During the US Equestrian Annual Meeting on Thursday, US Equestrian Director of Sport Will Connell defined his goals for sustained high-performance success. The list includes assisting in the development of young athletes and developing world-renowned coaches. These goals go hand-in-hand, and on Friday, the Coaching, Youth, and Para Dressage panelists, Michel Assouline, USEF’s Para-Equestrian Dressage Head of Coach Development and Para-Equestrian Dressage Technical Advisor, Alison Brock,...

Mill Spring, N.C. - Mary McCormick is one of the United States’ most decorated vaulters. This is her fourth appearance at the WEG; she also represented the U.S. in 2006, 2010, and 2014. McCormick grew up in Sonoma, Calif., where her mother was a marketing director in the Northern California wine business and her father was the tour manager for the rock band the Doobie Brothers. Her parents were not involved with horses, but Mary discovered her passion for the sport at a local vaulting...

North Salem, N.Y. – The USHJA North American Show Jumping Individual Qualifying Competitions took place across the children’s, junior and young rider divisions on Thursday at the Adequan®/FEI North American Youth Championships (NAYC) presented by Gotham North. With the focus on speed and handiness, The United States’s Mia Albelo (Children’s, Zone 4) and Daisy Farish (Young Rider, Zone 5) as well as Puerto Rico’s Claudia Villamil (Junior) topped their respective...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian has named 26 athletes to the U.S. Vaulting Team short list for the FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) Tryon 2018. Following a series of selection trials held at competitions across the country from April through July, the following athletes in the individual female, individual male, pas de deux, and squad divisions were recommended to the US Equestrian Board of Directors for consideration to be named to the Nominated Entry List. Individual Female The following...

Devin Ryan, Beezie Madden, and Henrik von Eckermann Paris, France – The podium was decorated in stars and stripes Sunday evening as Beezie Madden and Breitling LS claimed victory at the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Final. Not far behind her, with only six penalties, fellow American Devin Ryan and Eddie Blue stamped their names on second. Madden (Cazenovia, N.Y.) finished on a single rail in the second round of the Final III, after jumping three previous clear rounds on Thursday, Friday,...

Katy, Texas – Nearly 80 purebred and Half-Andalusian/Lusitano horses competed for National Championship titles at the 2017 International Andalusian and Lusitano Horse Association (IALHA) National Championship Horse Show, October 10-15 at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center in Katy, Texas. Judges Leslie Connor, Joan Harms, and Richard Petty, joined by dressage judge Peggy Klump and international guest judges Rafael Ortíz Alcalá-Zamora (Spain) and João Ralão...

Harrisburg, Pa. - Leading through all three rounds of the Dover Saddlery/USEF Hunter Seat Medal Finals, 18-year-old Taylor St. Jacques (Glen Allen, Va.) proved herself to be just what judges Tamara Provost (Westfield, Ind.) and Jack Towell (Camden, S.C.) were looking for as they awarded her first place and the gold medal for her performance. Taylor St. Jacques, the 2017 Dover Saddlery/USEF Hunter Seat Medal Finals Champion (© Al Cook – www.alcookphoto.com) A total of 257 of the...

Millstreet, Ireland – After a strong start in Noel C. Duggan Engineering CCI3* division at the Millstreet International Horse Trials on Friday, Jennie Brannigan and Stella Artois and continued their top form on Saturday’s cross-country day. The pair earned a dressage score of 47.10, then tallied 4.80 time penalties on the cross-country course to sit in fifth place heading into the show jumping phase on Sunday. Brannigan (Reddick, Fla.) received the USEA Foundation Rebecca Broussard...

Givrins, Switzerland – The Platinum Performance U.S. Junior Team earned the team silver medal at the 2017 SVAG FEI World Reining Championships for Juniors and Young Riders. The team, comprised of Sam Flarida, Emma Lane, and Emilia Reutimann, claimed the team silver medal with a score of 639.0 under the guidance of Chef d’Equipe Jeff Petska. Italy won gold with a score of 645.0 and France received bronze with a score of 634.5. The Platinum Performance U.S. Young Rider Team finished...

Xalapa, Mexico – The Hermès U.S. Show Jumping Team will look to extend its lead in the North American division when it competes against Canada and Mexico at FEI Nations Cup™ CSIO4* Coapexpan tomorrow. With only 10 points separating the U.S. from second-place Canada, Chef d'Equipe Robert Ridland has tapped Quentin Judge, Peter Lutz, Alison Robitaille, and Adrienne Sternlicht with the task of maintaining positive momentum. The U.S. has drawn second in the order and will...