Photo Courtesy FEI (Mara Dean and Nicki Henley) Mara Dean has become the first rider to post a winning score on the HSBC FEI World Cup™ Eventing leaderboard, following an emotional pillar-to-post victory in the Florida sunshine at the Red Hills International CIC***-W in Tallahassee, FL. Riding her veteran 15-year-old Irish-bred Nicky Henley, who was coming back into competition after sustaining a tendon injury at the 2007 Pan American Games, Virginia-based Dean held off the always serious...

Photo by Robbi Meisel (Wilhelm Genn and Chantal) Lebanon, OH-based Wilhelm Genn had a stellar second week at the 2010 Gulf Coast Winter Classics with victories in both Thursday’s $5,000 Welcome Open Jumper Stake aboard Happy Z and Sunday’s $25,000 Gulf Coast Grand Prix with Laura Ryan-Barnaclo’s Chantal. Deciding the path this week’s jumpers would take was one of the sport’s most revered course designers, Michel Vaillancourt, who began testing their limits on Thursday with a curvy 15-effort...

The Los Angeles National Preview, November 4-8, hosted the Los Angeles Hunter Jumper Association’s (LAHJA) Medal Finals for junior, senior, and pony riders. In addition, the West Coast Pony Finals, one of the largest gatherings of ponies outside of the USEF Pony Finals, is in its ninth year of championships for both hunter and jumper ponies. "Many West Coast riders can't make the trek to Kentucky for the National Championship, so we started this event in 2000. It has grown into one of...

Sunday marked the conclusion of the Washington International Horse Show at rhe Verizon Center as the Pony Hunter divisions wrapped up their second day of competition. Meredith Darst had a banner day, claiming two of the championship tricolors, and going on to win the Grand Champion Pony Hunter trophy with Elation. She was also presented with the award for Best Child Rider on a Pony, sponsored by the Arute Family, for her excellent performance. Darst and Elation, owned by Dr. Betsee Parker of...

Anna Collier and Julie Ann Boyer have each won international divisions at Galway Downs events in the last year, and on October 30-November 1, they’ll be facing off in the CCI** at the Galway Downs International Three-Day Event. Boyer, 50, will be riding her Thoroughbred mare Rumor Hazit, with whom she was victorious in the CIC** at the Galway Downs International Horse Trials last March. Collier, 33, won the CCI** last October at the Galway Downs International Three-Day Event on Uppercrust D....

The 2009 Capital Challenge Horse Show was a great success this year with fantastic competition in hunters, jumpers, and equitation. The show was held at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, MD. Equitation Weekend Highlights, presented by BigEq.com Cayla Richards of Calabasas, CA, was a big winner on the first day of Equitation Weekend after she took the 15-Year-Old Equitation Championship and outlasted top riders to win the Flat Championships. Richards won the North American Junior Flat...

The Showplace Fall Classic Championship Horse Show came to a close on Sunday at the Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, IL. Saturday morning began with an exciting victory going to Maggie Jayne and Thomas Edison in the $25,000 Tapestry Farm Leading Rider Series Final Grand Prix. The top three open jumper riders in the 2009 Showplace Leading Rider Series battled against the clock as the only entries to qualify for the jump-off, and Jayne was the fastest by almost four seconds to take the top...

Three regional qualifying competitions were recently held for the 2009 ASPCA Maclay National Championships. They were the last Regionals held, and the final list of qualifiers is now available (please see below). The 2009 ASPCA Maclay National Championship will be held at the Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament on October 28-November 1, 2009. Zazou Hoffman was the winner of the Region 1 qualifier at the Grand Fall Classic in Westbrook, CT. Hoffman finished second at Regionals last year...

The Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA) has a TEAM CHA youth Horse Connection Reward Program for kids 15 years and younger. The participants keep track of their hours working with horses, whether they have them or not. They can count activities, such as taking riding lessons, watching non-fiction videos and reading non-fiction books about horses, grooming, cleaning stalls, cleaning tack, feeding and so on. As part of this membership, the youth also receive a quarterly newsletter full of...

The North American Anglo-Arabian Horse Association ( www.NAAAHA.com ) sponsored their third High Point Championship Awards at the Youth National Championship Show. FF Irish Vodka+++// (Pri Ibn Masriyyah x Jennifers Winner) was Supreme Champion Anglo-Arabian. This Anglo gelding won a reserve championship in Training Level Dressage 14-17 and Hunter Hack. In addition, he won a Top Ten in First Level Dressage, Hunt Seat Equitation Under Saddle 14-17 and Hunt Seat Equitation Over Fences with...