Culpeper, VA HITS, Inc. is pleased to announce that the 2011 HITS Culpeper Show Series, that takes place in the heart of Virginia horse country, will host a total of six $40,000 Grand Prix, five of which will qualify for this year’s Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix. In addition, HITS Culpeper will also host five $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix, all of which will qualify for the all-new Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final. The HITS Culpeper Show Series will get underway when the Commonwealth...

Shawna Harding. (Photo by Susan J. Stickle.) Lincoln, NE – The Board of Directors of The Dressage Foundation announced that Shawna Harding of Aiken, SC, is a recipient of the 2011 “Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize” in the amount of $25,000. The purpose of the Prize, established at The Dressage Foundation, is to provide financial assistance for coaching and training to a talented, committed, qualified rider whose plan is to reach and excel at the elite, international standards of high...

Karen O’Connor, Pat Parelli, Linda Parelli and David O’Connor. (Photo courtesy Coco Photography.) Ocala, FL - February 21, 2011 – Children in the central and northern Florida area had their wishes granted when Pat Parelli, the founder of Parelli Natural Horsemanship, traded in his cowboy boots for a jumping saddle during the Second Annual Make-A-Wish Equine Challenge on Valentine’s Day at the Ocala Equestrian Complex. At the same time, David O’Connor, Olympian and President of the United States...

The winning presentation for the Mirabal team and Wheels for Kids (Photo by Sportfot) Wellington, FL - February 20, 2011 - The Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, Florida transformed into a field of dreams for 32 Palm Beach charities in the second annual FTI Great Charity Challenge presented by Fidelity Investments® where over a million dollars was raised in an exciting Pro-Am show jumping event on February 19. A signature event of the 12 week FTI Consulting Winter...

Kyle King and Corrine Super's Capone I. (Flying Horse Photography© . ) Thermal, CA - February 17, 2011 - Kyle King (Ocala, Florida) celebrated his birthday with a bang when he rode Corrine Super's Capone I to a triumph in Sunday's $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, at the HITS Desert Horse Park in Thermal, CA. Winning Sunday's feature class was extra remarkable for the birthday boy, who won the Grand Prix with the largest starting field to date at the 2011 HITS...

Mark Watring and Green Sleeps Vioco. (Flying Horse Photography©.) Thermal, CA - Puerto Rico’s Mark Watring and Horseworks Etc. Inc’s Green Sleeps Vioco secured their first Grand Prix triumph of the circuit when they scored the top prize in Saturday’s $50,000 Purina Mills CSI-W Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, in the indoor arena at the HITS Desert Horse Park, in Thermal, CA. Last night’s triumph by Watring continued an impressive streak by the men competing at HITS Thermal as each...

Lincoln, NE - February 17, 2011 - The Renee Isler Dressage Support Fund, established at The Dressage Foundation, will provide funding to enable Courtney Dale (ID) to participate in the Region 6 FEI Junior/Young Rider Dressage Clinic in Woodinville, WA, on February 26-27, 2011. Courtney applied to the United States Dressage Federation and was accepted to participate in the upcoming clinic. However, she needed some financial help to make it happen. Courtney received an $800 scholarship from The...

Alida D'Angona, Miss Massachusetts 2011. (Photo courtesy AMHA.) Shelburne, VT — Alida D'Angona, 24, from Bolton, MA, recently was crowned Miss Massachusetts 2011, and will be a presenter at the American Morgan Horse Association's annual awards banquet on Saturday, February 26 in Boston. Born in California, D'Angona traveled with her family as a child across the world to live in Hong Kong before settling in Bolton. With an interest in music as well as the sciences, D'Angona quickly became...

Last March I made my inaugural visit to Wellington, FL and the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center for CSIO week, which included the USEF Selection Trials for the US Show Jumping Team for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games and the $75,000 FEI Nations Cup presented by CN. My partner in crime, Melissa Davis, and I set-up our Merchandise “Fort” and sold-out of nearly all the USA and patriotic coats, polos and hats we’d shipped down. Unseasonably chilly temperatures for Palm Beach...

Thermal, CA - February 13, 2011 - Eduardo Menezes rode his own Tomba to a triumph over some of the top equestrians in the world during Saturday's $50,000 HITS CSI-W Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, in the indoor arena at the HITS Desert Horse Park in Thermal, CA. Menezes, who now calls Carlsbad, CA, home and has been knocking on the door for the past three weeks looking for his first Grand Prix victory of the Desert Circuit. In that time, he’s enjoyed two top placings, including a...