Lars Petersen and Mariett (SusanJStickle.com) Wellington, Fla. - Lars Petersen (DEN) and Mariett took home the win in the first "Friday Night Stars" event of the 2015 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) season. In the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle, presented by MTICA Farm, they scored an impressive 78.325% to secure the victory. Mikala Munter Gundersen (DEN) and My Lady followed in second receiving a 74.075% with Caroline Darcourt (SWE) riding Paridon Magi to finish third with a 72.700%....

Lexington, Ky. - Perhaps no competitor had more fun with her performance than the Second Level Open Freestyle Champion Morgan Barrows (Monroe, Wash., Region 6) riding Janice Davis' Oldenburg gelding San Corazon. Their Billy Idol-themed freestyle was rewarded with a top score of 74.678%. "I had a blast! I want to go out there again," said Barrows, who has been partnered with her mount for less than a year. "I originally saw him at a friend's farm in Sweden when he was three. Later when...

Temecula, Calif. - Nicci Guzetta, on Queen of Spades, and Tamra Smith, on Irish Blend, won divisions of the Training Level Three-Day Event at the Galway Downs International Three-Day Event. Smith, of Murrieta, Calif., and Irish Blend added nothing to their dressage score of 38.3 to win division A, over Kristen Schalk on Comet’s Flight (38.6) and Max Gerdes on Rhythm Royale (40.4). Guzetta, of San Jose, Calif., stood third after two days, but a faultless show jumping round vaulted her to...

Lexington, Ky. - Belgium's Olivier Philippaerts guided Armstrong Van de Kapel to victory on Thursday night at the 131st National Horse Show, topping a starting field of 42 and then a massive jump-off roster of 21 to win the marathon Copernicus Stables $75,000 International Open Jumpers, presented by the Coulter Family. In the dash for cash, Philippaerts was the only rider to break the 40 second barrier as he raced home in 39.35 seconds for the win. Olivier Philippaerts and Armstrong Van de...

Spencer Smith (Al Cook Photo) Harrisburg, Pa. - After a full day of competition at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show the Pessoa/US Hunter Seat Medal Finals presented by Randolph College came to a historic conclusion, as Spencer Smith topped the field of 241 competitors to claim the 2014 National Title and in doing so became the first male rider to do so in 12 years. Smith (Wellington, Fla.) was among the 25 competitors to come back for a work-off and then in the final five rider test that...

Auburn, Ala. - No. 6 South Carolina picked up its first win of the season on Friday, upsetting No. 3 Auburn, 10-9, at the Auburn University Horse Center. The Gamecocks are now 1-2 overall, 1-1 in SEC play, while Auburn drops to 1-1 overall, and 0-1 in conference action. Friday's win marks South Carolina's fifth straight win over the Tigers, dating back to the 2013 Southeastern Conference Championship. The Gamecocks have outscored Auburn, 54-36 in that span. "This was a great win for us...

The winning Hermes U.S. Show Jumping Team (Nacho Olano) Barcelona, Spain - The Hermès U.S. Show Jumping Team entered Friday’s Challenge Cup competition at the 2014 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping Final looking for redemption after a ninth-place finish in the First Competition. Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland led the determined team of McLain Ward, Margie Engle, Lauren Hough, and Beezie Madden, who delivered throughout the afternoon that saw them beat out the Australian team in...

Lexington, Ky. - After years of debate and development, last fall's inaugural US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan® were a resounding success. Since then, enthusiasm has continued to spread across the country for this year's Finals which will return to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, November 6 - 9, 2014, and recent nomination figures as reported by the United States Dressage Federation (USDF) have far exceeded expectations. The nomination phase is the second step of the...

Upper Marlboro, Md. –The Capital Challenge Horse Show started with junior riders competing on Equitation Weekend, presented by Bigeq.com. Championships for age divisions in equitation were presented Saturday, leading up to Sunday's finals competition. The equitation age divisions had over fences classes in the outdoor and indoor rings, joined by a flat class indoors. There were five junior equitation age division champions awarded, along with classes for the Adult Amateur Equitation...

Beezie Madden and Cortes 'C' (SusanJStickle.com) Caen, France - The United States sent two combinations into the d’Ornano Stadium for the Third Individual Qualifier of the FEI World Individual Jumping Championship, held as part of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, and came within a 3/10th of a point of qualifying both riders for the Final Four. Beezie Madden and McLain Ward were among the field of 29 that took on Frédéric Cottier’s 12-obstacle first round course,...