Wayne, Ill. – Horse-and-rider combinations have been doing their homework in preparation for the 14 national championships held at the 2020 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions, and it was evident in the first two classes of the show. In the first day of competition at HITS Chicago at Lamplight Equestrian Center, Endel Ots and Sonnenberg’s Everdance won the FEI Prix St. Georges Test, while Sara Hassler and Harmony’s Boitano took top honors in the FEI Intermediate II Test. USEF...

Lexington, Ky. – The International Andalusian and Lusitano Horse Association (IALHA) is gearing up to host the 2019 IALHA National Championship Horse Show from November 5-9 at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas. IALHA Nationals brings together the country’s top Andalusian and Lusitano horses to compete in an array of disciplines including dressage, driving, heritage costume, reining, in-hand morphology and movement classes, working equitation, and much more. The...

Lexington, Ky. – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and the University of Kentucky (UK) have entered into an agreement for the transition of the USEF Laboratory to UK. The new entity will be called the UK Equine Regulatory Testing Laboratory. The transition is effective July 10, 2019, and operations will proceed uninterrupted. Dr. Scott Stanley a renowned expert in the field of equine toxicology, who joined the University of Kentucky in September 2018, will lead the newly...

Lexington, Ky. – Gabriella Costantini has been unanimously crowned 2019 USEF Saddle Seat Adult Amateur Medal Final champion by the panel of judges at the historic Lexington Junior League Charity Horse Show , which continues at the Kentucky Horse Park through July 13. In the last class of the morning session on Wednesday, July 10, nine of the country’s best saddle seat equitation competitors faced off in group railwork and executed individual patterns designed by judges Peggy...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian has named the following combinations to the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team for the FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ Aachen CCIO4*-S during CHIO Aachen, July 19-20 in Aachen, Germany. Erik Duvander will serve as the chef d’equipe. Phillip Dutton (West Grove, Pa.) and Z, an 11-year-old Zangersheide gelding owned by Thomas Tierney, Simon Roosevelt, Suzanne Lacy, Caroline Moran, and Ann Jones Elisabeth Halliday-Sharp (Ocala, Fla.) and Deniro Z, The Deniro...

When fellow equestrians and Paso Fino enthusiasts first suggested that Heidi Young consider riding with a drill team, Young demurred. “I had bought myself a very good-looking Paso Fino, and they said, ‘You should try this, because it’s fun, and your horse would look great,’” recalled Young, a Connecticut native and US Equestrian member who now resides in Horseshoe Bend, Idaho. “I said, ‘Oh, no, I don’t do that kind of thing. I don’t like...

Lexington, K y. – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and the University of Kentucky have entered into a Letter of Intent to develop an equine regulatory testing laboratory based in Lexington, Ky. In January 2018, the USEF Board of Directors appointed a task force headed by Tom O’Mara to work with senior leadership to analyze USEF’s laboratory functions and future options for their sample testing program. The creation of the task force led to conversations with the...

Katy, Texas – The International Andalusian and Lusitano Horse Association (IALHA) returned to the Great Southwest Equestrian Center in Katy, Texas, for the 2018 IALHA National Championship Horse Show . From October 9-13, nearly 100 of the country’s top purebred and part-bred Andalusian and Lusitano horses were presented in a variety of classes, including halter, native tack and attire, dressage, Western pleasure, saddle seat, and more. With an impressive $6,000 in total division...

Allentown, N.J. – Five USEF Preliminary Combined Driving National Champions were crowned at the Garden State Combined Driving Event CDE at the Horse Park of New Jersey on October 12-14. It was the debut of national championships at the preliminary level in order to serve as a catalyst to ignite further interest in the combined driving discipline, and cultivate combinations for the development and elite levels. Berndl and Impressive (Photo by Conklin Photographic LLC) Leslie Berndl...

Barcelona, Spain – The NetJets® U.S. Jumping Team is ready to compete at the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final at CSIO5* Barcelona. Prepared to showcase and give valuable experience to up-and-coming combinations in one of show jumping’s most prestigious team challenges, the U.S. team will meld new talent with those of experienced veterans as they compete for a spot on the podium. With seven podium appearances in 2018, and an FEI World Equestrian Games™ (WEG) Tryon...