Photo by Flashpoint Photography (Jennifer Ramsey and Cielo B captured the $7,500 Open Jumper Classic. ) The Charleston Summer Classics’ final week of competition at Mullet Hall Equestrian Center on Johns Island, SC, found most attendees weren't so anxious to head home, but rather thinking of extending their stay at nearby Kiawah Island and Seabrook Island beach resorts. Sunny skies and ocean breezes provided another perfect backdrop last week for not only competition in the arenas, but at area...

Wrapping up the month of July and continuing through August, Blenheim EquiSports is proud to offer media and spectators the chance to see top-level horses and riders compete in high-performance equestrian sport on the Grand Prix Field at the Del Mar Horse Park. Both the Showpark Racing and August Festival horse shows offer weekend highlights. The $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby begins on the afternoon of Saturday, July 31. On Sunday, August 1 the $25,000 Showpark Racing Festival Grand...

SusanJStickle.com (Young Rider Dressage Team Gold) Lexington, KY - July 28, 2010 - It was dueling dressage riders today in the gleaming parallel lines set on the field of the Kentucky Horse Park’s new Main Stadium. Junior competitors (ages 14-18) and Young Riders (ages 16-21) performed side-by-side to kick off the 2010 Adequan FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North. Today’s event, The Platinum Performance/USDF Dressage Championship Team Test represented...

Seven half-Connemaras and one purebred Connemara competed in the Connemara divisions at the Warrenton Pony Show this year, including several new entries. All seven halfbreds entered the Connemara Halfbred In-Hand class, which Kate Shields and her Hastening Lilly won. In the performance classes, six entered the Connemara Halfbred Hunter Under Saddle class, five competed in the Halfbred Bridle Path Hack, a hunter hack class with two fences, and four vied for the halfbred performance championship...

Courtesy Joanie Webster (Junior rider Natalie Kupperman astride her purebred Connemara gelding, Elphin Song Sparrow, winner of the Consummate Connemara Trophy.) The Annual West Coast Connemara Show, dedicated in memory of Larry Ervin, was held for the second consecutive year at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, CA. Chris Knox of Chesterfield, ID, was the USEF-licensed Connemara Breed and Performance judge. Forty-six Connemara ponies along with some 'open' horses vied for ribbons in the...

The American Connemara Pony Society (ACPS) Board of Governors voted last fall for the Society to support the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Lexington, KY, with a promotional “Connemara Pony Booth” within the site’s Equestrian Village. The consensus was that the international exposure, media coverage, demographics and expected record-breaking attendance added up to “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for the ACPS to showcase the remarkable traits and breed characteristics of the...

The United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) will host a ribbon cutting ceremony August 20 at 6 p.m. to celebrate the opening of its new headquarters at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. Founded in 2004, the USHJA was established to promote the hunter/jumper sport, to provide broad-based education to its members and to provide the framework for the conduct of our sport. Since receiving approval as the Federation Recognized Affiliate for the hunter/jumper discipline, the USHJA has...

The American Trakehner Association (ATA) is finalizing plans for its 36th annual convention to be held November 11-13, 2010, in Jacksonville, FL. The ATA annual convention activities include a membership meeting, mare and stallion inspections, Horse of the Year Awards, a breed show, jumper Calcutta and much more—all centered on the versatile Trakehner horse. Registration information can be found on the ATA website at www.americantrakehner.com . All the horse-related activities and...

FireandEarthPhoto.com. (Rigo, Shawna Harding, Lois Yukins, Dr. Ulf Moeller and Tim Dutta at the USEF National Developing Horse Dressage Championship presented by The Dutta Corporation and Performance Sales International.) Wayne, IL - Eventful nights continue but Saturday evening was not about the recurring thunderstorms, instead the excitement at Lamplight Equestrian centered on a huge tree that fell on one of the stabling tents. Happily there were no injuries sustained, but crews worked...

FireandEarthPhoto.com (Caroline Roffman on her five-year-old chestnut Hanoverian gelding Bon Chance.) Wayne, IL - Strong night-time thunderstorms delayed the start of Saturday’s competition at the Lamplight Equestrian Center, giving way eventually to a lovely day that started with eleven junior riders competing for the Gold in the USEF Dressage Medal Seat 13 & Under Final presented by Dressage Today. Anna Campbell aboard her new mount Mai ended up on top, making her trip from Dallas, TX, well...