Royal Kaliber, the stallion that took Chris Kappler to the Olympic team silver and individual bronze medals at the 2004 Olympic Games, is stable as he continues to recover from colic surgery performed in the Netherlands on Monday, September 27th. Dr. Jack Snyder, the veterinarian who performed the surgery, reports that Royal Kaliber is eating, sleeping and drinking normally for this stage of recovery. “Although there is still much concern and he is not out of the woods yet, all of Roy’s...

Lexington, KY — After jumping a clear round followed by a clear jump-off Friday, Olympian McLain Ward (Silver Team medal, Athens 2004) and Goldika 559 (Holstein, Cor de la Bryere – Zelena II) claimed a first place victory during the World Cup Show Jumping Qualifier at the CSI-W Lexington Grand Prix. Closely following in second place was Lauren Hough (Alternate, Athens 2004) on Casadora (Dutch Warmblood, Indoctro – Kadora) with four faults on the final jump off. In a three-way...

Lexington, KY – Royal Kaliber, the stallion that took Chris Kappler to a silver Olympic team medal and an individual bronze medal in Athens last month, underwent colic surgery in Someren, the Netherlands late yesterday. He suffered a leg injury in the final round of the individual show jumping competition and he was being monitored in Europe before a decision was made to ship him back to the United States. Dr. Jack Snyder and Dr. Barry David, who flew to the Netherlands from the United States,...

Burbank, CA – With a weekend of competition to prove themselves, a ring full of young riders set out to convince judges they have what it takes to become tomorrow’s equestrian stars. Emerging at the top of the list from the BET/USEF West Coast Show Jumping Talent Search Finals is 17-year-old Kasey Ament (Reche Canyon, CA), who took home the Denali Trophy atop San Francisco. Riding her own horse first and then starting the rotations that are characteristic of these tests, Ament...

ATHENS, Greece – As a whirlwind of competition and ancient Olympic culture wraps up in Athens, the U.S. Paralympic Equestrian Team prepares to make the return journey after a seventh place finish in Sunday’s Team competition. Representing a compilation of Individual and Team scores, the group posted 399.876 points in the last equestrian event of these Paralympic 2004 Games. “We feel happy with our accomplishments,” says Chef d’Equipe Denise Avolio....

The United States Equestrian Federation is seeking an individual to fill the position of Show Jumping Chef d’Equipe. The successful candidate will be provided with a contract for the 2005-2008 quadrenium and possibly longer. A Search Committee has been appointed (Eric Straus, Chairman, Norman Dello Joio, Anne Kursinski, George Morris, Karen O’Connor, Jessica Ransehousen, and Robert Ridland). The Committee is charged with developing a job description for the Chef d’Equipe, conducting a search...

Show jumping action got underway on September 22 at the five-day "A"-rated Los Angeles International Jumping Festival (September 22-26, 2004) at the world class Los Angeles Equestrian Center. The $40,000 Grand Prix of Los Angeles, set for 7 p.m. Saturday night, looks to be an exciting class. Last night, 21 horses and riders competed in the $5,000 Welcome Stake. Typically, the grand prix riders use this class as preparation for the grand prix. Olympian Mark Watring piloted his Olympic mount,...

One step out of the ring, internationally renowned equestrian Lynn Seidemann and Phoenix B knew they had put on a good show. Slated to ride second to last in the line-up, the pair pulled out all the stops to wow the judges with a spectacular performance Thursday. Make that a Silver medal-winning performance that surprised even Lynn. “It was a good day,” Lynn said modestly after the news started to filter back through the time zones into the States. With a Silver medal in tow and a...

Lexington, KY – Frank Chapot, the six-time Olympic show jumping rider who has been chef d’equipe of the Unites States Show Jumping Team since 1980, has decided to retire. Under his leadership, the team has won nine Olympic medals and nine Pan American Games medals, which includes the first-ever team gold medals at the 1984 Olympics and at the World Championships in 1986, as well as the Silver Team medal at both the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea, and the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta,...

ATHENS, September 20 - The riders taking part in the Paralympic Games had the opportunity to test the Dressage arena today, under real competition conditions. The warm-up session took place at the Markopoulo Olympic Equestrian Centre and was a successful dress rehearsal for all parties involved. However, not all riders went out to the arena today: a lot of them chose to remain out of the warm-up phase in order to allow themselves and their horses to rest until the real competition begins...