Abby O’Mara, a 16-year-old junior from Rumson, NJ, earned more than $6,000 in prize money after riding to a first- and third-place finish in the $15,000 The Chronicle of the Horse /USHJA International Hunter Derby at the State College Classic on June 26. The talented junior rode Don Stewart’s Walk Away to victory and finished third with her seven-year-old Irish Sport Horse, Terrapin Station. The State College Classic Derby held at Kocher Farm in Pennsylvania Furnace, PA, was O’Mara’s second...

The tension is mounting as the Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ series arrives in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, this week. This event marks the halfway stage of the team challenge, which pits 10 great show jumping nations against each other in an eight-leg battle for survival in the premiership of the sport. The USA holds the lead after scoring a superb back-to-back double at Rome and St Gallen over the past few weeks, but the pressure continues, and there is no time to rest on their laurels as they face...

Karen Healey Stables spent the holiday weekend at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center competing at the Memorial Day Classic Horse Show, held May 21-25, 2009. Healey's students showed in the hunter, jumper, and equitation divisions throughout the weekend and earned top placings in all three disciplines. The Memorial Day Classic had an exciting equitation team challenge over the weekend that provided a fun opportunity for each team, which was made up of one professional, one amateur, and one junior...

The 2008/2009 ASG Software Solutions/United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) International Hunter Derby Qualifying Series was brought to a close this past weekend at the Devon Horse Show in Devon, PA, and the Memorial Day Classic in Burbank, CA. The 18-month series will culminate at the Hunter Derby Finals on August 21-22, 2009, at the Kentucky Horse Park. The top 75 horses based on earnings will be invited to Lexington to compete for an unprecedented $100,000 in prize money. Forty-five...

A century of sporting history will be celebrated when the much-anticipated first leg of the inaugural Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ series takes place in La Baule, France, this weekend. It was in 1909 that the indoor London Olympia and outdoor San Sebastian shows first hosted military team jumping competitions and, 100 years on, the honor and distinction of representing one's country in the battle for team supremacy has lost none of its edge. The advent of new sponsors, the Dubai-based development...

Let me just say wow. Hats off to Steffen Peters and Ravel. They owned Thursday. All of it. Just swooped down and claimed that Grand Prix victory like it was theirs for the taking. I can't think of a more deserving pair. A pair of kings, with a crowd of thousands roaring their approval all around the arena. As he and Ravel exited the arena, a palpable wave of adrenaline washed over all of us lucky enough to witness it. He hoisted wife Shannon up into the air and held her there, hugging her...

The Show Jumping Hall of Fame held its annual induction ceremony at the Budweiser American Invitational at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL, on Saturday evening, April 4. Honored with induction were Dr. John Steele and the horses Abdullah, Miss Budweiser and Riviera Wonder. Induction into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame is a great honor bestowed annually upon select individuals whose contribution to the sport has set them apart from others and whose influence has had a significant impact on the...

George Lucas’ Storm Troopers from the blockbuster Star Wars films were created as an elite army with no fears, just a determination to be victorious. This week saw a new breed of Storm Troopers at the Atlanta Spring Classics finale. Shaker Heights, OH-based David Jennings and partner Marcus Aurelius triumphed over Mother Nature in the Lucky Sevens Welcome Stake and the Atlanta Spring Grand Prix, both presented by Classic Company. Despite torrents of rain that came and went throughout most of...

A new trend in horse showing? Last fall Bob Bell, President of Classic Company, looked at his budget for the 2009 show season and decided there had to be some changes made. From May 22 to May 24, Bell will produce his first “Boutique” horse show in Tryon, NC, at the Harmon Field location, virtually in the downtown area, which only added to the new “definition” the show manager has created for these new events. Boutique (boo teek)—A horse show that is fashionable and unique. Always held at...

Double Olympic Gold medalist Beezie Madden won her first grand prix of the 2009 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) on Thursday, March 12, aboard Onlight in Round X of the $30,000 Braman Motorcars WEF Challenge Cup Series. Madden of Cazenovia, NY, and Onlight, owned by Team Onlight, were the only double-clear round from the initial 49 entries for the class in the DeNemethy arena. Only four combinations made it to the jump-off on the the course designed by Guilherme Jorge of Brazil. The time by...