The Kentucky National Horse Show was held September 16-20 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. Lucille Oken Wins Grand Slam with Land's End Mad Hatter Lucille Oken and Land's End Mad Hatter were unstoppable at this year's Kentucky National Indoor Horse Show. The pair completed a clean sweep of the Large Pony Hunter division, taking home each of the blue ribbons and the championship award. Oken rides at her family's Hi Hopes Farm in Charlotte, NC, with trainers Steve Heinecke and Jeff...

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...

Rinaldo de Craen/decraen.com (Larry Poulin is competing in his final World Championships in Hungary.) Lexington, KY - Team USA is currently in fourth position after two days of dressage at the FEI World Pair Driving Championship in Kecskemet, Hungary. Larry Poulin, Keady Cadwell and Lisa Singer are just 0.1 point behind German drivers who are defending their Gold Team medal. Mieke van Tergouw, the 1995 World Champion lady driver from The Netherlands, won the dressage, ahead of Switzerland’s...

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...

For the second year in a row Friesian horses from all over the United States converged at the very center of the country in beautiful Lake St. Louis, MO. One horse and rider, Bernhard and Christiane Henrichs even traveled all the way from Germany to compete in a variety of classes, winning among others, the Prix St George test in dressage. This year the event was held in honor of International Friesian Show Horse Association (IFSHA) founder and longtime breeder Dr. Genevieve de Montremare who...

The International Andalusian and Lusitano Horse Association’s (IALHA) Surf & Sun Show, the third of the season hosted by IALHA’s California Show Committee, was held June 21-22 at the Del Mar Horse Park in Del Mar, CA. New to the Surf & Sun this year, Friesian classes were included in the show. The International Friesian Show Horse Association (IFSHA) approved and sanctioned this show for their high point program. The combination of so many stunning Andalusians and the majestic jet black...

Diana DeRosa (Karen O'Connor and Theodore O'Connor at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.) It is with great sadness that the United States Equestrian Federation reports that super pony Theodore O’Connor was humanely euthanized Wednesday, May 28, as a result of an injury sustained in an accident at Karen and David O’Connor’s barn in The Plains, VA. The 13-year-old eventing pony defied odds and gravity throughout his career. Standing only 14.1 hands, the...

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...

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...