Teamwork proved key to the successful running of the 35th Old Dominion Endurance Rides, held this June in the Appalachian Mountains along the Virginia/West Virginia state line. Throughout the ride, teamwork made the difference: between horses, riders and crew, between ride management, veterinarians and farriers, and between radio operators, drag riders and emergency rescue personnel. By June 12, 158 horse-and-rider teams had arrived at base camp outside Orkney Springs, a quaint little town...

Oklahoma City, OK—Record setting triple-digit temperatures and blazing hot scores were the buzz at the 2009 AdequanÒ/USEF National Reining Championships presented by Equine Motorcoach in Oklahoma City, OK. Held during the annual NRHA Derby, the championships determined the nation’s top reining horses and riders after a year of qualification. Using portable fans and high-powered misters to cut the heat for competing horses, the event was able to care for the horses and athletes alike in the...

Oklahoma City, OK—A very strong turnout for the 2009 AdequanÒ/USEF National Youth Reining Championships presented by Equine Motorcoach made for a competitive field in all three age divisions and an excellent display of reining among the nation’s best young riders. Earlier in the day, Lyndsay Jordan of Georgetown, KY, slid and spun her way to the 2009 NCAA Collegiate Reining Championship, and her strong effort at the AdequanÒ/USEF National Youth Reining Championship was equally impressive,...

Lexington, KY - The jump-off of the 285,000 Euro Grand Prix Global Champions Tour in Monaco was nothing short of spectacular. Four of the world’s finest riders made it through after two exciting rounds of competition. Richard Spooner represented the US, John Whitaker for Great Britain, and Rodrigo Pessoa and Alvaro de Miranda for Brazil. Spooner and his 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding Cristallo went into the ring first and flew around the course clear in 35.46 seconds. Pessoa and Let’s Fly, who...

Lexington, KY – The US success at the World Equestrian Festival – CHIO Aachen continued on Thursday July 2. Steffen Peters and Ravel - the 2009 Rolex FEI World Cup TM Champions - served notice that they will continue to dominate the dressage world. Steffen Peters and Ravel after an Emotional Victory in Aachen (Ken Braddick/www.dressage-news.com) At one of the most prestigious venues on the globe, the San Diego, CA rider and Akiko Yamazaki’s 11-year-old Dutch gelding put in an...

Lexington, KY – Ashlee Bond continued her winning European ways with a fantastic victory in the Warsteiner Prize, one of the featured events at the World Equestrian Festival - CHIO Aachen. The Hidden Hills, CA rider flew to the win on Little Valley Farm’s fleet-footed Cadett 7 Ashlee Bond and Cadett 7 (Ken Braddick) . The talented duo bested 50 of Europe’s best horses and riders in an impressive effort, which involved the fastest round of 14 in the jump-off. “I’m...

Lexington, KY— The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) announces a new contest for 2009 designed to let USEF members vote for their “Favorite USEF Breed Competition.” The idea behind this contest is to award and promote the USEF licensed breed competitions for their efforts in running a show so well that exhibitors want to call it their favorite. Also, this contest gives exhibitors the opportunity to provide positive feedback about the competitions to the USEF. “When we created this...

The 2010 Calendar listing USEF seminars and licensed officials’ clinics is now available online at www.usef.org under Licensed Officials/Continuing Education/2010 Calendar or at www.usef.org/newsletterLicensedOfficials/2010schedule.html . Additional FEI courses will also be posted on the website as they are approved. All seminar and clinic applications will be available online as soon as possible or approximately four months prior to the date of the event.

Horse Sports by the Bay, Inc., is pleased to announce that several classes have been added to the weekly schedule of events for the 2009 Horse Shows by the Bay Equestrian Festival. Held at the Flintfields Horse Park in beautiful Traverse City, MI, the Horse Shows by the Bay Equestrian Festival runs July 8-August 2, 2009, and features some of the top horses and riders in the country. Due to the popular response of the newly created USEF-recognized amateur/owner 3'3" division, Horse Shows by the...

Abby O’Mara, a 16-year-old junior from Rumson, NJ, earned more than $6,000 in prize money after riding to a first- and third-place finish in the $15,000 The Chronicle of the Horse /USHJA International Hunter Derby at the State College Classic on June 26. The talented junior rode Don Stewart’s Walk Away to victory and finished third with her seven-year-old Irish Sport Horse, Terrapin Station. The State College Classic Derby held at Kocher Farm in Pennsylvania Furnace, PA, was O’Mara’s second...