Lexington, KY – In a bold move sure to expand the sport of reining starting at the grassroots level, the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) announces the first-ever USEF Youth Reining Championship, to be featured at Fiesta in the Park at the Kentucky Horse Park, August 23-28. The 2005 Championship will be sponsored by the Hagyard-Davidson-McGee veterinary practice and Markel Insurance, both leaders in their respective fields, with reputations built on excellence in the equine...

Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased to name one of the world’s foremost equine nutrition specialists as the Federation’s Official Equine Nutritionist. Kentucky Equine Research (KER), based in Versailles, Kentucky, boasts more than 15 years of innovative research in the field and now brings its vast reservoir of information to the Federation and its members. In fulfilling this role, KER will provide nutrition seminars for High Performance...

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...

Prince Bernhard, the President of the FEI from 1954 to 1964, passed away on December 1, 2004. He was 93 years old. Prince Bernhard, husband of Queen Juliana, who reigned from 1948, and father of the present Queen of the Netherlands, Beatrix, was born on June 29, 1911. In 1937 he married the then Princess Juliana. The couple had four children, all girls. One of them, Irene, became a successful jumper rider, competing as a member of the Dutch team at the European Junior Championships of 1956....

Nearly 1,200 of the finest American and international show horses will gather at the recently expanded Farm Show Arena in Harrisburg, PA, for the 59th annual Pennsylvania National Horse Show, October 14-23, 2004. The show draws tens of thousands of horse enthusiasts, who travel from throughout the region and across the U.S. to enjoy the unparalleled competition, special attractions, excellent shopping and the chance to see the stars of equine sports in action. Horses and riders compete for...

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...

At the United States Equestrian Federation Board Meeting on July 6th, the Directors approved a new USEF recognized affiliate, the International Friesian Show Horse Association (IFSHA). The purpose of this non-profit organization, based in Clovis, California, is to provide a USEF recognized show circuit for the Friesian horse which will help increase the recognition of the breed and help ensure competitive consistency for exhibitors and competitors. This is the first new recognized affiliate...

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...