Lexington, KY – The US show jumping riders had their first training session on their borrowed horses at the 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney, Australia. The four riders all spent some time getting to know their borrowed horses and found both the horses and their Australian owners and riders very accommodating. Each nation is invited to bring four athletes between the ages of 15-20 and the four promising young stars representing the US are: Mavis Spencer, 17, from Santa Monica,...

Lexington, KY – For the first time in 2009, the USEF is sending athletes to the Australian Youth Olympic Festival. In its fifth year, the Australian Youth Olympic Festival showcases the world’s best in Youth Sports. More than 1500 athletes from 25 countries in 17 sports have arrived at the Olympic village at Homebush in Sydney, Australia. The US will be represented in Equestrian by four of our most promising show jumping riders from across the country. Taylor Land, 16 (Atlanta, GA), Mavis...

Lexington, KY – Six of the most promising US dressage riders will take on some of the world’s best when the Exquis World Dressage Masters heads to the Palm Beach International Equestrian Club January 28-31. This brand new series will travel from Wellington, FL to Salzburg, Austria and Munchen, Germany in May, then to Hickstead, UK in June. The series of competitions is bringing riders from across the globe together for a brand new initiative. Twenty starters will compete in the first Grand Prix...

Thanks to the vision of the American Shetland Pony Club (ASPC), children in Hong Kong are enjoying the love and companionship of two very special Shetland Ponies. The ponies, FMF Imagination and PC Karmel Kid, were donated in the summer of 2008 as a way to salute Hong Kong’s efforts in hosting the 2008 Equestrian Olympics. “Karmel Kid is doing really well. He has been given the stable name of Bear and is loved by all. He has been fabulous with the lead rein kids and has also enjoyed a little...

The Unwanted Horse Coalition’s (UHC) National Survey to assess the magnitude of the problem of the unwanted horse will remain open until the end of January 2009. This is your final chance to participate. The Study on Contributing Factors Surrounding the Unwanted Horse Issue will be instrumental in filling factual gaps with actual data. The UHC still needs as many people as possible to fill out the 15-20 minute online survey. Again, the UHC is asking everyone with an interest in the welfare of...

HITS, Inc., is pleased to announce the HITS Saugerties spring and summer horse show dates at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, NY. This year, HITS Saugerties will offer seven weeks of AA-rated hunter/jumper competition at its state-of-the-art facility, as well as several special events, including the 2009 USEF Junior Hunter East Coast Finals and the 19th Annual Marshall & Sterling League National Finals. "Our spring and summer show series in Saugerties are quite special, as they provide a...

Seven of the world's top riders and their horses take to the show jumping ring in one of the most unique competitions in all of equestrian sport and airing on Animal Planet this Saturday at 3 p.m. ET during the World Sporthorse Championships series. The show takes place from the OnCenter in Syracuse, NY, a hotbed of equestrian activity, and features Olympic Gold and Bronze medalist Beezie Madden who hails from Cazenovia, NY, a short drive from Syracuse. Featured this episode will be the Animal...

The American Trakehner Association (ATA) is pleased to announce that the following five stallions were approved in 2008. —A’Osiris, owned by Raymond Bernier (Valley View Stable) of Milton, VT —Bond James Bond MB, owned by Elevages Mallet Barsalou of Quebec, Canada —Cardinali, owned by Jeanette Knight (Wolf Run Farm) of Buxton, ME —Imminence, owned by Jean Brinkman (Valhalla Farm) of Wellborn, FL —Tatendrang, owned by Ann Cottongim (Emerald Acres) of Alford, FL...

A well-known member of the Saddlebred community, Jimmy Miller, died on Saturday, December 27, 2008. A private graveside service was held on Monday, December 29. Miller, a resident of Ashland, MO, has long been associated with World’s Champion road horses and ponies. His record of successful road ponies may very well be without equal and include World’s Champions: Adiamo, Free Willy, Lamborghini, and Dun-Haven Infatuation—just to mention a few. Likewise, Miller’s stellar lineup of road...

A black Shetland Pony who closely resembles the pony Little Black in the Walter Farley book Little Black, A Pony has a new home with the Black Stallion Literacy Foundation at Arabian Nights in Orlando, FL. Thanks to the donation of the pony by the American Shetland Pony Club (ASPC), thousands of children involved in the literacy program will have the chance to meet Little Black in person. The Black Stallion Literacy Foundation has helped motivate hundreds of thousands of children to enjoy...