The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation is pleased to announce that their 2006 Limited Edition Breyer Model horse will be based on show jumper and Olympic Team Gold Medalist Authentic. Authentic, an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, is ridden by Beezie Madden, and together they have accumulated huge victories in the past two years. Authentic was a member of the 2004 Athens Olympic Gold Medal Team. In 2005, his clutch performance in Aachen, Germany, secured the victory for the...

Glenn Moody, a highly respected hunter course designer and riding instructor, will join the riding program teaching staff at Sweet Briar College for the 2006/2007 academic year. Last August, Moody retired from teaching and coaching at The Barracks, home of the University of Virginia riding team, to focus on course designing and judging. “We were fortunate to have him teach a hugely successful clinic at Sweet Briar last December,” said riding director Shelby French. “We told him then that if he...

The Swiss team will be first into the ring when the second leg of the 2006 Samsung Super League with FEI series gets underway tomorrow at 1:15 p.m. local time in Aachen, Germany. The ORDER OF GO tomorrow is as follows: 1. Switzerland; 2, The Netherlands; 3, Great Britain; 4, USA, 5, Germany; 6, France; 7, Ireland; 8, Sweden. The U.S got off to a good start today as Margie Engle on Hidden Creek's Perin won the Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia with no faults in a time of 75.26. Jeffrey Welles of...

The Mission Pacific Vaulting Selection Trials were held May 13-14 in Somis, CA, and with only two more selection trials before the short list is named, the competition is tight, especially among the women. A seasoned athlete at age 18, Megan Benjamin of Saratoga, CA, led the women with a strong score of 8.608 on her horse, Faronia, a 17-hand Dutch Warmblood. Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Osborn of Menlo Park, CA; 22-year-old Mary McCormick of Woodside, CA; and 16-year-old Ali Divita of Redwood...

Matthew Williams of Lexington, KY, development manager of the American Saddlebred Horse Association, has been promoted to the new position of director of development and communications, effective immediately, according to Alan F. Balch, ASHA Executive Secretary. “Since Matthew joined us not quite a year ago now, his performance has been exceptional,” Balch said. “He was a champion in the Saddlebred show ring, and he’s been a champion in his professional life with us as well. Although we’re...

USEF would like all licensed competitions and officials to be aware of a rule change that became effective on April 1, 2006, requiring ALL competitions to have an accident preparedness plan in place whether the ambulance is on call or on competition grounds. (See GR1212.6. below) The Safety Page on the USEF web site (www.usef.org/content/safety) contains a copy of the rule as well as sample plans that are offered as guides to help competitions prepare their own emergency plan in accordance with...

The HorseTV Channel recently announced its June premiere lineup featuring world-class competitions, breed documentaries and training and magazine series from the Western and English worlds. “We focus on presenting family-friendly programming that is as diverse as our audience,” said Rachel Falleroni, Head of Programming for The HorseTV Channel. “Our viewers enjoy their favorite programs while also discovering new and intriguing elements of the horse world.” The American Quarter Horse...

Courtney King of Bedford, NY, riding the Dutch stallion Idocus owned by Christine McCarthy, won the Open Grand Prix at the Windy Hollow Hunt Spring Dressage show on Sunday, May 14, at the Sussex Fairgrounds in Augusta, NJ. King and the 16-year-old bay stallion by Equafor scored 62.708% from Judge Anne Rawle of Pennsylvania. "Idocus and I had our best grand prix by far since he has come back to me," enthused King, who had ridden the stallion to international success four years ago and was...

With the 2006 World Equestrian Games just three months away, the top endurance riders in the U.S. are preparing to demonstrate their abilities in the hopes of earning a place on the U.S. Endurance Team. In order to be considered, each rider must compete at one of three FEI***/AERC dual-sanctioned 100-mile rides scheduled for May 20 in Oreana, ID; May 27 in Grand Island, MI; and June 11 in Ashland, MT. Members of the National Selection Committee will be present at each event to evaluate the...

The World Equestrian Festival, perhaps the largest single week's horse show in the world, began Wednesday in Aachen, Germany, with the United States announcing a top team for the Samsung Super League. Aachen CHIO has added championship vaulting to the lineup of show jumping, dressage and four-in-hand driving that will be contested by 145 athletes from 23 nations on more than 400 horses, in front of what is expected to be well above 300,000 spectators during the five days of competition. For...