On Friday, May 20, Texas joined New Mexico and Arizona as states with confirmed cases of vesicular stomatitis (VS) this spring. Two Travis County horses were hauled home on May 10 from a trail ride in Arizona, where they apparently were exposed to the virus that can cause animals to develop blisters and sores in the mouth, on the tongue, muzzle, teats and hooves. The year’s first VS cases were confirmed April 27 in two horses in southwestern New Mexico. Since then, infection has been detected...

The Jersey Fresh Three-Day Event ended as it began for Australian Olympic Gold medalist Phillip Dutton, at the top of the scoreboard. Dutton, who lives in West Grove, PA, but rides for his native Australia, maintained his lead in the show jumping phase of the three-star event, which kept Buck Davidson, of Ringoes, NJ, in second place. Dutton was delighted with the performance of his mount Amazing Odyssey, a horse he described as “one of the best jumping horses I’ve ever ridden.” The panel of...

The family of Carol Plough, who passed away on Monday, May 16th have requested that expressions of sympathy be made in the form of donations to the Alzheimer’s Association in lieu of flowers. There will be a memorial service at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, May 27th at the Shadow Ridge Equestrian Center, 7256 Weaver Street in Highland, California. The family has asked that attendees dress comfortably as Carol would have wanted them to. ~~~For more information, please contact Sarah Lane, Public...

Listed below is the preliminary plan for review of the 2006-2008 license applications. The plan may be modified if necessary to address needs that may develop in connection with the date rotation matter. These applications will be reviewed in a month by month fashion, starting with December 2005 competitions, beginning the week of May 23, 2005. 1. Applications from existing 2005 competitions received by the deadline of May 15, 2005 with no changes. 2. Applications with changes. a. Applications...

The report detailing the work of those who participated in the nation’s first-ever Unwanted Horse Summit is now available from the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP). The Summit was hosted on April 19, 2005, in Washington, D.C., by the AAEP with the purpose of identifying long-term solutions designed to improve the quality of life of unwanted horses. Over 25 equine industry organizations and individuals participated. Attendees worked in small groups during the Summit to examine...

The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) will hold its National Convention & Symposium, November 30-December 4, 2005, in Los Angeles, CA. The convention will be shortened by one day, with governance meetings beginning on Wednesday, November 30. This change in format will reduce participant expense and time requirements without compromising USDF work accomplished. It will also allow more members to participate in business and governance meetings, USDF University educational sessions, awards...

Tom Struzzieri, Owner and President of Horse Shows In The Sun (HITS), and his staff hosted a press conference on May 16 at the HITS-on-the-Hudson show grounds in Saugerties, NY. Members of the press received details of the $150,000 Rolex/USEF National Show Jumping Championship, followed by a tour of the new HITS High-Performance Horse Complex. Struzzieri was joined by Maurice Hinchey, US Congressman for the 22nd District of New York; David Cornstein, Chairman of the New York State Olympic Games...

Jan Gyllensten (Debbie McDonald and Brentina placed third at the FEI World Cup Dressage Final Presented by Offield Farms. ) The FEI World Cup Dressage Final Presented by Offield Farms will be televised on the Outdoor Life Network (OLN) on Monday, June 6 at 3 p.m. EST, an hour earlier than originally scheduled. The one-hour broadcast offers dressage fans and horse lovers across the United States the rare opportunity to view the world’s best riders, including American sweetheart Debbie...

FEI representatives met with leading footing specialists in Windsor, England, on May 16 for a brainstorming session which will likely provide the criteria upon which all future championship arena footing is to be based. The meeting, which drew riding surface experts from around the world, was a proactive response to the report of the FEI Working Group assigned to assess problems associated with footing after the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. The round table discussion covered many areas, including...

Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation has announced the team for the second European show jumping tour—a series of three international competitions, including a stop on the 2005 Samsung Super League circuit. This team will compete in the Super League competition at CSIO Rotterdam, The Netherlands (June 16 – 19); CSIO Lummen, Belgium (June 30 –July 3) and CSIO Falsterbo, Sweden (July 7 – 10). The team members are listed below in alphabetical order....