The United States closed out the Dressage Team Championship at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games on Friday with exemplary performances by a World Championship rookie and a decorated team veteran in the d'Ornano Stadium. Laura Graves and Steffen Peters produced impressive tests before the Ground Jury of Stephen Clarke, Elizabeth McMullen, Isabelle Judet, Susan Hoevenaars, Francis Verbeek, Dietrich Plewa, and Liselotte Fore to lead the U.S. to a fourth-place finish on a score of 222....

Brunello and Boyd during their winning handy round (A Galvin/Phelps Media Group) Lexington, Ky. - -"I feel like it's a bit of a dream, like pinch me. I'm still a little bit in shock." That is what the winner of the 2014 USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals had to say after her finish, and it is no wonder Liza Boyd thought winning derby finals twice in a row aboard Brunello was a long shot. She gave birth to her second child just two and a half months prior to the competition, giving...

Beezie Madden and Cortes 'C' (Jon Stroud Media for Shannon Brinkman Photography) Hickstead, United Kingdom - Beezie Madden added another coveted title to her extensive resume on Sunday when she rode Abigail Wexner’s Cortes ‘C’ to victory in the The Longines King George V Gold Cup at CSIO5* Hickstead. In doing so she also made history as the first women ever to win the prestigious Grand Prix. Madden (Cazenovia, N.Y.) and the 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding were one of 14...

Ashton Alexander & Cafe de Colombia (Captured Moments Photography) Lexington, Ky. – The best junior riders attended the 2014 US Junior Hunter National Championship West Coast July 21-22 in hopes of being crowned the Overall Grand Champion. Over two days of tough competition at the Del Mar Horsepark in Del Mar, Calif., riders competed in three phases: Classic Round, Under Saddle, and Handy Hunter. The Under Saddle phase counts for 20% of the rider's overall score, while both the...

Pablo Barrios and Zara Leandra (Rebecca Walton/Phelps Media Group) Lexington, Ky. - Pablo Barrios will soon be crowned king of the Kentucky Horse Park, and Zara Leandra will be his queen. Tonight, the dynamic duo notched yet another $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic victory. The Venezuelan native won both of the events during the Kentucky Spring Horse Shows, and that was following his domination of the series in 2013. It appears to be a repeat year, as Barrios grabs a firmer hold on the 2014...

Amanda Flint riding Newlight VDL (David Mullinix Photography) East Dorset, Vt. - Amanda Flint of Long Valley, N.J., took the top two spots to dominate the $10,000 Open Welcome, presented by Manchester Designer Outlets, held Thursday, July 3, at the Vermont Summer Festival. The six-week equestrian competition runs through August 10 at Harold Beebe Farm in East Dorset, Vt.. A total of four horses advanced to the jump-off over the track set by Irish course designer Alan Wade. Two of those horses...

Gladstone, N.J. - The focus of the dressage world will turn to Gladstone, N.J., this week for the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions presented by The Dutta Corp, as it runs June 12-15, in the Dick and Jane Brown Arena at the USET Foundation Headquarters. The annual championship will host the best dressage combinations in the United States across six divisions of competition, including Grand Prix, Intermediaire I, Young Adult ‘Brentina Cup,’ Young Rider, Junior, and Pony Rider...

Evan Coluccio and Fabled, winners of today's $35,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby (The Book) Mumford, N.Y. - Evan Coluccio and Fabled's ride Sunday marked several firsts - including Fabled's first win in a hunter derby and the first ever USHJA International Hunter Derby victory at the Genesee Country Village & Museum. Coluccio and Fabled bested a field of the nation's leading hunter horses and riders to win the $35,000 USHJA International Derby at The Derby at the Geneseee...

Saugerties, N.Y. - Quality Girl is no stranger to clean rounds with Todd Minikus of Loxahatchee, Florida and at the top of her game as of late. Highlighted by their Open Jumper success at Devon last weekend and Friday, winning the HITS $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix the 11-year-old Oldenburg mare continues to shine. Todd Minikus and Quality Girl were the top pair in Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix presented by Zoetis at HITS Saugerties (©ESI Photography) “She’s turning into a...

Lindsay Strafuss and Jetset (The Book LLC) North Salem, N.Y. – The Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows continued today and in the hunter ring, the Grand Adult Amateur Hunter Championship was awarded to Jetset, ridden by Lindsay Strafuss of Memphis, TN. Jetset won the under saddle class and was first, first, third, and fifth over fences. They won the championship in the Adult Amateur 18-35 Hunters, and their top finishes gave them the grand championship. The reserve champion in the 18-35...