On Saturday, May 8, during the 43rd annual Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) National Championships at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, a question-and-answer session, sponsored by Campus Equestrian and featuring a panel of collegiate coaches ready to answer your questions about riding, horses, and college competition, will be offered immediately following the championship’s most anticipated hunter seat class of the year, the IHSA Cacchione Cup. “This is a real opportunity, not...

The 2010 Kentucky International Equine Summit, a biennial event to be held on Monday and Tuesday, April 26 and 27, in Lexington, KY, and sponsored by the University of Louisville Equine Industry Program in cooperation with the University of Kentucky Equine Initiative, will feature more than 70 speakers and panelists dealing with a range of future challenges facing segments of the international and domestic horse industry. Dr. Veronique Julliand of AgroSup, Dijon, France, responsible for a...

Photo by Robbi Meisel Classic Company’s president, Bob Bell, announced the first ever Musical Freestyle Hunt Seat Equitation Championship will premiere at the upcoming Atlanta Summer Classics, June 16-27, in the former Olympic Grand Prix arena of the Georgia International Horse Park. The idea came to Bell while outside a schooling ring on an off day of his show, sitting in a golf cart chatting on his phone when the sound of a nearby stereo drifted over, causing his attention to shift towards...

The 114th annual Devon Horse Show and Country Fair will boast brand new, state-of-the-art footing in the Dixon Oval when it opens its 11-day run on May 27. The new footing in the Dixon Oval, a major undertaking, will be installed by Equestrian Services International, which has provided the footing for the 2008 Olympics in Hong Kong and the footing currently in use at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. This new, all-weather surface will meet the needs of all the various breeds and disciplines...

United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) Emerging Athlete Program (EAP) applications have been reviewed, and selected riders for Level I are posted online for Zone 1, Zone 2, Zone 3, Zone 4, Zone 5 and Zone 10. Please visit the EAP webpage for the list of riders by zone at www.ushja.org/EAP/levelI.aspx . Level I Training Sessions Zone 1 & 2: April 10-11, Westbrook Hunt Club, Westbrook, CT Zone 3: May 3-4, Virginia Horse Center, Lexington, VA Zone 4: May 1-2, Savannah College of Art &...

Competition in the 2010 Cavalor Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series grew with intensity during the month of March. With classes still in full swing at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington, FL, riders continued to earn points on the series' overall standings. One such rider is Reed Kessler of Armonk, NY, who competes in the Series' East Conference Junior division with her mount Ligist. With back-to-back first-place finishes with Ligist, Kessler earned 330 points,...

The award-winning Midwest Charity Horse Show has taken advantage of the long snowy winter in adding several new classes to this year’s edition. Midwest’s board of directors tightened up the schedule and added a Hackney Horse division—classes include a Single Horse Open, an Amateur Single Horse, Champion Single Horse and Open Pairs Driving. Pink will be the color of the evening on Friday in honor of Midwest’s new Pink Ribbon Class, number 154, Five Gaited Ladies Amateur...

Expanding its already considerable support of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), SmartPak™ has signed on as "Official Tack and Equipment Supplier to the USEF". In addition, SmartPak will be adding sponsorship of the new Adult Amateur Hunter Ranking List to the list of other programs SmartPak supports, which include the USEF Week in Review and the North American Young Rider Reining Championship. "The USEF has done so much for equestrian sport, and we are grateful for their...

Photo by Randi Muster (Victoria Birdsall and Baheera captured the Third Annual George Morris Excellence in Equitation Exhibition.) The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) is winding down as it finished its 11th week of competition on March 24-28. The week featured the highlight event of the season, the $500,000 FTI Consulting Finale Grand Prix, CSI*****, along with a full schedule of hunter, jumper, and equitation classes, including the prestigious Third Annual George Morris Excellence in...

In an effort to implement a pilot program for equine drugs and medications testing for its sanctioned events, the United States Polo Association (USPA) has engaged the services of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Equine Drugs and Medications Program. This new pilot program was approved by the USPA Board of Governors in October 2009 and has been implemented in time for the annual 2010 polo season that includes the annual USPA U.S. Open Polo Championship. The Championship takes...