Courtesy Joanie Webster (Junior rider Natalie Kupperman astride her purebred Connemara gelding, Elphin Song Sparrow, winner of the Consummate Connemara Trophy.) The Annual West Coast Connemara Show, dedicated in memory of Larry Ervin, was held for the second consecutive year at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, CA. Chris Knox of Chesterfield, ID, was the USEF-licensed Connemara Breed and Performance judge. Forty-six Connemara ponies along with some 'open' horses vied for ribbons in the...

A record-tying win by Margie Engle of Wellington, FL, in the $75,000 Le Grand Prix Hermès CSI** highlighted the show jumping action at the 33rd Annual I Love New York Horse Show. Engle's win was her seventh Grand Prix win in Lake Placid, tying the record held by Leslie Burr Howard. After four of 23 horses qualified for a tiebreaking jump-off by riding without penalty over the 17-jump, first-round course at the North Elba Showgrounds, the first three accrued faults over the eight-jump,...

Lexington, KY - The popular show MythBusters tests the validity of urban legends and myths and now we’re going to do the same. We are going to challenge some of the biggest rumors and myths about the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. (Note: the following are actual myths). Myth One: Ticket prices are outrageous! Tickets to the 2010 Games start as low as $25 for a grounds pass. Competition tickets also start at $25. Tickets for eventing cross-country, driving marathon and endurance are...

Christine McCrea of East Windsor, CT, rode Sweetheart to victory in the Champlain Valley Equipment 1.45m Jump-Off to kick off the 33rd Annual I Love New York Horse Show. Hillary Dobbs of Sussex, NJ, took an early lead in the class with the first of five clean rides over the 12-jump, first-round course at the North Elba Showgrounds, which she followed with a clean jump-off ride in 39.055 seconds. Her lead held until McCrea matched her double-clean rides but with a faster jump-off time of 38.664...

Photo by Gary Mills (Culver Academies historic Black Horse Troop.) Culver Academies, known for their historic Black Horse Troop and Equestriennes horsemanship units will bring their traditions to the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Opening Ceremonies on September 25. “I am very excited Culver has been chosen,” said Mark Waller, Director of Instruction at Culver. “I’m confident that we can really put on a good show and give a good impression of Culver’s riding program.” The Culver riding...

Photo by SusanJStickle.com (Sagacious HF recently earned Crown Predicate honors from the KWPN (Dutch Warmblood) Registry) Al Guden’s 11-year-old Grand Prix KWPN gelding, Sagacious HF, recently earned Crown Predicate honors from the KWPN (Dutch) Registry. This special symbol on his registration papers means he is ranked in the top 200 FEI Dressage Horses in the world. Sagacious HF was actually ranked 56th in the world. Guden’s journey with Sagacious HF started when he purchased the...

Photo by Louise Bowden (Visitors to the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games will get to visit with penguins from the Newport Aquarium.) The 100 Days to Go Celebration for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games was a hit on June 17, and the Fifth Third Pavilion in downtown Lexington drew in hundreds of fans, residents and passerbys to help celebrate the occasion. “It was excellent,” said Diana Simpson, a resident of Lexington, about the celebration. “The speakers were great, and there...

Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games spectators will have a variety of parking and transportation options, including hotel shuttles and on-site parking, for the 16 days of the event. With the recent availability of property adjacent to the Kentucky Horse Park, parking for 10,000 vehicles each day is now possible on-site. Parking will be $20 per vehicle with cash only accepted upon entry. A limited number of premium parking spaces near the spectator entry, with pass-out parking privileges, are...

Thursday, June 17, marks 100 days to go until the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Still looking for a good reason to come? We’ve got you covered. We came up with 100 reasons to come to the Games. 100. You get to walk on the bluegrass. It’s pretty famous in Kentucky. 99. You know that saying “When pigs fly?” Horses actually do fly here...over jumps. 98. Because trail riding is fun, but horses do much cooler things at the 2010 Games. 97. You get to meet someone from a different country,...

The Portola Valley Training Center in Menlo Park, CA was the site of the June 5-6 Selection Trials for teams hoping to represent the US at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. It was a celebration of top vaulting and Woodside Vaulters' 20th anniversary as a vaulting club. Again, the team competition was fierce. All five declared teams were present and the top two repeated the last trial's placings. FACE topped the leader board with an impressive overall score of 8.272, an improvement of more...