Greenwich, UK - The United States sent three riders into the Main Arena Saturday with scores proving doubly important as they would help determine Team standings and crown the first Individual medalists of the 2012 Paralympic Games. Rebecca Hart and Dale Dedrick competed in Grade II competition producing valiant efforts on a morning that saw two horses dismissed from competition for more than 20 seconds of resistance. Jonathan Wentz was the lone U.S. representative in the afternoon Grade 1b...

Sinead Halpin and Manoir De Carneville (Shannon Brinkman) Stamford, England - On a day when quick clear rounds were at a premium, Sinead Halpin (Oldwick, NJ) proved that she is amongst the best in the sport as she maintained her dressage lead at The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials. Halpin is competing at the historic event on a Land Rover Training and Competition Grant and has spent the summer honing her skills in England as part of the program. Captain Mark Phillip’s demanding cross...

After a clear cross country round at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials Sinead Halpin maintains her lead and will enter Sunday's Jumping phase with the overall lead. Riding Carraig, LLC's Manoir De Carneville, Halpin has a chance to be the first American to win at Burghley since 1993. Interview by Kate Justice

Jonathan Wentz (Richardson, TX) and Kai Handt's NTEC Richter scale scored 70.348% in the Grade 1b Individual Test. See his comments here; On his test today Yesterday we got hit for being too conservative but today we went too much the other way and hit too hard on the accelerator and got way too wobbly in the trot-work the walk work finally scored the way we were hoping but the trot work hurt us. There’s way more to come. On Richter’s attitude You can take him to any venue in...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation Board of Directors assembled in Lexington, Kentucky on August 27th for the 2012 USEF Mid -Year Meeting. The election of a new President, to take office in January 2013, topped the agenda. Olympic Gold Medalist David O'Connor has served as the USEF President since 2004. The President ultimately presides over the volunteer leadership structure of the Federation. Only 12 individuals have served in the presidential role and the process for...

Rebecca Hart (Unioville, PA) and Jessica Ransehousen's Lord Ludger scored 68.286% in the Grade II Individual Test. See her thoughts here; Comparing the 2012 London Paralympic Games to the 2008 Paralympic Games in Hong Kong: “There was definitely more atmosphere here. It’s nice to have the stands filled. It’s nice to have that support for Para-Equestrian which is always fabulous. It was slightly more intense in there for the horses but it was still good.” On Lord...

Dale Dedrick (Ann Arbor, MI) rode her Bonifatious to a score of 64.619% in the Grade II Individual Test. Here are her thoughts; On her improvement over the Team Test: “It was a much more forward and obedient test; we still had a lot of Erik’s, ‘Oh, no what’s happening now?’. But I was much more prepared for it today, I knew he was going to pull and I was much more ready to attack the minute he tried that and I said, ‘no, no get in there, get in there, get...

Bridgehampton, NY - McLain Ward is hard to beat at the Hampton Classic Horse Show. On Friday afternoon Ward rode Pjotter Van De Zonnehoeve to victory in the $50,000 Spy Coast Farm/Young Horse Show Series Grand Prix Qualifier, and he grabbed third place on Antares F. As the third rider to start in the 13-horse jump-off, Ward, on Antares F, stopped the timers just 0.02 seconds short of the mark Kent Farrington had set right before him on Venus (42.26 seconds). Four more riders tried and failed to...

Donna Ponessa (West Windsor, NY) had a long time to wait before she was able to make her debut at the 2012 Paralympic Games. But she made it worth the wait as she piloted Wes Dunham’s Western Rose to a score of 70.235% in front of the Ground Jury of Kjell Myhre, Sarah Rodger, Gudrun Hofinga, Freddy Leyman and Anne Prain. Riding in Grade 1a competition, Ponessa produced a steady, rhythmic test with the 9-year-old Oldenburg mare to earn fifth place. Western Rose is well Donna Ponessa and...

Sinead Halpin and Manoir de Carneville sit in first place with a score of 36.3. (StockImageServices.com) Stamford, England - The U.S. riders made a bold statement after the first two days of dressage at The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials slotting three riders into the top 15. The three Land Rover Competition and Training Grant recipients who have spent the summer training and competing in England produced top tier results in the first phase. Sinead Halpin (Oldwick, NJ) and Allison Springer...