At the August American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) Board of Director's Meeting, locations for the 2008 Judge's School were selected in be held conjunction with Diamond Jubilee in Del Mar, CA, in April; Southern States Regional Morgan Horse Show in Raleigh, NC, in May; and North Star Morgan Americana in St. Paul, MN, in July. These three-day events combine classroom work with learner judging under a stringent itinerary in an actual horse show setting. Overseen by two to three administrators,...

The United States Hunter Jumper Assocation (USHJA) held a judging clinic on Friday, August 3, in Wayne, IL, in conjunction with Showplace Productions during Equifest I. Diane Carney, a local trainer and clinician, acted as mediator between the crowd of more than 100 people and the judges. The clinic had three riders demonstrate both hunter and handy hunter rounds, while each spectator was given a judge's card and scored each of the rounds individually. The riders were Tina Judge, Brenda Mueller...

Late on August 2, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the funding bill for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for Fiscal Year 2008 after removing the overly broad language that was opposed by the horse industry. When the USDA funding bill was reported out of the House Appropriations Committee two weeks ago, it included language that was intended to apply to slaughter horses. But the provision was so broadly drafted that it would have applied to all horses and been...

Flat tires are the leading cause of disablements involving horse trailers. USRider is involved in a research project with Dr. Tomas Gimenez to test the benefits (if any) of using air vs. nitrogen to inflate tow vehicle and horse trailer tires. An electronic air pressure monitoring system is being used to assist with the research. During the research, Dr. Gimenez and USRider have noted significant safety benefits resulting from using this system. “At USRider, we are all about safety when it...

The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) All-Breeds Award Program, one of the USDF’s most popular award programs, which recognizes the accomplishments of specific breeds in dressage, announces changes to its program rules. The All-Breeds Award program now requires owners to declare for the participating breed registry that they wish their horse to be recognized for USDF All-Breeds Award purposes. This program requirement has been put in place to administer the one horse/one breed/one award...

The Phelps Media Group, Inc. (PMG), a public relations firm based in Wellington, FL, announced the signing of the United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation as their newest client. The United States Equestrian Team Foundation supports the competition, training, coaching, travel and educational needs of America's elite and developing international high-performance horses and athletes in partnership with the U.S. Equestrian Federation. PMG has been hired to coordinate all aspects of public...

San Juan Capistrano, California – Again today Robert Dover and FBW Kennedy demonstrated masterful consistency and solidity, the hallmarks of their vast experience. They won the Grand Prix Special in the Selection Trials with a score of 78.640%, with two judges scoring them just over 80%. Dover summed up his two very different rides on Kennedy and Ranier, “honestly, I was actually really relaxed going into the ring today, and excited about especially riding Kennedy today, because I...

Traverse City, Mich. – Two exceptional mares, two talented equestrians, and two zero-jumping-fault outings led to the first individual gold medals at the 2023 Gotham North/FEI North American Youth Jumping Championship presented by USHJA. Hailey Guidry and Ezmeralda EH Z finished five-rounds of competition in the Children category with zero penalties. Lauren Frandson and Golda completed their NAYC week with no rails down across five rounds and only 0.28 penalties from the first round....

Wellington, Fla. – Eleven young athletes had the opportunity to work with some of the country’s most accomplished equestrians at the in-person session of the 2022 USEF Horsemastership Training Series held January 7-9 in Wellington, Fla. The training session started with a flatwork demonstration and lesson with Anne Kursinski. The following day, they navigated gymnastics exercises with Lauren Hough. The training session concluded with riding a two round, Nations Cup style course...

Wayne, Ill. – The United States Equestrian Federation/National Collegiate Equestrian Association Junior Hunter Seat Medal Final - Central welcomed 19 aspiring collegiate riders on Saturday, September 18, with Isabelle Collister (Lake Forest, Ill.) coming out on top. Isabelle Collister (Alison Hartwell Photography) Fourteen-year-old Collister rode Doreen MH, Kirsten Collister’s 2011 Holsteiner mare, to the win. Redemption was the name of the game for Collister and “Dory,”...