One of the most prestigious events known to Hunter Seat Equitation, the 2004 USEF/Pessoa National Hunter Seat Medal Finals promises to be the best yet, thanks in part to the continued sponsorship of Pessoa. Continuing in fine tradition, this year’s Finals will take place at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show on Sunday, October 17. Holding the coveted Adrian Van Sinderen Memorial Trophy at bay until the winning rider can claim it, the Hunter Seat Medal Finals marks a right-of-passage for...

Lexington, KY — The top reining horses and riders in the country are set to begin competing in the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) 2004/2005 Reining Qualifying Season as they gear up for the 2005 championship season. The first qualifying reining competition will be hosted in Columbus, Ohio, on October 9th, during the All American Quarter Horse Congress. As one of the largest equestrian events in the world, the Congress typically sees more than a half a million people every year....

Lexington, KY — After jumping a clear round followed by a clear jump-off Friday, Olympian McLain Ward (Silver Team medal, Athens 2004) and Goldika 559 (Holstein, Cor de la Bryere – Zelena II) claimed a first place victory during the World Cup Show Jumping Qualifier at the CSI-W Lexington Grand Prix. Closely following in second place was Lauren Hough (Alternate, Athens 2004) on Casadora (Dutch Warmblood, Indoctro – Kadora) with four faults on the final jump off. In a three-way...

Lexington, KY – Royal Kaliber, the stallion that took Chris Kappler to a silver Olympic team medal and an individual bronze medal in Athens last month, underwent colic surgery in Someren, the Netherlands late yesterday. He suffered a leg injury in the final round of the individual show jumping competition and he was being monitored in Europe before a decision was made to ship him back to the United States. Dr. Jack Snyder and Dr. Barry David, who flew to the Netherlands from the United States,...

Burbank, CA – With a weekend of competition to prove themselves, a ring full of young riders set out to convince judges they have what it takes to become tomorrow’s equestrian stars. Emerging at the top of the list from the BET/USEF West Coast Show Jumping Talent Search Finals is 17-year-old Kasey Ament (Reche Canyon, CA), who took home the Denali Trophy atop San Francisco. Riding her own horse first and then starting the rotations that are characteristic of these tests, Ament...

ATHENS, Greece – As a whirlwind of competition and ancient Olympic culture wraps up in Athens, the U.S. Paralympic Equestrian Team prepares to make the return journey after a seventh place finish in Sunday’s Team competition. Representing a compilation of Individual and Team scores, the group posted 399.876 points in the last equestrian event of these Paralympic 2004 Games. “We feel happy with our accomplishments,” says Chef d’Equipe Denise Avolio....

Show jumping action got underway on September 22 at the five-day "A"-rated Los Angeles International Jumping Festival (September 22-26, 2004) at the world class Los Angeles Equestrian Center. The $40,000 Grand Prix of Los Angeles, set for 7 p.m. Saturday night, looks to be an exciting class. Last night, 21 horses and riders competed in the $5,000 Welcome Stake. Typically, the grand prix riders use this class as preparation for the grand prix. Olympian Mark Watring piloted his Olympic mount,...

One step out of the ring, internationally renowned equestrian Lynn Seidemann and Phoenix B knew they had put on a good show. Slated to ride second to last in the line-up, the pair pulled out all the stops to wow the judges with a spectacular performance Thursday. Make that a Silver medal-winning performance that surprised even Lynn. “It was a good day,” Lynn said modestly after the news started to filter back through the time zones into the States. With a Silver medal in tow and a...

ATHENS, September 20 - The riders taking part in the Paralympic Games had the opportunity to test the Dressage arena today, under real competition conditions. The warm-up session took place at the Markopoulo Olympic Equestrian Centre and was a successful dress rehearsal for all parties involved. However, not all riders went out to the arena today: a lot of them chose to remain out of the warm-up phase in order to allow themselves and their horses to rest until the real competition begins...

Day two of the Paso Fino Horse Association Grand National Championship show was another fun-filled day of extremely full classes, plus lots of fun and entertainment. Near record entries had many classes running two or even three sections before bringing back the best in each section to choose the best of the group. In the Performance Geldings for Gold class, Artillero Arroyo Maraca owned by Dick Miller of Des Moines, IA, was victorious. In the huge Pleasure Mares class, La Gavlota De...