The West Coast Active Riders (WCAR) organization has many members competing at the Indio Desert Circuit horse shows in Indio, CA. Richard Spooner is currently one of the most successful West Coast grand prix riders, and he is the original founder of the West Coast Active Riders organization. The Indio Desert Circuit is only in its third week of competition, but Richard Spooner has won the majority of prizes in the grand prix competitions. In the $30,000 Ariat Grand Prix on Friday, February 4,...

The 2005 Paso Fino Horse Association's Annual Board of Directors and Membership Convention will be held next week, January 14–16, at the Sofitel Hotel in Miami, FL. Special events taking place during this year's convention include a judges and stewards clinic, election of officers, a show secretaries and show management clinic, a party sponsored by La Libertad Paso Fino Farm and Howard Brody and a party sponsored by Mario “Mayito” Hernandez at Caballos de Mayo. Don’t miss out on your chance to...

The Organizing Committee of the World Endurance Championships, which are taking place next month in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, have confirmed that they have received definite entries for 188 horses from 41 nations. The horses are all due to start arriving in Dubai around January 8, allowing them time to acclimatize ahead of the competition which takes place on January 26-27, 2005. At the final trial, which took place in Dubai last weekend held at the Dubai Endurance Village, the...

Los Angeles, CA —As the 2004 season comes to a close, West Coast League riders step out of their saddles for a moment to reflect on five rounds of World Cup qualifiers that have determined their standings at the halfway mark. Separated by only a few points, Richard Spooner, Joie Gatlin and Gabriella Salick maintain an incredibly close race for the three World Cup slots afforded to the League. A tenth place finish atop Hilton Flight (Bay Irish Sport Horse gelding; Errigal...

Royal Kaliber, the stallion that took Chris Kappler to the Olympic team silver and individual bronze medals at the 2004 Olympic Games, is stable as he continues to recover from colic surgery performed in the Netherlands on Monday, September 27th. Dr. Jack Snyder, the veterinarian who performed the surgery, reports that Royal Kaliber is eating, sleeping and drinking normally for this stage of recovery. “Although there is still much concern and he is not out of the woods yet, all of Roy’s...

On the initiative of the Jumping Committee, the FEI Executive Board has approved the creation of an Independent Temporary Committee to establish why a number of horses received tendon injuries during the jumping competitions at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and to produce recommendations for the future. The Temporary Committee comprises the following persons: Edouard de Rothschild (FRA), Chairman Leopoldo Palacios (VEN), Member Jack Snyder (USA), Member Robert Jolicoeur (CAN), Member Thomas...

Lexington, KY – July 21, 2004 -- The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is now accepting bids to host the 2005 USEF Open Reining Championship. This prestigious event has been in existence since 1999 and has featured some of the best reiners in the country. In 2002, the Open Reining Championship was used as the Final Selection Trial for the World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain. The resulting team made history by capturing the Team Gold medal and the Individual Gold and Silver medals....

Equestrian fans can follow the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team like never before. The networks of NBC: NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Bravo, Telemundo and NBC HDTV will broadcast an unprecedented 1,210 hours – more than the past five Summer Olympics combined. The 24-hour coverage will include action from all 28 Summer Olympic sports for the first time, with equestrian events featured on NBC, USA, Bravo and CNBC. Over the 17 days of the Athens Games, the networks of NBC will average more than 70 hours of...

This is the final opportunity the 15 short listed horse and rider combinations eligible to be selected for the 2004 Olympic team will have to impress the Selectors. Only five horse and rider combinations will be selected to compete in Athens. During the Final Mandatory Outing competitors receive training through a scored combined test from the Selection Committee. In this phase the overall quality of the performance is more important than the actual score. For example, if a horse has performed...

SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE 2004 – PRESS RELEASE NO. 8 DUTCH DO IT AGAIN IN LUCERNE…. The Dutch masters did it again today when sweeping to a decisive second successive victory in the 2004 Samsung Super League in Lucerne and now stand top of the leaderboard going into the midway stage of the series which moves to their home ground in Rotterdam in two weeks time. In a complete reversal of the inconsistent run of form they displayed during the inaugural 2003 series the Dutch riders looked...