Wellington, FL – Varsity Equestrian is pleased to announce the 2nd Annual Collegiate Equitation Challenge to be held at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL. The finals of the event will take place on Friday, February 11, 2011 at 7:00 PM in the International Arena of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. The tournament will be run in the Varsity Equestrian head-to-head, bracketed format with 16 top collegiate riders from all over the country. Riders will compete over...

Effective March 1, 2011, the following rules apply to Dressage Competitions and Regular Competitions holding Dressage classes: 1. Riders under age 18 must wear protective headgear, as defined by DR120.5 and in compliance with GR801, at all times while mounted on the competition grounds. This includes non-competing riders as well as those competing at any level. 2. While on horses competing in national level tests (Fourth Level and below), riders must wear protective headgear as defined by DR120....

Burbank, CA – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) will hold two judges clinics during the Fiesta of the Spanish Horse, an annual benefit and horse show held May 4-8, 2011, at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. A USEF Friesian Judges’ Clinic will be May 5 from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The clinic, held at the Courtyard Los Angeles Burbank Airport and L.A. Equestrian Center, will be open to licensed Friesian judges, applicants and those interested in becoming licensed. Attendance fulfills...

Lexington, KY - The Board of Directors during this year’s United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Annual Meeting approved new helmet rules for riders in both eventing and dressage - just two weeks after dozens of stakeholders in equestrian sport met with the goal of improving rider safety across disciplines. ”If the technology is available to reduce head injuries, the time to use it is now," said USEF President David O’Connor. "I am very proud of our organization for taking this very...

The USEF Annual Meeting celebrated 2010’s champions and Reining superstars Tom McCutcheon and Gunners Special Nite were honored for an outstanding year of achievement. They were the only U.S. pair to win two Gold medals at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Gunners Special Nite, owned by Sarah Wilemen, was voted USEF Horse of the Year for his achievements and the following night, McCutcheon won the top honor (Equestrian of the Year) for himself. It was an outstanding accomplishment...

Fairfield, CT — In poker it’s called re-shuffling the deck, and when the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) announced at the start of the 2010 semester that it had realigned its nine Zones to eight - changing the geography of its competitive regions and impacting coaching strategies - it promised to make the road to the 2011 IHSA National Championships, May 5-8, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, an interesting one. With Regional and Zone Championships, and Western...

Dr. Tim Holekamp was elected President of the American Trakehner Association at its 36th annual convention in Jacksonville, FL. Holekamp and his wife Cheryl own New Spring Farm in Columbia, MO, and are possibly best known for their acclaimed Trakehner stallion Windfall*Pg*, a U.S. Olympic team bronze medalist. “We started in 1984 with two Trakehner mares that we bought at the ATA auction in Columbus, Ohio,” said Holekamp, explaining that it took just one trip to an ATA convention for him to...

Lexington, KY - The Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA) Regional Conferences are being held around the continent this year. These educational events are open to the public and provide horses for participants to ride with top instructors. Press are invited to attend. Other are being added to the below list all the time at http://www.cha-ahse.org/regions.htm . Region 1 (British Columbia, WA, Western MT, ID, OR, Alberta) Conference –– Canyonview Equestrian Center in Silverton, OR - February...

Lexington, KY - The Pegasus Awards Dinner is now available through Video on Demand on USEFNetwork.com . The gala was live-streamed from the 2011 USEF Annual Meeting in Lexington, providing equestrian fans an opportunity to watch in real-time as the Lifetime Achievement Award, Equestrian of the Year, Junior Equestrian of the Year, Pegasus Medals of Honor, and other prestigious honors were awarded throughout the evening. USEFNetwork.com is the Federation's new multi-media platform, featuring live...

Gunners Special Nite (Shannon Brinkman/USEF) Lexington, KY - The city of Lexington was largely defined by the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in 2010, so it proved a fitting setting to crown the 2010 Farnam/Platform USEF Horse of the Year. And the winner couldn't be more all-American. The only multiple Gold medal-winning horse for Team USA, Gunners Special Nite, a six-year-old American Quarter Horse brought the sport of reining to the forefront of the American equestrian community. People...