Andrew Ramsay and Adamo van't Steenputje (McCool Photography) Las Vegas, N.V. - Saturday at the Las Vegas National was a spectacular display of show jumping at its finest, plus some sky-high entertainment. The first of two highlight events was the $10,000 SmartPak Winning Round Classic, with forty-seven entries and the top ten returning for a lightning fast second round. Later in the evening, the $50,000 Markel Insurance Grand Prix CSI-W had forty-two entries with eight pairs going clean,...

Auburn, Ala. - It was a match that lived up to its billing. Perennial NCEA and SEC forces Georgia and Auburn met as the No.1 and No.2 ranked teams in the country respectively. Georgia brought a 3-0 record into the Auburn Horse Center to face an Auburn team that looked a little shaky in an earlier loss to South Carolina. Though Georgia riders were awarded the Most Outstanding Player Award (MOP) in all four disciplines, the scrappy and talented Tigers jumped to an early lead, let it slip, then...

Karl Cook and Banba (McCool Photography) Las Vegas, Nev. - Brazilian course designer Guilherme Jorge is brilliant at asking just the right questions for the field. With sixty-six entries, Jorge created a course that tested the technique necessary to tackle tight turns and tidy tracks. It included an interesting option fence - a skinny 1.40m gate 'winged' by a simpler vertical on each side. Heading home as fence 4, the skinny was the quicker choice to rollback to 5a-b; and later going...

Andres Rodriguez and Caballito (McCool) Las Vegas, Nev. - Wrapping up the indoor season, the Las Vegas National offers the final FEI classes on the West Coast until February 2014. Fifty-six horse and rider pairs representing eleven different countries gave it a go in tonight's $33,000 EquiFit, inc. Jumper Classic. The course was technical and the competition fierce. Brazilian Guilherme Jorge set the track. Knowing he had a large field, he intentionally built a course with technical...

Lexington, KY - The United States Federation's High Performance Working Group has approved the recommendation of DiAnn Langer as the U.S. Show Jumping Young Rider Chef d’Equipe/Technical Advisor. Both the Search Committee, chaired by Eric Straus, and the USEF Show Jumping High DiAnn Langer (USEF Archive) Performance Committee recommended Langer for this new position. Langer is tasked with developing and implementing a pipeline for the USEF Show Jumping discipline and will begin her...

Hunter Chancellor, winner of the 2012 USEF Saddle Seat Medal Final, riding Imagine My Surprise (Howard Schatzberg) Kansas City, Mo. - The United States Equestrian Federation’s Saddle Seat Medal Final presented by Elisabeth M. Goth will be held Saturday, November 16, 2013, at the United Professional Horsemen’s Association’s American Royal National Championship in Kansas City, Mo. This medal final brings together the premier saddle seat equitation riders from across the country...

The coveted championship trophy in Doha Doha, Qatar - Nine out of the top 11 ranked riders on the Longines Global Champions Tour are in with a chance to be crowned 2013 Champion in what promises to be an end of season cliffhanger in Qatar. The scramble for maximum points at the 12th and final leg of this year’s series will be intense. Expect ruthless determination from riders at the top of the ranking who are still eligible for the most prestigious prize in show jumping. After 11 events...

Katy Groesbeck and Oz the Tin Man at the winter training session (USEF Archives) Lexington, Ky. - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and its Eventing High Performance Department introduced a redesigned Developing Riders/Eventing 25 Program for 2013, and the participants had impressive performances throughout the season. Selected by application, 17 riders from across the country benefitted from regular access, coaching, and guidance from U.S. Team Coach, David O’Connor. The...

Katie Aoki comes from behind to win the Onondarka Medal Final (Flying Horse Photography) Los Angeles, Calif. - After three challenging rounds and a work off, Katie Aoki (Jan Hainze, trainer) led the victory gallop aboard her Truman in the prestigious Onondarka Medal Final at the LA National (Nov 6-10). “It was super exciting to win,” Katie shared. “I competed in the final last year and had kind of a tough time, so it was definitely something I have been working towards and...

California's Akiko Yamazaki celebrated her success aboard "Matrix" in the Prix St. Georges Adult Amateur Championship on the final day of the US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®. (SusanJStickle.com) Lexington, Ky. - Emotions ran high as the final six champions were crowned Sunday at the inaugural US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan® in Lexington, KY. Riders who traveled to the Kentucky Horse Park from coast to coast celebrated their championship experience with memorable rides and...