Traverse City, Mich. - Sunday marked a special milestone for Zayna Rizvi (Zone 4 – Wellington, Fla.) as she claimed her second individual gold medal at the Gotham North FEI North American Youth Championships for Jumping (NAYC) presented by USHJA, aboard Excellent. Zayna Rizvi and Excellent. ©Leslie Potter/US Equestrian On 3.02 penalties after day one, she saw herself lower on the leaderboard than riders who put in extremely quick rounds. A double-clear effort–one of only...

Traverse City, Mich. – A dream came through for Erin Nichols on Saturday at the 2022 FEI North American Youth Championship (NAYC) as she finished in gold-medal position for the Individual Young Rider Dressage division. Erin Nichols and Handsome Rob AR. ©KTB Creative Group Nichols (Yorba Linda, Calif.) expertly guided her own Handsome Rob AR, a 2012 Dutch Warmblood gelding, through a precise and flowing test that earned a 69.000% from the judges. The victory comes after Nichols and...

Lucinda Donaldson and Audi. ©Andrew Ryback When 15-year-old Lucinda (Lucy) Donaldson gave her final salute in the opening junior dressage test of the 2022 FEI North American Youth Championship , it was the realization of dreams. The top-15 finish in her NAYC debut was an accomplishment for her, her horse Audi, and her entire family. Lucinda, who represents Region 1 from Parkesburg, Pa., is the daughter of equine vet Mark Donaldson and stepdaughter of USDF gold, silver and bronze medalist...

Herning, Denmark – Kimberly “Kimmy” Palmer (Half Moon Bay, Calif.) topped the standings again for the U.S. Vaulting Team again today in the FEI Individual Female Technical Test, earning a personal best score of 8.329, to hold sixth place overall with a combined score of 8.129 heading into the final day of competition. Teammate Tessa Divita earned a 7.724., with an overall two-test score of 7.782, to hold tenth place, while Emily Rose (Santa Cruz, Calif.) received a 6.495, for...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce the recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Junior Equestrian of the Year Award to be presented at the 2022 US Equestrian Annual Meeting . Kathy Kusner and Howard Simpson are the winners of the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award, while Sophia Huffman is the 2021 Junior Equestrian of the Year. Kusner, Simpson, and Huffman will be recognized at the Pegasus Awards Dinner Celebration on Thursday, January 13. Lifetime Achievement...

Mill Spring, N.C. – With a huge number of entries, the final day of competition at the 2021 Tryon International Three-Day Event was just as full and exciting as the days that preceded it, with show jumping taking place from the cool morning into the evening under the lights. By the end of the day, a new four-star national champion emerged, and the victors of the inaugural Adequan®/USEF Eventing Youth Team Challenge were crowned. The Dutta Corp./USEF CCI4*-L Eventing National...

Mill Spring, N.C. – With the second day of competition at The Dutta Corp Tryon International Three-Day Event in the bag, Area II is dominating the leaderboards in the inaugural Adequan®/USEF Eventing Youth Team Challenge – East Coast Final. The Youth Team Challenge invited athletes ages 14-25 to compete as team members and individuals in the CCI1*, CCI2*-L, and CCI3*-L divisions. Teams consist of three or four members and may be composed of members from different USEA Areas to...

Dear US Equestrian Members, We all take pride in equestrian sport and our community. Equestrians show up, equestrians achieve, and they care. We don’t settle. We strive every day to do better in our partnerships with our horses and are committed to continuous growth. Additionally, we have also made great strides in making our sport safer and better for all equestrians, especially our youth, and we must continue with those efforts. I am writing this today because almost daily I, along with...

Gladstone, New Jersey – Natalie Jayne (Elgin, Ill.) and Charisma secured a win in the prestigious Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals – East after three days of intense competition at the historic United States Equestrian Team headquarters in Gladstone, New Jersey. Jayne rode to a final phase four score of 365 to earn the victory ahead of Dominic Gibbs (Colorado Springs, Colo.), who finished in second place with a final score of 359. Audrey Schulze (Saddle...

Allentown, N.J. – Two of last year’s combined driving national champions successfully defended their titles this week at the Garden State Combined Driving Event. Taylor Bradish (Windsor, S.C.) secured the 2021 USEF Advanced Single Horse National Championship, and Chester Weber (Ocala, Fla.) took home his 18th USEF Advanced Four-in-Hand National Championship. Taylor Bradish and Katydid Duchess. ©Taylor Pence/US Equestrian Bradish drove Katydid Duchess, a 2009 Welsh Pony cross...