Devon, PA - Despite the rain Thursday afternoon at Devon, competitors in the USEF Talent Search came out ready to ride. The thirteen-jump course was challenging, with a long ride to the first fence, tight turns, and two water obstacles. The riders came prepared, many approaching the course with determination and confidence. Their drive to succeed was evident in both their skill and strategy. The section A competitors took to the ring amidst cloud cover and slight winds. The first few riders...

Ocala, FL – HITS is pleased to announce that the quarantine that has been in effect at the HITS Ocala show grounds for the past three weeks will be lifted Wednesday morning, March 13, in time for the season finale. On Wednesday at 8am, restrictions on horses entering or leaving the show grounds will be lifted, and the Ocala Celebration (HITS IX) will kick off with a bang. “We are pleased to be in a position to highlight all the great classes and events that are on the schedule for...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) wishes to remind all dressage competitors of the rule change to DR120. This change goes into effect on April 1, 2013 and necessitates the usage of protective headgear by anyone mounted on the grounds at all USEF dressage competitions. DR120 has been amended to require protective headgear as follows: From the time horses are officially admitted to the competition grounds by competition management, anyone mounted on a horse at any...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation Board of Directors, at its recent Mid-Year Meeting, considered nine applications for USEF Heritage Competition status. The following competitions were granted the highest honor currently held by Federation horse shows: • Keswick Horse Show • Upperville Colt & Horse Show • Fairfield County Hunt Club June Benefit Horse Show • Waterloo Hunt Horse Show • Menlo Charity Horse Show • Warrenton Horse Show •...

Lexington, KY - The best young hunters in the country will meet on both coasts in the coming days to compete for the National Hunter Breeding Championship and regional titles at the 2012 Sallie B. Wheeler/US National Hunter Breeding Championships. Young horses on the West Coast will make their way to the Showpark All Seasons Summer Tournament in Del Mar, California on August 29 to compete against each other for the title of best in the West. Last year the winner from the West, Ooh Ah, was named...

The eighth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder Western Dressage is a big up and coming equestrian discipline right now. I believe this is the right time for the sport to emerge as a reality and the interest level proves that the idea has been around for a long time. When I started talking to everyone about it, I was surprised! In our area, a Western Dressage Facebook page was started and we had 130 members within about 2 days! That was so important because it showed how much...

Wellington (USA), which had been confirmed as an official candidate to stage the FEI World Equestrian Games™ in 2018, has withdrawn from the bidding process. Equestrian Sport Productions (ESP), the company that had put together the US bid for 2018, informed the FEI today that it was officially withdrawing from the process, due to a change in local government. ESP President Michael Stone, expressed his regret that Wellington was withdrawing from the bid process. “We are fully aware...

Danielle Fleegle with Waterloo and his trainer, Adrian Griner. (Photo courtesy Danielle Fleegle.) Westminster, MD - Danielle Fleegle knew something was wrong. She just had to figure out what that “something” was. Eventually, she did. And a horse named Waterloo went from nearly put down – twice – to a star. In 2010, the horse once known primarily for his bucking, won a PHR Silver Stirrup Award and became the CBLM Training Level Champion and GAIG Reserve Training Level Champion. “I’m so glad that...

Kreuth, Germany - The 2011 National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) European Futurity hosted ancillary classes in the $15,000 added Open, $7,500 added Non Pro, $1,000 added Novice Horse Open Level 2 and $1,000 added Novice Horse Non Pro Level 2 this week. The $15,000 added Open Champion is Volker Schmitt (GER) riding Chic Magnetic. The two scored a 228 earning both the NRHA Lawson trophy and $4,653 in prize money. Bernard Fonck (BEL) and Kitas Spark claimed the Reserve Champion title scoring a...

Photo by C.A. "Tony" Lee Shelburne, VT—The best of the best in the Morgan breed was celebrated in Oklahoma City for the Grand National & World Championship Morgan Horse Show. Since 1973, this show has represented the pinnacle of achievement in the Morgan horse world. More than 1,000 of the world's finest Morgan horses from across the United States, Canada, Austria, and Great Britain met in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to compete in over 250 classes for $250,000-plus in prize money. For the fourth...