Julie McCrady won the 2015 Third Level Freestyle Adult Amateur Championship with her Hanoverian mare Remanessa, and looks to return to Lexington again this year to try for a Fourth Level title. (Susan J. Stickle) Lexington, Ky. - “You bet I’ll be back. I’ve declared and I made my hotel reservations in Lexington months ago!” Every November since 2013, Julie McCrady and her husband have made the trek to Kentucky from Raymore, Mo. with their home-bred Hanoverian mare...

Dressage Junior Rider Team Gold Medals Awarded to Region 3; Carlos Guerrerio and Santos Claim Victory in USHJA North American Junior & Young Rider Show Jumping Championships Junior Individual First Round Qualifier; Elena Hengel Sits in the Lead aboard Zipp in the USEA North American Junior & Young Rider Championships CIC2* Division While Team Canada Holds Top Team Position Parker, Colo. - The first medals for team show jumping were presented today at the Adequan®/FEI North American...

Cooper Dean and Denver S on their way to a HITS Equitation Championship win. (ESI Photography) Ocala, Fla. - The lights of the Ocala Horse Properties Stadium gleamed down on competitors for the return of the HITS Equitation Championship. Cooper Dean, of Fayette, Alabama, took home the evening’s top honors in Ocala, Florida. "This was a great opportunity and it feels amazing to win a class as important as this one," said Dean. "The course was tougher and was a good challenge; I thought the...

Lexington, Ky. – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased to announce Courtney Ball as the winner of the 2015 USEF Youth Sportsman’s Award. The USEF Youth Sportsman's Award is designed to identify potential future leaders in the equine industry and provides an opportunity for the USEF to recognize outstanding youth members for their achievements. An American Saddlebred competitor from Scottsdale, Ariz., Ball was nominated by the American Saddlebred Horse...

Molly Schiltgen and Leisl TF earned their first ribbon today from the 2015 US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®. Photo by Susan J. Stickle Under glorious skies and with unseasonably warm temperatures the third edition of the annual US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan® got underway Thursday at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. Riders took advantage of a full day of open competition with Dressage in the Bluegrass classes to prepare for their Championship performances over the...

Susan Treabess and Kamiakin at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France. Photo (C) SusanJStickle.com Rancho Murieta, CA - June 11, 2015 - Eleven horse and rider combinations from Canada and the United States showcased their mounts for the Golden State Dressage Classic CPEDI3* FEI jog. Scheduled June 11-14, 2015, the Golden State Dressage Classic CPEDI3* takes place at the Murieta Equestrian Center in Rancho Murieta, CA. The Golden State Dressage Classic features top...

Toschufro TT (Jason Bannister) Devon, PA – Each year, Dressage at Devon (DAD) selects a foal to follow on its path to the Breed Show at DAD where hundreds of colts and fillies show each year. Each foal is the product of careful breeding and watchful tending as they, hopefully, grow into champions. This year, we will follow Toschufro TT (Totilas x Baba x Don Schufro), an inquisitive, leggy, bay colt with a white star, born on January 1, 2015. Breeding “For my first breeding ever, I...

Kelley Farmer and Mindset (Kendall Bierer/Phelps Media Group) Wellington, Fla. - An underdog rose to the top of the ranks Friday at The Ridge at Wellington's second annual Hunter Derby Days. Mindset is the rising superstar of Rose Hill Farm, bought for Lilli Hymowitz to show in the Small Junior Hunter division, but professional hunter rider Kelley Farmer captured the $15,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby victory with consistent rounds and finesse on the turf derby field. Farmer and...

Lexington, Ky. - Perhaps no competitor had more fun with her performance than the Second Level Open Freestyle Champion Morgan Barrows (Monroe, Wash., Region 6) riding Janice Davis' Oldenburg gelding San Corazon. Their Billy Idol-themed freestyle was rewarded with a top score of 74.678%. "I had a blast! I want to go out there again," said Barrows, who has been partnered with her mount for less than a year. "I originally saw him at a friend's farm in Sweden when he was three. Later when...

Owens & Messick (Shawn McMillen Photography) Lexington, Ky. - Amateur rider Kyle Owens picked a good day to break into the 90s for the first time in his riding career. And, his excellent timing and performance aboard Messick paid impressive dividends, as he tied professional John Barker with Carlotta for the blue ribbon in the Second Round of the USHJA Pre-Green Incentive Championship, August 12-14 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. "This was so exciting. I'd never even gotten a...