Equestrian Sport Productions, LLC, announced Wednesday a preliminary plan for a new round of major improvements at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) to be completed by the "Celebration of the Horse" event in early December and well before the start of the 2009 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). The improvements are the initial next stage in the top-to-bottom rebuilding of the PBIEC that began last December when Equestrian Sport Productions (ESP) took over management of the...

Iron Spring Farm’s UB40 continues to make a name for himself in both North America and Europe. Two UB40 sons were selected for performance testing at the 2008 KWPN Stallion Keuring held in s’ Hertogenbosch last week. One three-year-old son bred by A.A. van de Koppel, Amigo out of Tolanda (Elite) by Krack C, finished in the reserve championship position in the dressage stallion category. Amigo is a beautiful, modern-type with a gorgeous head and neck and uphill build. The result is incredible...

Kathy Hickerson at Majestic Gaits announced the arrival in New Hampshire of Hanoverian stallion Schroeder (Sandro Hit x Esmeralda, by Escudo I) from Germany. Schroeder was bought at the prestigious Hanoverian Elite Stallion Auction in 2006 and completed his 70-day stallion performance test at Gestut Redfin in Germany in October 2007. Hickerson is very excited to have Schroeder in the United States. He has a fabulous character, trainability and bloodlines. He is so nice to work with and has...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation’s Eventing High Performance Committee has approved the following horse and rider combinations to participate in the Developing Riders Program to be instructed by World Equestrian Games Individual Bronze medalist Amy Tryon. The Developing Riders Program is available to riders of any age who aspire to compete at the highest levels of the sport. To qualify, each horse/rider combination must have completed a CCI** or above. Precedence is given...

Harrisburg, PA - This past weekend, Karen Healey Stables came out in force for the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg, PA. In the USEF/Pessoa Medal Finals, one of the oldest and most competitive equitation finals in the country, Karen Healey students Hannah Selleck, Tina DiLandri, and Shelby Wakeman finished second, third, and fourth, respectively. In addition to equitation success, Tina DiLandri was on the Zone 10 gold-medal winning team in the Prix de States junior jumper...

It was a “typical day” at the office for Chester Weber as he went out and captured yet another USEF National Four-in-Hand Championship, his fifth in a row. Yet, Weber, of Ocala, FL, had some top-notch competition to challenge him as two previous five-time winners sought to win their sixth title. Both Tucker Johnson of Hobe Sound, FL, and James Fairclough of Newton, NJ, have accomplished what Weber has done, but neither has had the reign that Weber has maintained over the past five years. This...

The Swedish team will be coming out with all guns blazing for the final of the 2007 Samsung Super League with FEI series, which takes place in Barcelona, Spain, next Sunday. An unfortunate afternoon at the second-last leg in Dublin last month saw them bringing up the rear, and they go into Sunday's decider at the bottom of the series leaderboard knowing that nothing short of a strong performance can save them from relegation. Ironically it seems that the Irish, who lost out in a valiant battle...

At exactly 8:08 p.m. on August 8, the official one-year-to-go countdown to the 2008 Olympic Games was launched. Eight is considered a lucky number in Chinese culture. In general, eight is an auspicious number for Buddhists. In front of 10,000 people gathered on Tianan’men Square, with the Forbidden City as a backdrop, a sumptuous ceremony took place where Chinese culture and traditions were clearly on show. The International Olympic Committee President handed out the official invitations to the...

Last weekend, eight American vaulters competed at CVI Krumke** in Northern Germany. In the women's division, three American vaulters took the podium—a first for Americans at a foreign CVI. Alicen Divita of Woodside Vaulters (CA) placed first, followed by Mary McCormick of Mt. Eden Vaulters (CA) in second. Third went to Alicen's teammate, Elizabeth Osborn. The competition was very tight between the three top Americans. Each vaulter was in first place from one of the three judges, with...

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – And then there were five. The gold medal eventing and dressage teams shipped out early Monday morning, leaving the five show jumpers alone in the U.S. wing of the stables at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. With 17 countries represented, the most of the three disciplines, the show jumping will be very competitive. Florida’s Lauren Hough and Casadora are riding the crest of a very successful wave, having just won the valuable CN Reliability Grand Prix at...