Colombian dressage rider Marco Bernal lived every rider’s dream during the 2010 Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI, when he heard his country’s national anthem played three times for three great wins. Bernal’s success came aboard his Westphalian stallion Farewell IV, the same stallion that he set the world record on at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in 2005 when they scored a record high score of 85.385%. “This was the best show for me so far. It is nice when you work so long with a horse and...

Photo by Randi Muster (Katherine Schmidt was victorious in the USEF Show Jumping Talent Search.) The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) had a busy week of competition on February 24-28. The week featured the start of the USEF Selection Trials for the U.S. Show Jumping Team for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games along with a full schedule of hunter, jumper, and equitation classes. The week seven title sponsor was Fidelity Investments. It was a full night of show jumping and...

Bridle Creek Equestrian Development and Phillip and Evie Dutton are pleased to announce the third annual Olympic Gala in Aiken, SC, Tuesday, March 9, 2010, at 7:30 p.m. Supported most generously by Bruce Duchossois and Jack Wetzel, the Olympic Gala gives the Aiken community a chance to come together in support of the U.S. Eventing High Performance Programs as a portion of the proceeds will go to the United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation. "Partnering with Bridle Creek Equestrian...

The Morgan horse breed was celebrated in Lexington, KY, at the 2010 American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) Annual Convention, held February 17-20. "The true measure of a successful convention is the satisfaction and feedback the Board and staff hear from attendees," said AMHA Executive Director Julie M. Broadway. "By all accounts, the 2010 convention was not only successful in terms of being educational and informative, but fun too! The convention committee did a great job with fabulous farm...

Photo Courtesy Minitube Internationa (Biopsita with surrogate mom.) Minitube International has achieved a scientific breakthrough that will allow for genetic testing and preservation of equine embryos. The world's first foal from a biopsied and vitrified embryo transferred into a surrogate mare was born on Wednesday January 27, 2010, at Minitube International Center for Biotechnology in Mount Horeb, WI. Both the mother, "Lola," and foal are doing well. The birth of "Biopsita" marks a new era in...

Show jumping will never be the same. The first Pfizer Million Grand Prix qualifier and the $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Derby made a big impact on the show jumping circuit, in what will be a mainstay throughout this year's HITS Ocala Winter Circuit. The winner of the $25,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health and first prospective Pfizer Million qualifier was Callan Solem on Allison. With 32 horse and rider teams eager to win, it was a competitive field. "She [Allison] invented me,"...

Photo by Geoff Bugbee/USEF Archives (Bernard Uechtritz, President of Horse TV, accepted the award.) Lexington, KY – The high-impact, high-energy discipline of driving doesn’t easily lend itself to videography. It all comes down to logistics—especially when it involves covering miles of varied terrain during the Marathon phase, filled with obstacles that not only prove challenging for horse and driver, but for camera crews seeking the best vantage point from which to capture the excitement. It...

After 20 years of breeding and training Andalusians, Lusitanos, and more recently, Friesians, in Elkhorn, WI, Gareth A. Selwood is moving his operation to Bradenton, FL. “When I started here in 1989 there were not very many Iberian or Baroque horses in the Midwest, and now I am happy to say that this year our Regional Championship show in Elkhorn was the biggest in the nation for 2009,” said Selwood, proudly. In fact horses traveled from Texas, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Illinois, Georgia,...

A talented American Paint Horse stallion, Gunnatrashya, captured the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Open Futurity title in Oklahoma City recently, outscoring over 400 horses entered in the open division of this event, according to NRHA officials. The Paint stallion won with an outstanding score of 228.5, earning $125,000 in prize money. This is only the second time in history that an American Paint Horse has won this prestigious event. Gunnatrashya now joins RR Star, who won the...

With the close of the 2009 competition year and in anticipation of the United States Equestrian Federation’s annual Pegasus Awards celebration in January, the Federation is proud to announce the candidates in line to become the coveted 2009 Equestrian of the Year. Known as the USEF Equestrians of Honor, these seven stars of equestrian sport across breed and discipline have each been named recipients of one of seven different competitive trophies awarded during the Pegasus Awards on January 16...