For the Laughter and Meredith Darst. Shawn McMillen Photography. Washington, D.C. - The 53rd Washington International Horse Show concluded competition at Verizon Center in downtown Washington D.C. today with the presentation of championship awards in the pony hunter divisions. For The Laughter, owned by Dr. Betsee Parker of Middleburg, VA, won the Large Pony Hunter championship for the second year in a row and earned the coveted Grand Pony Hunter Champion award with Meredith Darst in the irons....

Paragon He’s only eight years old but he’s the talk of the dressage world. Yesterday people came to watch him school because they had seen him on YouTube and they wanted to see him in person. Luckily for the U.S. he’s on our team at the 2011 Pan American Games, after claiming reserve championship honors at the 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions. Owned and ridden by Heather Blitz, the lanky 18- plus-hand chestnut gelding has jaw-dropping movement in...

Wayne, IL - Competition finished up Sunday at the Lamplight Equestrian Center as the top 6-year-olds and developing horses in the U.S. vied for top honors in the Markel/USEF National Young Horse Dressage Championship and USEF National Developing Horse Dressage Championship sponsored by The Dutta Corp. and Performance Sales International. Additionally, nine competitors would ride for medals in the USEF Dressage Seat Medal Finals presented by Dressage Today in the 14-18 division. Marlena Kurz and...

Wayne, IL - As many people on the East Coast braced for Hurricane Irene, those at the Lamplight Equestrian Center enjoyed another day of sunshine and beautiful temperatures. Medals were awarded in the USEF Dressage Seat Medal Finals presented by Dressage Today 13 & under division and champions crowned in the Markel/USEF National Young Horse Dressage Championships 4- and 5-year-old divisions. Bronwyn Cordiak & Sarasanna GP (Photo: Chuck Swan/Swan Studios, LLC). The USEF...

Lexington, KY - It's "all hands on deck" as the final touches are being made and the horses and riders are arriving at the Kentucky Horse Park for what has become a celebrated annual event - the Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North. And for the 2011 competition, there are some exciting additions to this highly-regarded series of international championships. In addition to championships being contested in dressage, eventing, and show...

Lexington, KY - It's "all hands on deck" as the final touches are being made and the horses and riders are arriving at the Kentucky Horse Park for what has become a celebrated annual event - the Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North. And for the 2011 competition, there are some exciting additions to this highly-regarded series of international championships. In addition to championships being contested in dressage, eventing, and show...

Lexington, KY — May in Kentucky was all about the catch-ride. One ride. One horse. One shot at history. At Louisville, it meant a late-replacement jockey, John Velazquez, would win his first Kentucky Derby with Animal Kingdom. At Lexington’s Kentucky Horse Park that same weekend, it meant students facing their own last-minute leg-ups, with just minutes to assess a horse before entering the Alltech Arena and their date with destiny at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association...

Maddy Darst with Mom Mindy Darst at Horse Shows by the Bay (Photo courtesy Horse Shows by the Bay). Traverse City, MI - Opportunities are endless for hunter riders attending Traverse City, Michigan's Horse Shows by the Bay this summer. Besides being located in the ultimate vacation destination of the Midwest, the varied festival schedule will be featuring new events and awards, ensuring participants that important items like earning lots of points, capturing coveted ribbons and winning big...

From the USEF Eventing Department Lexington, KY – All three Eventing High Performance Training Lists have been updated following the spring competition season. Horse/Rider combinations will be invited to participate in training sessions with Mark Phillips. It is anticipated that training sessions will be held in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, and California; dates to be determined. Some horse/rider combinations will be receiving grants for European competition and training. Grant...

Ravel and Steffen Peters (Amy McCool) San Juan Capistrano, CA – Overnight leader Steffen Peters returned to the Oaks Blenheim ring with Ravel in the USEF National Grand Prix Dressage Championship and the USEF Selection Trial for Dressage, and made it quite clear that he was not going to relinquish his lead. Owned by Akiko Yamazaki, Ravel, a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding took some of the much more experienced horses to task and never looked in danger of making a mistake. The elegant...