Toronto, ON – It was a class, and a course, befitting a champion. Befitting the legacy of Hickstead. The inaugural $100,000 Hickstead FEI World CupTM Grand Prix tested each horse and rider every step of the way, and in the end, it was veteran Canadian Olympian Jill Henselwood (Oxford Mills, ON) with her young horse George, who rode away victorious. The biggest Grand Prix class of the Royal Horse Show was renamed during last year’s event, in honour of Hickstead, Eric Lamaze’s...

Lexington, KY - “Brio in the Bluegrass,” the Paso Fino Horse Association’s 40th Anniversary Grand National Championship Show & Expo, was acclaimed a great success in its first year in Lexington, KY. For almost two weeks, the Kentucky Horse Park paths and arenas were awash with the taca-taca-taca-taca of the Paso Fino horse’s smooth four-beat gait as exhibitors prepared to compete for the ultimate title—Grand National Champion—in the Classic Fino,...

Lexington, KY – The second and final USEF Elite Youth Dressage Training Session for 2012 concluded Sunday in Chino Hills, California. The two-day intensive training session was made possible by a generous donation from Kristen McDonald and the Marquis George MacDonald Foundation. The gracious hosts of the Western U.S. session were David and Alisa Wilson, owners of W Farms. Participants in the USEF Elite Youth Dressage Training Session (USEF Archive) The invitation-only training session...

Alexandra Lawson is a 19-year-old freshman at Purdue University from North Salem, Indiana. She is a member of the three-gaited section of the 2012 U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup Team. I've spent most of my life in the small farm communities of Danville and North Salem, Indiana. My parents and maternal grandparents are grain farmers - farming about 5,000 acres in the surrounding area. When you grow up in farm country, you just naturally get involved with FFA and 4-H, and it was through 4-H that...

Jacob Pope completes the Final Test at the Alltech National Horse Show aboard Patrick to win the coveted ASPCA Alfred B. Maclay Finals (Rebecca Walton/PMG) Lexington, KY - It was another fairytale day for Jacob Pope of Columbia, MD, during the 2012 Maclay National Championship for the ASCPA Alfred B. Maclay Horsemanship Classes. The Alltech National Horse Show, 129th Edition, welcomed 152 riders for the prestigious event. At the end of the day, it was 18-year-old Pope whose horsemanship...

The USEF Hearing Committee heard recently a Protest filed against Elizabeth Mandarino by another USEF member. The Protest alleged that certain USEF rules were violated at the 2012 Devon Horse Show when Mandarino administered an injection to her pony, Humble, and thereby caused his death. The USEF Hearing Committee ruled that the Protest must be dismissed for lack of substantiation. The Hearing Committee noted in its Findings " . . . that the proof available at [the hearing] was not sufficient...

McLain Ward and Antares F (Rebecca Walton/PMG) Lexington, KY - It was a very emotional night at Alltech National Horse Show as McLain Ward piloted his top mount Antares F to victory during the Alltech $250,000 Grand Prix, benefitting the United States Equestrian Team Foundation. The win comes just days after the passing of his father, Barney Ward, who had been Ward's most important supporter. Ward rode through his grief to beat six others in the jump-off, as the first to compete on his...

Lexington, KY - Another evening of electrifying American Saddlebred competition continued Friday. A cheering audience enjoyed the $3,000 Three Gaited Championship Stake, the $1,500 Fine Harness Open Championship the $3,000 Five Gaited Championship Stake and the very first Roadster class of the show, the $25,000 Equine Services Roadster Cup. The Roadster classes are a throwback to the origins of the American Saddlebred breed. The American Saddlebreds were developed from pacing Standardbreds, the...

Toronto, ON – They don’t call him “The Flying Frenchman” for nothing. Two-time defending Canadian Show Jumping Champion Yann Candele (Caledon, ON), took the initial round of the Greenhawk Canadian Show Jumping Championships tonight in the Royal Horse Show, positioning himself well heading into tomorrow evening's final. Although Candele incurred four time-penalties when Game Ready lowered the height of the sixth fence, he was still able to post an impressively quick...

Tim Gredley and Unex Valente (Rebecca Walton) Lexington, KY - Great Britain's Tim Gredley proved to be one of the world's bravest riders Firday evening when he galloped up to a 7'6" wall aboard his talented mount Unex Valente. The pair was already champions of the $50,000 Puissance at Alltech National Horse Show, 129th edition after being the only horse and rider combination to clear the 7" wall. Although they were unsuccessful during their final attempt, the crowd was on their feet...