Last year the United States Hunter Jumper Association proposed a rule change to the point structure for the professional hunter divisions to effectively go from deciding champions based on points earned to money won. USEF, the governing body of equestrian sports, passed this rule in January of 2009 with a December 1 start date. Bob Bell, President of Classic Company and the show organizer for the Jacksonville Winter Series, has decided to use the new rule to make some giant changes to the...

Some of the world's top grand prix riders and trainers will battle it out in fun and games at the February 26, 2010, Fete Cheval Carnivale sponsored by Spy Coast Farm to benefit The EQUUS Foundation, Inc. "We are so grateful to Spy Coast Farm and the Lourie Family for their generosity and for helping us bring back this very entertaining event to Wellington," said co-chairs Gray Fadden and Visse Wedell. Guests will enjoy cocktails, a carnival-themed dinner, and carnival games in the Marquee Tent...

Today, with the help of First Lady Jane Beshear and executive cabinet members, the Kentucky Horse Park (KHP) announced plans for several new permanent greening initiatives that will be ready by the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, being held at the park September 25-October 10, 2010. The park has been approved for a combination of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) stimulus funds and low-interest loans, totaling nearly $5.7 million that will be repaid by the cost savings in energy...

The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) is pleased to announce that Kariel Swanfeldt of Ayer, MA, has been selected as the recipient of the 2009 USDF Youth Volunteer of the Year Award, presented by The Paddock Saddlery and sponsored by the USDF Youth Executive Board. This prestigious award honors one outstanding youth volunteer who has contributed on a national and local basis to USDF and dressage. As the recipient of this award, Swanfeldt’s name will be engraved on a perpetual trophy,...

Faye Wuesthofen aboard Kiss of the Zodiac (Photo by Howard Schatzberg) In what many are describing as a historic event, the United States Equestrian Federation’s (USEF) Saddle Seat Medal Final came down to a workout of the top two riders—Faye Wuesthofen and Ellen Medley Wright—on exchanged horses. Add to that the fact the top two riders shared the same trainer, DeLovely’s Lillian Shively, and it was one for the record books. The arena erupted with excitement and...

He may have been small, but that didn’t keep an American Shetland Pony named Cornerstone’s Valiant Man from making a big impact when he attended the 82nd National Future Farmers of America (FFA) Convention in Indianapolis. The Shetland Pony, owned by Sherri Jolliff, represented the American Shetland Pony Club (ASPC) and the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and was a big hit with the horse enthusiasts attending the convention. “We were proud to have the opportunity to support the FFA...

During the weekend of November 5-8, 25-year-old Kerry Tracey of Watkinsville, GA, led the victory gallop at the final SmartPak Equine/United States Eventing Association (USEA) Training Three-Day Event aboard her homebred Thoroughbred/Appaloosa gelding Chasing The Music. Although the entries were low for this long-format division, which was held in conjunction with the Rocking Horse Fall Horse Trials (Altoona, FL), the competition was fierce, and Tracey moved up from fourth after dressage to...

Dana Fiore and her eight-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Redford, rode away with the victory in the Prix St. Georges class at the Gold Coast Fall Fling show, the kick-off show for the Gold Coast Dressage Association’s winter dressage series. Equilite, the makers of the award-winning Sore No More products and Botanical Animal Flower Essences, sponsored the Prix St. Georges, and Fiore took home a giant tote bag filled with Equilite products. “Redford was very supple, and he was forward. He did the...

Dressage rider and trainer Tracey Winter takes great pride in her horses, and thanks to her recent win at the United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Region 3 Championships she has even more to be proud of. Winter and Windsor, her six-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Routinier, out of Oceana, by Charmeur, won the Region 3 First Level Open Championship. “It was a surreal feeling to win, as I was just hoping to be in the thick of things,” Winter said. “It was a good-size class with very nice...

The Pennsylvania National Horse Show (PNHS) Foundation recently announced that it has given grants to 17 organizations, including two local therapeutic riding centers—Quest Therapeutic Services in West Chester, PA, and the Sebastian Riding Association in Collegeville, PA. The grants serve as a way for the Pennsylvania National Horse Show to support organizations that utilize equine activities to help adults and children with disabilities. The Pennsylvania National Horse Show attracts the...