The West Coast Active Riders (WCAR) organization has many members competing at the Indio Desert Circuit horse shows in Indio, CA. Richard Spooner is currently one of the most successful West Coast grand prix riders, and he is the original founder of the West Coast Active Riders organization. The Indio Desert Circuit is only in its third week of competition, but Richard Spooner has won the majority of prizes in the grand prix competitions. In the $30,000 Ariat Grand Prix on Friday, February 4,...

Scene from the $75,000 HITS Grand Prix, May 30, 2004. (Courtesy HITS and Fionn Reilly/Ulster Publishing) Lexington, KY – Following a hotly contested open to the 2005 competition season in the warmer climates, and a highly-anticipated fight for the prize at the World Cup Finals in April, claiming the title of U.S. National Champion will be yet another challenge facing some of equestrian sport’s best athletes in June. Truly a headliner competition for the United States Equestrian...

The world’s best eventers will begin their quest for the coveted Grand Slam of Eventing April 28 - May 1, and it all starts in the Horse Capital of the World – Lexington, Kentucky. As the only four-star three day event hosted in the United States, Rolex Kentucky will draw tens of thousands of fans from all across the globe, and millions of television viewers shortly thereafter. After a successful 2004 telecast, NBC sports will air the popular event again this year, on Sunday, May 8, from 4-5 p....

Indio, CA – With only two World Cup qualifiers left for the West Coast League, Nicole Simpson stakes a new claim in the top spot, positioning herself 15 points ahead of second ranked rider Joie Gatlin. Simpson now boasts an impressive 81 points to Gatlin’s 66. Last week’s first-ranked Richard Spooner is in third place following this latest qualifier, with 65 points. These top contenders are among nearly 30 West Coast riders vying for the three World Cup spots the League is...

View of the show jumping course at the 2003 World Cup Finals. (Jan Gyllensten) Some of the world’s best riders and horses are placing their bets on Las Vegas this year, eager to see if their scores from earlier qualifying competitions will be enough to earn a ticket to the entertainment capital of the world in April. If they make the final cut, they’ll join the ranks of dozens of world-class athletes, each hoping their skill, combined with Lady Luck, will earn the coveted title of...

Joe and Sally Jackson and the Kentucky Horse Park announced arrangements for the reburial of the world champion Saddlebred Wild Eyed And Wicked near the Hall of Champions at the Kentucky Horse Park. “Wicked” was one of five Saddlebred horses injected with an unknown substance in June 2003. He and two other horses were destroyed, and two horses recovered. Wicked’s remains were exhumed last week from Double D Ranch near Versailles, where he had been trained, boarded and buried. Jackson and her...

Brazilian Sergio Campos riding Shakira Do Jacare opened fast and kept it in top gear to win Sunday's $25,000 Grand Prix during week two of the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit. Twelve horses mastered Jerry Dougherty's first-round course. Campos and Shakira Do Jacare clocked in with the fastest time by almost three seconds, making them the pair to watch in the jump-off. "She's fast, very fast," says Campos of the eight-year-old chestnut mare he brought over from Brazil last winter. Canadian Olympian...

Lexington, KY – As announced by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) earlier this week, German Olympian Ludger Beerbaum filed an appeal on February 3 with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the decision taken by the FEI Judicial Committee. The FEI Judicial Committee disqualified Beerbaum and his horse, Goldfever 3, from the Athens Olympic Games Show Jumping competitions—competitions in which the pair helped lead the German team to a Gold medal victory. As...

Indio, CA – Richard Spooner, Joie Gatlin, and Nicole Simpson are one step closer to securing their spots as U.S. representatives from the West Coast League for the 2005 World Cup Finals in Las Vegas, April 20-24. Each separated by a mere point, Spooner stands at 63 qualifying points, Gatlin at 62, and Simpson at 61. While Spooner placed first on Hilton Flight at the $75,000 HITS Grand Prix February 6, the sixth qualifier for the West Coast League, it was actually his fourth place finish...

A life-sized bronze sculpture of Bruce Davidson and Eagle Lion jumping into the Head of the Lake will likely be unveiled at the Kentucky Horse Park this Fall or at the 2006 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. Artist Jean Clagett is hard at work creating the sculpture, which will feature a highlighted patina, and be mounted in the lake at the Kentucky Horse Park in front of a water obstacle, with the horse’s front feet in the water and jets splashing. The presence of this beautiful piece of art will...