The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation is pleased to announce that the "Aiken Olympic Gala" held on February 18, 2008, raised $20,000 for the U.S. eventing riders headed to the 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong. Phillip and Evie Dutton hosted 300 guests for the gala at their Red Oak Farm at Bridle Creek Equestrian Community, in Aiken, SC. The evening included cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, presentations, a raffle and a silent auction. Highlighting the evening, Captain Mark Phillips,...

Lexington, KY ­- The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is launching a new International Reining initiative for 2008. The inaugural USEF CRI* National Reining Championship will be held concurrently with the Adequan/USEF National Open Reining Championships presented by Equine Motorcoach during the NRHA Derby in Oklahoma City, OK on June 27, 2008. The USEF CRI* National Reining Championship is open to any rider who is not on the 2008 USEF Reining Long List or is on the restricted portion...

Ocala, FL ­- Sterling Graburn of Bonifay, Florida won the first USEF Selection Trial for the 2008 World Singles Driving Championships held at the Sunshine State CDE (CAI-B Ocala) in Ocala, FL February 28-March 2. The World Championships will be held in Jarantow, Poland August 28-31. Besting a field of 11, Graburn and Dante an 8-year-old Sport Cob owned by Graburn and Wendy Ying, narrowly beat Donna Crookston of Saltsburg, PA. Prior to Sunday's cones competition Graburn's score of 121.28 gave...

The American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA) and Elisabeth Goth Chelberg are pleased to offer the ASHA Junior Exhibitor Driving Challenge program to promote the sport of driving American Saddlebreds for young enthusiasts. The ASHA Junior Exhibitor Driving Challenge will consist of qualifying classes in two divisions—Junior Exhibitor Fine Harness and Junior Exhibitor Show Pleasure Driving—at selected shows throughout the year. Each show must offer both classes. Custom medals and...

Bill Wilson, a 72-year-old from Pekin, IN, was named to the American Endurance Ride Conference’s (AERC) Hall of Fame at the association’s awards ceremony, held March 1 in Reno, NV. Wilson completed 24 of 25 50- to 55-mile competitions for a total of 1,775 miles in 2007, and has a total of 21,645 miles of endurance completions to date. He is also a trails advocate and a willing worker for preservation and building of trails. The horse named to AERC’s Hall of Fame for 2007 was CH Catch Me If You...

The newly-seated 2008 Board of Directors of the American Saddlebred Registry held its organizational meeting on Friday, February 29, to elect its officers. Elected unanimously to one-year terms as its officers were Judith Werner (Illinois) as president; Anne Stafford (Tennessee) as vice-president; Barbara Molland (California) as secretary; and Jimmy Robertson (Kentucky) as treasurer. The registry’s bylaws require that the president, secretary and treasurer also be directors of the American...

The FEI Task Force Chairmen met for four days, February 21-24, to agree on the final recommendations for the new FEI Endurance Rules for 2009 and onwards. Far reaching changes are recommended by the task force that has consulted widely with all those involved in the discipline over the last year following their creation immediately after the FEI World Endurance Forum held in Paris in February 2007. FEI Technical Committee members will now have an opportunity to review the task force proposals...

At the 2008 PhelpsSports.com Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI-W/Y on Saturday, March 1, in Loxahatchee, FL, 16 Olympians representing five countries—the United States of America, Germany, Denmark, Colombia, and Canada—from the sports of dressage and eventing participated in an Olympic Tribute, celebrating this Olympic year and the 25th Anniversary of the prestigious event. Olympians participating in the Olympic Tribute were: —Jessica Ransehousen, USA - 1960 Rome, 1964 Tokyo, and...

A new booklet is now available on carriage classes for competition managers— Carriage Pleasure Driving Competition Guidelines . This informational booklet includes pertinent rules and prize list essentials, as well as obstacle courses, with and without center ring. The booklet is available for $15. The order form can be found on the USEF website under the section titled “Breeds and Disciplines” then go to “Disciplines” and click on “Carriage Pleasure Driving” or visit www.usef....

The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) is pleased to announce that multiple reports have been made available online on the redesigned USDF website at www.usdf.org . There are three categories of reports available. Category One reports require an individual to be logged in through the front page of the website, but are free. Category Two reports have a fee based on member or non-member status with membership being defined as anyone that is a participating, group, or...