(Stefano Grasso/LGCT) Miami Beach, Fla. - Crowds are already forming around the competition arena boundaries, eager to see the fantastic equine athletes here to compete in the first round of the 2015 Longines Global Champions Tour season in Miami Beach, Florida, as they train in the afternoon sunshine. The first day of the Longines Global Champions Tour beckons as tomorrow, world-class horses and riders will take to the spectacular and unique ocean-side arena for the first time to battle it out...

Dorothy Douglas & S&L Elite (Tricia Booker Photography) Houston, Texas. - Dorothy Douglas knew what she had to do. She went fourth in the first round, was the first to post a clear round and was the first to return in the six-horse jump-off during the $30,000 Walter Oil & Gas Grand Prix. "It feels like for those 42 seconds I actually knew what I was doing!" said Douglas, whose winning jump-off time couldn't be caught. The class was the featured event on March 28 during Week II...

Harrisburg, Pa. - A competitive field of 38 top international riders, including many Olympic and World Champions, headlined the $40,000 Pennsylvania National "Big Jump", sponsored by Wilmington Trust, an M & T Company, at the Pennsylvania Horse Show. "Big Jump" Winners Kent Farrington and Willow (Al Cook - alcookphoto.com) Designed by Michel Vaillancourt, the course was set at 1.50m and included 12 fences and 15 jumping efforts in the first round, which weeded out quite a few competitors as...

Upper Marlboro, Md. – The Capital Challenge Horse Show held three major equitation finals on Sunday of Equitation Weekend, presented by Bigeq.com. Victoria Colvin of Loxahatchee, FL, riding Clearway, repeated victory in the Private Tutoring Services North American Junior Equitation Championships. In the Taylor Harris Insurance Services (THIS) National Children’s Medal Finals, Hayley Iannotti riding Quasa Granda was victorious. Eleanor Hellman and Nigel took the win in the North...

Laura Graves and Verdades (SusanJStickle.com) Caen, France - The U.S. Dressage Team closed out an extremely successful 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games with two top 10 finishes in Friday’s Freestyle. Fifteen of the world’s best combinations headed into the d'Ornano Stadium to stake their claim on the final medals of the FEI World Dressage Championships. Laura Graves continued her meteoric rise to the top level of the sport by earning a fifth place finish on Friday...

The U.S. Dressage Team closed out an extremely successful 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games with two top 10 finishes in Friday’s Freestyle. Fifteen of the world’s best combinations headed into the d'Ornano Stadium to stake their claim on the final medals of the FEI World Dressage Championships. Laura Graves continued her meteoric rise to the top level of the sport by earning a fifth place finish on Friday afternoon, while Steffen Peters once again demonstrated why he is so...

Jeremy Olson and Wallace Hill Shade (Diana DeRosa Photo) Sartilly, France – On Thursday morning, 165 horse-and-rider combinations set out on the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games endurance course. Covering stretches of sandy beaches, wooded trails, and town streets, Jeremy Olson (La Motte, Iowa), riding his and Amy Wallace-Whelan’s Wallace Hill Shade, were one of only 38 combinations to complete the trying course. Rain throughout the week created difficult footing, leaving...

Natalie Jayne and Blueberry Hill (Shawn McMillen Photography) Lexington, Ky. - Lexington, Ky.- The third day of the US Hunter Pony Championships presented by Sallee Horse Vans at the 2014 US Pony Finals came to a conclusion Thursday evening with Natalie Jayne and Blueberry Hill claiming top honors in the Small Regular Hunter Pony Championship. In 2013, Blueberry Hill collected a fourth-place finish but this year the mare climbed three placings to earn the 2014 National Title on a score of 1007....

Ben Maher & Aristo Z (Stefano Grasso/LGCT) Paris, France - Friday evening’s feature class of the Longines Global Champions Tour Paris Eiffel Jumping presented by Gucci, the Prix du Qatar, was won by Ben Maher (GBR) and Aristo Z from the most difficult position in the draw, first to go in the jump-off. Second went to a very happy Abdelkebir Ouaddar (MAR) and Quickly de Kreisker, and third to Harrie Smolders (NED) and Don VHP Z. Uliano Vezzani’s first round design was a technical...

Saumur, France- The United States got off to a strong start at the Saumur CAIO4* driving to a second-place finish in the dressage in Nations Cup competition on a team score of 83.05. They stand 7/10s of a point behind the Dutch team heading into Saturday’s marathon. Additionally, all four American competitors drove into the top six individually following the dressage in their respective divisions. Posting the best score in the first phase in any division was 11-time National Champion,...