Lexington, KY – In preparation for the 2006 World Equestrian Games, 14 of the United States’ best vaulters have been invited to take part in a USEF training session at the Riekes Center for Human Enhancement in Menlo Park, CA, and at Sydney Frankel’s farm in Woodside, CA, in October. The 14 athletes who have been invited are: Megan Benjamin, Blake Dahlgren, Ali Divita, Kenny Geisler, Todd Griffiths, Mari Inouye, Julie Keville, Chris Littmann, Devon Maitozo, Mary McCormick,...

In a brilliant display of skill and finesse, Sara Schmitt, of Glen Gardner, NJ, drove her Morgan stallion, High Country Doc, to one of only a few clean and clear rounds in the cones phase at The Laurels at Landhope and her first national championship. The last in the order of go on Sunday, September 11, Schmitt had some wiggle room. Ahead by only four points under the new rules where a ball down is now a three-point penalty instead of five. This gave her a small margin of error, one that could...

The first two regional qualifying competitions for the ASPCA Maclay National Championship were held this past weekend. Region 2 (East), which includes New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, held their qualifying show at the Long Island Classic Horse Show in Old Westbury, NY. The Region 7 (Northwest) qualifier was held at the NorthWest Autumn Finals in Monroe, WA, and was held for riders from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. The ASPCA Maclay class has been held since 1933,...

The Washington International Horse Show will begin a new tradition at the MCI Center during the week of October 25-30, 2005. This year, the illustrious show introduces the $10,000 Washington International Invitational Dressage Championship. The participants in this championship will include two riders chosen from the United States Equestrian Federation High Performance Dressage Grand Prix Ranking List and two riders invited through “Wild Card” invitations. The USEF High Performance Dressage...

The weekend of October 21-23, 2005, a week before the Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) festivities take place in downtown Washington, D.C., local riders will compete at Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD. This horse show allows riders to qualify for the Local Finals at the MCI Center that will take place on Sunday, October 30. Along with the qualifying classes, this competition features the USEF Zone 3 Finals and offers Regular “C” rated points for the Maryland...

Lexington, KY – The word “anticipation” doesn’t quite cover it, as the United States Show Jumping Team and its fans expectantly await the eighth and final leg of the 2005 Samsung Super League—the Nations Cup competition at CSIO Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, September 18. “We’ve got a great team and lovely horses,” emphasized USEF Chef d’Equipe George Morris, speaking from Barcelona. As for the riders designated to represent the United States for...

Courtesy Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine (Dr. Shannon Gonsoulin (LSU Grad) and a helper rescuing a Miniature Horse and loading it into a trailer.) Word from the Louisiana State University Veterinary School about the overall situation at the LaMar Dixon Expo Center which has been the large animal evacuation center, is positive. Dr. Rustin Moore, Director of Equine Health Studies at LSU, reports that they now have approximately 275 horses at the center and because...

The HorseTV Channel announced its October 27, 2005, debut date for full-time availability to multi-channel cable and satellite providers. The HorseTV Channel, announced and funded earlier this year, presents a full lineup of horse-related events and programming to an enthusiastic and rapidly growing, grassroots following across the country. “This is a very significant and exciting time for us,” said George Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of The HorseTV Channel. “We’ve been building our core...

The sun shone down on the International Ring for the $1,000,000 CN International Grand Prix on Sunday, September 11, however, the brightest star of the day was Beezie Madden of Cazenovia, NY. She and the 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion Judgement went clear through three rounds of competition to capture a prize of $325,000. It was a class that hosted 49 horse and rider combinations over three very challenging courses set by Leopoldo Palacios. The first round included a very difficult triple...

Lexington, KY – After the excitement of being in the Bronze Medal position after the dressage phase in the three-phased 2005 FEI World Driving Championship Pairs in Wals-Siezenheim, Austria, fate turned the other way for a moment, leaving the U.S. Driving Team to finish seventh out of 18 teams competing. Combining penalty scores from the dressage, cones and marathon phases, Austria’s home team was destined to win, with a final score of 248.58. “We put on a really good...