The annual Vermont Summer Festival will return to East Dorset, VT, for six consecutive weeks of competition running July 7 through August 15, 2010. New England’s largest “AA” rated hunter/jumper horse show, the Vermont Summer Festival offers more than $750,000 in prize money, making it the richest sporting event based on purse in the state. The competition attracts the best athletes, including Olympic medalists, from across the country and around the globe to vie for top honors. The first five...

Photo Courtesy Rolling Stone Farm (Shakespeare RSF ) The 2004 dark brown Hanoverian stallion Shakespeare RSF by Sandro Hit, out of EM Acapella, by Arrian, was named Champion of his 70-Day Stallion Performance Test held October 4-December 12, 2009, at Silver Creek Farms in Broken Arrow, OK. Shakespeare is owned and bred by Maurine (Mo) and Jim Swanson of Rolling Stone Farm in Slatington, PA. Shakespeare achieved Class I status with a score of 130.53 points overall (this score reflects a 5%...

The Old Dominion Horse Show in Manakin Sabot, VA, was the site for the inaugural competition for ponies nominated to the North American Pony Futurity (NAPF) Registry incentive program. A parade of lovely young ponies competed in hand, divided by ages and genders. USEF “R” Hunter Breeding judges Joe Dotoli (of Vermont) and Beth Neilsen (of Colorado) evaluated the youngsters at the walk and trot prior to standing for conformation. Amateur and pro handlers were equally represented with Tim Foster...

On December 14, 2009, Equestrian Professional.com continues its horse business seminar series with “What Every Equine Business Person Needs to Know About the Law.” The guest speaker will be renowned equine law expert and author Julie I. Fershtman, attorney at law. Julie I. Fershtman is one of the most experienced and accomplished Equine Law practitioners in the nation. Crossing virtually all equine breeds and disciplines, her law practice serves a clientele of stables, industry professionals,...

TheHorseStudio.com is proud to sponsor this unique clinic on International Horse Transport, which will be held December 2, 2009, in Millbrook, NY. Its aim is to help the international competitor, horse breeder, importer/exporter of horses. Hosted by veteran international freight forwarder, Paul Alvin-Smith, the attendees will learn how to save money, save time and avoid critical mistakes when organizing international travel for their horses. "As a lifelong horseman I was especially thrilled...

It’s not often that World and National Champion competitors from disciplines as diverse as cutting, dressage, reining, jumping, barrel racing, and driving as well as renowned trainers from other walks of horselife gather in one location to share their secrets. Even less often comes the chance to soak up all that learning for about what you’d spend on a movie ticket and a bucket of popcorn. Just $16 gets you an all-access daily ticket to the 2010 edition of our country’s most successful and most...

This past weekend, Canterbury Farm in Hampshire, IL, hosted a clinic for the United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) Emerging Athletes Program. Held on Saturday, September 5, and Sunday, September 6, the clinic was conducted by renowned equestrians Melanie Smith Taylor and Ray Texel. Diane Carney of Hampshire, IL, was the on-site coordinator for the event, which was a Level II Training Session. The clinic was part of the Emerging Athletes Program, an educational program that focuses on...

Each year endurance riders from around the U.S. and Canada gather to compete for the American Endurance Ride Conference’s (AERC) top honors in the National Championship rides. This year, tiny Greenville, CA, (population 1,150) will be the launching point for the 100-mile ride on September 11 and 50-mile ride on September 13. Midway between Redding and Reno, the Northern California location has all that riders ask of a trail: elevation changes, gorgeous views, shallow creek crossings, and...

With great sadness, Mo and Jim Swanson of Rolling Stone Farm announce the passing of a World Champion dressage legend on August 11, 2009. The Hanoverian stallion Welcome S (World Cup I-Grebina/Grande) was euthanized in August 2009, due to infirmities of age. He was 22 years old. Welcome was owned by Jan van der Kamp and was managed by his daughter, Patricia Stemerdink of Dekstation de Havikerwaard in De Steeg, The Netherlands. The Swanson’s leased Welcome for breeding after a chance meeting in...

The Washington International Horse Show (WIHS), a major equestrian event based in Washington, DC, since 1958, generates nearly $7 million in economic impact to the District of Columbia annually, according to a recent study conducted by Stephen S. Fuller, PhD, Dwight Schar Faculty Chair and Director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. “During these difficult economic times, it was important for the show to evaluate its spending and its positive...