Jumping

The Spruce Meadows Masters attracted some of the sport's top horses and riders to compete for $2 million in total prize money over five days. Ashlee Bond and Cadett 7 got the week started taking second in the $31,000 AKITA Drilling Cup. Thursday saw multiple wins for U.S. riders: Beezie Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo won the $50,000 CANA cup, Shelly Fellers and Cascade won the $10,000 Friends of the Meadows Cup, and Jill Blunt and Shannondale won the $15,000 Oxford Properties Group Jumper class. On Friday, Madden and Mademoiselle placed second in the $100,000 Encana Cup.

Saturday proved to be a spectacular day for the U.S. Competition got off to a flying start with the U.S. sweeping the top three places in the $75,000 BP Cup, Rich Fellers stormed to the win on McGuinness, followed by Madden on Prima and Young Rider Karl Cook and Notories Utopia. Later in the afternoon, four of the nation's best riders delivered on a huge stage when the U.S. squad romped to victory in the BMO Nations Cup. Leopoldo Palacios, the Venezuelan course designer, created a challenging track that produced just 10 clear rounds from eight teams over two rounds of jumping. The team of Rich Fellers and Flexible, Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo, Bond and Cadett 7, and Richard Spooner and Cristallo took a four point win on 17 faults over the Irish, who ended on 21.

In Sunday's $1 million CN International Grand Prix, Spooner and Cristallo were one of only 12 to make it to the second round. With an unlucky rail at the last fence they held on for a second place finish behind Jeroen Dubbeldam (NED). Fellers and Flexible finished seventh and Cook and Uno de Laubry were eighth. Fellers also rode Colgan Cruise to a second place finish in the $50,000 Suncor Energy Cup.

For complete results please click here.

The inaugural Pfizer Million Grand Prix took place on Sunday at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, NY. McLain Ward continued his winning streak, taking top prize with his famed partner Sapphire. Ward started off the week with a win in the $30,000 FEI HITS Welcome Classic and took top honors again in Saturday's $50,000 FEI World Cup Qualifier/Pfizer Million Wild Card Grand Prix, both aboard Rothchild. The Pfizer Million saw 43 of the sport's most elite athletes contest the Steve Stephens designed course. After the first round, only Ward and Charlie Jayne aboard Athena qualified for the jump-off. Jayne and Athena put in a blazing second round, but had a rail down leaving the door open for Ward and Sapphire who put in a clear fast round for the win.

For complete results please click here.

In Spain at the CSI5* Madrid, Lauren Hough and Laura Kraut represented the U.S. in the company of some of the world's finest horses and riders. Starting off the week Hough rode Available Versace to a third place finish in the Randstad Trophy and took another third with Quick Study in the Altae Banco Privado Trophy. Kraut was sixth with Alberto II in the Cervezas Mahou Trophy. On Friday, Hough and Available Versace won the Coca Cola Trophy. Over the weekend Kraut put in solid performances including a seventh place finish with Vandavid in the National Atesa Throphy, and with Cedric, a convincing sixth in the Madrid Grand Prix and third in the King's Cup.

For complete results please click here.

At the CSI2* Hulstero in Belgium, Peter Wylde rode Lipton de L'Othain to a third place finish in the Grand Prix Stal Hulsterlo, won the six-year-old class on Thursday and on Saturday with Zidane 26.

For complete results please click here.

Driving

In Kennett Square, PA, National Championships in combined driving were awarded in the Advanced Pony Single, Pairs and Teams as well as Horse Pairs at the Laurels at Landhope CDE.

In the Single Pony division, Shelly Temple and Cooper led from day one, scoring a 43.73 in dressage. Jada Neubauer won the marathon phase to secure Reserve Championship honors, but after Temple turned in a rare clear round on the cones course, adding only time penalties, there was no catching her.

The Pair Pony Championship was hotly contested by Jennifer Matheson and Wendy O'Brien. After dressage they were less than a point apart, with scores of 54.83 and 55.04 respectively. After a tough go in the marathon, O'Brien trailed Matheson by 32 points going into the cones. Matheson finished on a score of 165.51 for the win over O'Brien who finished on 194.88.

In the Pony Teams division, Alison Stroud was the lone entrant and finished on a total of 151.70, to defend her USEF National Championship title.

Lisa Singer had a comfortable lead after dressage in the Pair Horse competition, driving her Morgan duo to a score of 39.89. Singer's marathon score of 91.26 kept her in the top spot, but Kathrin Dancer who took the top spot in the marathon phase wasn't far behind with a score of 87.87. Singer went on to win the cones and picked up the National Championship title for the ninth time.

Donna Crookston won the Single Horse, non-championship division on a score of 144.98 followed by Robin Groves in second and Jacob Arnold in third.

For complete results please click here.

Eventing

At the Chattahoochee Hills Horse Trials at Bouckaert Farm in Georgia the

Land Rover/USEA American Eventing Championships saw nearly 700 horses contesting the competition from Beginner Novice to Advanced. There were 38 American horses vying for the Jack LeGoff trophy in the USEF National Advanced Horse Trial Championship, and of those 17 were in the running for a spot on the Land Rover/U.S. Eventing Team for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

At the end of the dressage, Allison Springer and Arthur ruled the Advanced division with a score of 35.7. Phillip Dutton and Becky Holder got the closest, tied on a score of 41.5 with The Foreman and Courageous Comet respectively. On Saturday, American riders on the USEF Short List for the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team were told to ride their horses according to what would prepare them the best for the World Games, and for several riders this meant only participating in an early morning fitness gallop.

Holder ran cross country and flew into the lead with Courageous Comet, adding nothing to her dressage score of 41.5. In the show jumping phase, Holder handled the pressure and despite having one rail down, her score of 45.5 gave her the victory over Will Faudree, who put in a convincing performance on Pawlow. Nate Chambers and Rolling Stone II finished third.

For complete results please click here.

ENDS

For more information about the U.S. High Performance programs click here.

The U.S. will send teams in eight different disciplines to the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, KY, in September of 2010. Watch this space for information about the best in the U.S. on the road to Kentucky. For more information or to submit High Performance news, please e-mail Joanie Morris at [email protected].