Tucker Johnson and Karen O’Connor to Carry Flag for U.S. Delegation at 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Lexington, KY – The athletes of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) have selected Driver Tucker Johnson and Eventing rider Karen O’Connor as flag bearers for Opening Ceremonies for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG). Johnson and O’Connor are both veteran athletes who have collected accolades for the United States on multiple occasions. Johnson helped the U.S....

Arriving in Florida is always an adventure. Despite running laps between Lexington and Wellington this year, this was my first trip to Ocala, which of course means flying into Orlando. Which of course meant that I was the only person on my flight and in the airport without Disney World on the brain. Ocala and Lexington are locked in a fierce battle for bragging rights over which one really is the horse capital of the world. There are farms of every possible variety when you drive around this...

Would you like to test drive or ride a Morgan horse? Now is your opportunity to do it for free! From now until December 31, 2009, facilities from around the country, in conjunction with the American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA), are generously offering a unique opportunity for a free riding or driving lesson on a Morgan horse. The coupon is good for new students and one free lesson per person at participating Morgan farms. Limit one coupon per family. If you have always wanted to be...

The Arabian Horse Association (AHA) Sport Horse National Arabian and Half-Arabian Championship Horse Show (Sport Horse Nationals) made its sixth annual appearance from September 23-27, 2008, at the Idaho Horse Park in Nampa, ID. The event featured 339 horses and 78 classes in four divisions: sport horse in-hand and under-saddle, dressage, pleasure carriage driving and hunter/jumper. “This was the best Sport Horse Nationals to date,” said Bill Pennington, Chair of the show’s commission. Sport...

The Equine Facilitated Mental Health Association, a section of the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA), will hold their annual preconference workshop at Green Chimneys Farm in Brewster, NY, on October 28. Equine facilitated mental health is defined as a number of mutually respectful activities involving equines, such as handling, grooming, riding, carriage driving, vaulting and educational experiences that help participants explore feelings and behavior. Green Chimneys...

The Carolina Horse Park has been a busy place over the last few months. Dressage horses, show jumpers, eventers, and driving horses have all utilized the Raeford, NC, facility throughout the spring. The growing popularity and use of the Carolina Horse Park have driven some instrumental changes at the 250-acre facility. The most influential of these changes is the construction of four new barns that has recently gotten underway. The funds for the new barns, which will be located directly behind...

The Arabian Horse Association (AHA), an equine breed organization that serves 37,000 members and registers more than one million Arabian, Half-Arabian and Anglo-Arabian horses, is pleased to announce that Glenn T. Petty of Wake Forest, NC, will take over as executive vice president, effective July 1, 2008. Petty brings nearly 40 years of equine industry experience to the position, including over 30 years as a show manager, 15 years as North Carolina’s State Horse Specialist and years of...

The World Games 2010 Foundation announced that Premier Equestrian, LLC, will provide equipment for the dressage and driving competition venues as an official vendor of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. “The World Games 2010 Foundation first viewed our new Brentina Dressage Arena at Devon,” said Premier Equestrian President Heidi Zorn. “The aesthetics and the safety features of the Brentina Arena are perfect for the world-class competition at the World Equestrian Games. We couldn’t be...

Jeff Wonnell, a lifelong consummate horseman who assisted with the introduction of the Friesian breed to the Federation, passed away on November 21, 2007, from injuries related to an accidental fall at his Branson West, MO, home. He was 86. For the past seven decades, Wonnell’s accomplishments were as a horseman, trainer, mentor, breeder and friend, each documented by countless championships and the horses he was responsible for breeding and showing. Wonnell never ceased to serve the equine...

Lexington, VA—August 1, 2007—US Region 7 won the first Gold Medal of the 2007 CN North American Junior and Young Riders’ Championships (NAJYRC), presented by Gotham North and UlcerGard, when they won the Young Riders Dressage Team Championship. The 2007 NAJYRC is being held at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, VA, July 31 – August 5. Region 7 received a team score of 204.223 points to claim the win over Silver Medalist Region 2 who totaled 202.578 points and Bronze...