and will run through Sunday, June 22, and will be held at Beacon Hill Show Stables in Colts Neck, NJ. The addition of an equitation day is a natural evolution for the show, as equitation is the foundation of jumper riding. The Beacon Hill Equestrian Grand Prix showcases jumper talent...

The Dressage Foundation proudly announced, following a special meeting of its Board of Directors, that Lendon Gray will become the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Dressage Foundation, effective September 1, 2008. "Her appointment grows out of a Management Transition Plan that has been conducted over the past year by the Foundation's Board and Staff, to replace John Boomer, President and CEO, and his wife, Lynn, Administrative Director, who, as sole staff members, have led,...

The World Games 2010 Foundation recently announced that John Long of Shelbyville, KY, has been selected as chair of its board of directors. Long is the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF). He replaces interim Board Chair Tandy Patrick, who will continue to serve as an active board member. “I am looking forward to being a very active chairman,” said Long. “The 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games provide an unprecedented opportunity to showcase both...

The American Horse Council (AHC) reports that the recently passed Senate Farm Bill includes several key provisions that would benefit the horse industry. The $286 billion bill, which passed the Senate on December 14 by a vote of 79 to 14, now includes the Equine Equity Act. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) offered this bill as an amendment to the Farm Bill, and it was accepted without objection. This provision would: (1) shorten the capital gains holding period for horses from 24 months to 12...

The New England Dressage Association played host to Ingrid Klimke, one of Germany’s leading event and dressage riders, during NEDA’s annual Fall Weekend. As she has at previous symposiums, Klimke joined forces with Dr. Ina Goesmeier, one of the world’s leading veterinary practitioners in holistic medicine. Like her father, the late Reiner Klimke, Ingrid Klimke has achieved international success in both eventing and dressage. She shares with her father a strong belief in the importance of...

At the August American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) Board of Director's Meeting, locations for the 2008 Judge's School were selected in be held conjunction with Diamond Jubilee in Del Mar, CA, in April; Southern States Regional Morgan Horse Show in Raleigh, NC, in May; and North Star Morgan Americana in St. Paul, MN, in July. These three-day events combine classroom work with learner judging under a stringent itinerary in an actual horse show setting. Overseen by two to three administrators,...

The United States Hunter Jumper Assocation (USHJA) held a judging clinic on Friday, August 3, in Wayne, IL, in conjunction with Showplace Productions during Equifest I. Diane Carney, a local trainer and clinician, acted as mediator between the crowd of more than 100 people and the judges. The clinic had three riders demonstrate both hunter and handy hunter rounds, while each spectator was given a judge's card and scored each of the rounds individually. The riders were Tina Judge, Brenda Mueller...

Late on August 2, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the funding bill for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for Fiscal Year 2008 after removing the overly broad language that was opposed by the horse industry. When the USDA funding bill was reported out of the House Appropriations Committee two weeks ago, it included language that was intended to apply to slaughter horses. But the provision was so broadly drafted that it would have applied to all horses and been...

The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) All-Breeds Award Program, one of the USDF’s most popular award programs, which recognizes the accomplishments of specific breeds in dressage, announces changes to its program rules. The All-Breeds Award program now requires owners to declare for the participating breed registry that they wish their horse to be recognized for USDF All-Breeds Award purposes. This program requirement has been put in place to administer the one horse/one breed/one award...