Oklahoma City, OK - A highlight of Thursday’s competition at the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Derby Show was the inaugural $15,000-added 7 & Up Non Pro Derby, which featured 25 entries aboard their experienced reining horses, age seven and older. Samantha Griffin of De Winton, Alberta, Canada, and Dun Playin Tag dominated the 7 & Up Non Pro Derby by scoring a 225 – 5.5 points ahead of the competition. The seven-year-old gelding, owned by her father Lance Griffin...

Chester Weber. Courtesy of HippoEvent. Altenfelden, Austria - The 20th anniversary of the CAI Altenfelden is history. It was an event with top sport performances by competitors from 18 nations. Chester Weber, the American driving sport star and winner of the king class (the four-in-hand horse class) said, “I like the nice atmosphere of the Altenfelden competition. The people are all very friendly and try to support the competitors the best they can. During this competition I have the...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has named the following horse/rider combinations to represent the U.S. at the next two shows of the FEI Nations Cup Series. The following horse/rider combinations will compete in Sweden at CSIO5* Falsterbo July 7-10, 2011: Charlie Jayne (Elgin, IL) will ride The London Group's Athena Athena is an 11-year-old Belgian mare Christine McCrea (Windsor, CT) will ride Romantovich Take One Romantovich Take One is an 11-year-old KWPN...

Eastern Selection Trial 5-year-old champion Lauren Chumley and Somer Hit (Photo by Pics of You). The Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Selection Trials 2011 qualifying season concluded last week at the Eastern Selection Trials in Leesburg, Va. The top five 5-year-olds and top five 6-year-olds that earned a minimum score of 7.8 from the three competitions will make up the short list of horses moving forward to the 2011 Markel/USEF Dressage National Championship at Lamplight in Wayne,...

John and Lisa Seger of Markel Insurance present the Markel/USEF 5-Year-Old Western Selection Trial championship ribbon to Sabine Schut-Kery and Sanceo (Photo courtesy of Genia Ply Photography). Burbank, CA - Young dressage horses were the stars of the weekend in the historic and pastoral setting of the Flintridge Riding Club for Dressage at Flintridge CDI*/Y/J, May 26-29, 2011 in La Cañada-Flintridge, CA. As host of the Markel/USEF Young Horse Western Selection Trial for the FEI/WBFSH...

Reims, France - The USEF European Young Rider Tour continued its successful trip through Europe with another second-place finish in the Nations Cup at CSIOY Reims. Runners-up in Belgium the previous weekend, the Young Riders continued their successful European effort. Catherine Pasmore led off the U.S. team, rebounding from a 13-fault first round on My Boy to improve to eight faults in round two. Karen Polle rode With Wings in the second position to a six-fault effort in the first round but...

The Irish team are hot favorites to win the second leg of the 2011 FEI Nations Cup™ series in Rome (ITA) tomorrow, but they got the worst of the draw today and so will be first into the ring as the action gets underway in the stunning surroundings of the Piazza di Siena. A total of nine teams will line up in this leg of the elite eight-nation tournament, as the host country makes a guest appearance on home turf. The American Team of Charlie Jayne, Christine McCrea, Margie Engle and Rich...

Leipzig, Germany - The Rolex/FEI World Cup Final came to a close Sunday afternoon in Leipzig, Germany, with two final rounds of jumping. The U.S. had strong representation in this competition as they sent seven of the 27 riders into the ring. In the third and final competition, riders jumped two rounds over Frank Rothenberger's demanding 1.60m courses. The entire field would contest the first round, with 19 riders returning to the arena one last time to determine who would be crowned...

Leipzig, Germany - The Leipzig Exhibition Center hosted the first round of the Rolex/FEI World Cup Final - the speed leg - this afternoon and all 10 American combinations looked to get a head start on the competition. Frank Rothenberger set a scopey yet technical course that tested all 43 competitors in the 2011 Final and allowed for a number of different lines and options to be ridden. With the faults converted format, finding the correct balance between forward and efficient riding and...

Leipzig, Germany – Beezie Madden kicked off the 2011 Rolex/FEI World Cup Final with a win for the U.S. Wednesday morning in the Opening Competition. Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo bested the field of 24 as the only combination to jump faultlessly in the first round. Beezie Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo. (Photo by Rebecca Walton/PMG) Madden (Cazenovia, NY) was the first U.S. rider in the ring and set the tone immediately. The Belgian Warmblood mare owned by Coral Reef Ranch jumped...