The United States Dressage Federation’s (USDF) Youth Executive Board is pleased to announce the winners of the USDF Youth Convention Scholarship Program for the 2008 Adequan/USDF National Convention and Symposium. This year’s winners are Arielle Perry, Jannike Gray, and Jessica Rose Deimler. The Youth Executive Board annually awards scholarships of up to $1,000 each to help defray the expenses associated with attending the annual convention. Applicants are judged on such qualities as...

Lexington, KY - Endurance legend Valerie Kanavy will be honored at the USEF Annual Meeting during the Valerie Kanavy (GenieSS, Inc.) Pegasus Awards Dinner on January 17, 2009, when she will receive the Maggy Price Endurance Excellence Award. Named for international endurance rider Maggy Price, who was a Silver medalist at the 1992 World Championships and a pioneer for the sport, the award honors the athlete who earns the most points in selected Ranking Trials during the ride year. This year,...

Considering the present situation, the Chairman of the FEI Dressage Committee today decided to present her resignation, which has been accepted by the FEI. The FEI Bureau wants to thank the chair for the good work she has been doing during almost eight years of contribution she has made to the development of the dressage sport during this time. Mariette Withages will present the Dressage Committee report to the General Assembly.

John Deere is the “Official Equipment Sponsor” of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, as announced today by the World Games 2010 Foundation. The Games will be held September 25-October 10, 2010, in Lexington, KY. “On behalf of the Federation Equestre Internationale, we are pleased to have John Deere Company partnering with our sport as the official equipment provider of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games,” said FEI President HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein. As part of the...

Chicago 2016 Presents Bid Plan to European Olympic Committees CHICAGO - The delegation from Chicago 2016 traveled to Istanbul, Turkey, this week to present Chicago's vision for the Olympic and Paralympic Games at the European Olympic Committees (EOC) XXXVII General Assembly. The delegation, including Honorary Chairman of Chicago 2016 and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and Chicago 2016 Chairman and CEO Patrick G. Ryan met with sport leaders from across Europe to discuss Chicago's bid for the...

On behalf of all those who contribute to the equestrian family, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), governing body of international equestrian sport, announced on November 20 the creation of a commission on medication and doping chaired by Dr. Arne Ljungqvist, Chairman of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Medical Commission and Vice President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The Commission will offer a robust examination of the way the equine anti-doping policies can...

The 2008 FEI General Assembly week got underway on Monday, November 17, in Buenos Aires, Argentina and is set to run through Saturday, November 22. An impressive number of meetings are scheduled for the week, including the General Assembly on Thursday, November 21, as well as informative sessions and forums with guest speakers on the current issues facing the sport today. A Brief Glance at the Program Monday: Bureau Meeting I Tuesday: Regional Group Meetings Wednesday: Regional Group Meetings...

The audience cheered even more enthusiastically when Will Simpson entered the arena aboard Archie Bunker to contest the $50,000 Los Angeles National Grand Prix. The 2008 Olympic Gold medalist did not disappoint as he piloted Archie Bunker to one of just four clear rounds during the featured class at the LA National, November 12-16. Olaf Petersen, Jr., designed a challenging course for the 34 horse field that served as a West Coast League World Cup Qualifier. "This was a difficult course. This...

The 2008 Trail Blazer Festival took place at the Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara, CA, November 14-16, 2008. The festival had many speakers, exhibits and other events. One of the events participated in by Rocky Mountain, Paso Fino, American Saddlebred, Icelandic, Kiger Mustang, Mangalarga Marchador, Morgan, Arabian, Mustang, Quarter Horse, Peruvian, and Tennessee Walker horses was the “Battle of the Breeds,” which was a unique trail competition held between a select group of horses that...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Executive Committee approved the specifications for the Eventing Watch List on November 17, 2008. Born out of discussions at the USEF/USEA Safety Summit in June, the goal of the Watch List is to notify riders at USEF licensed and USEF endorsed Eventing competitions that their riding is potentially dangerous. The Watch List is a list of horse/rider combinations that could be regarded as displaying a pattern of potentially dangerous...