Kona Gold, winner of the 2000 Eclipse Award for Sprinter of the Year was humanely euthanized at the Kentucky Horse Park on the morning of September 29 after suffering a severe fracture to his left front leg while exercising in his paddock. He was 15-years-old. Within minutes of the accident, he was taken to Hagyard Equine Medical Institute for evaluation where it was determined by the surgical staff that his injury was beyond repair. The unanimous decision to euthanize was made by the surgeons,...

Photo by Diana DeRosa (Hunt Tosh and Fine Kiss) Hunt Tosh went into the first round of the 15th Annual Professional World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) Finals for the 2009 American Hunter Jumper Foundation (AHJF) Professional WCHR title, as if it belonged to him. He negotiated the highest mark in the first round and never looked back. Four rounds later he won the highest honor for a professional rider for his very first attempt in this prestigious class, which took place on October 2 at the...

With the conclusion of the Twin Rivers Horse Trials in Paso Robles, CA, the 2009 Adequan United States Eventing Association (USEA) Gold Cup Series has officially ended. Throughout the year the Gold Cup Leaderboard shuffled around quite a bit, but in the end Leslie Law and Fleeceworks Mystere Du Val finished at the top almost 200 points above second-place winner Jennie Brannigan and Cooper. "It is so great to have won the Gold Cup," Law delightedly said. "I am so thankful to all the sponsors...

With the competition season drawing to a close, the deadline to submit nominations for the American Saddlebred Horse Association’s (ASHA) individual awards are no later than the close of business Friday, October 30, 2009. Each year, the Association’s highest honors are presented at the annual Saddlebred Ball, held in conjunction with the ASHA Annual Convention and Youth Conference. This year both the Annual Meeting and the Saddlebred Ball will once again be held at the Griffin Gate Marriott...

Two Champions "Three-Peat" as Breed Show Wraps Up When individual breed classes took center stage on day three of Dressage at Devon 2009, two horses who had dominated the news in the prestigious show's first two days continued to grab headlines. Perfect Qredit, a yearling colt by Quaterback, added an 83.80% win in the Oldenburg (GOV) division to his Grand Championship, Young Horse Championship, Colt Championship, and Yearling Colts and Geldings title for owner Michelle Coursin, an air-traffic...

The largest gathering of FEI Four-in-Hand drivers ever in the Americas will go head-to-head October 1-4 at the Kentucky Horse Park for Kentucky Cup Driving, the third official test event for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. The CAI-A competition will be held in conjunction with the annual Lexington Combined Driving Classic (also the 2009 USEF National Driving Championships), and will feature drivers from Australia, Canada, and the United States. Several drivers competing in the test...

In a major new initiative, the American Hanoverian Society (AHS) is pleased to announce a new foal life recording partnership with the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF). The USEF, which serves as the National Governing Body for Equestrian Sport in the U.S., licenses equestrian competitions of all levels across the United States each year and maintains the points and standings for the annual USEF Horse of the Year (HOTY) Awards in its comprehensive database. Through cooperative efforts...

The Swedish Warmblood Association of North America (SWANA) is pleased to announce the 2009 Sweden Equestrian Tour. SWANA and its parent organization, ASVH, and SwedeHorse are hosting an equestrian tour of southern Sweden from October 11-19, 2009. If you love horses, this is one of the most fun and educational tours you could imagine. Sweden is one of the most horse-centered countries in the world; their National Stud farm, Flyinge, is one of the oldest in Europe, and Sweden was the founding...

The Executive Committee periodically meets to review and approve extraordinary rule changes and rule clarifications. You can find summaries of rules approved by visiting www.usef.org/_IFrames/RuleBook/Changes/2009.aspx . These rule changes have also been incorporated into the online USEF Rule Book . The online rule book is continually updated with new rule changes and corrections; it is always the most complete version of the rules.

When I'm at home, I generally have a pretty good sense of direction. Even when I don't know where I'm going, I can apply logic based on where the mountains are, what direction the freeway is, etc., and keep from getting lost. My husband gets lost often, but I probably shouldn't tell you that because he's reading this. Anyhoo...something about flying to Kentucky has thrown me completely off kilter. I can't tell which way is north or south, in what direction our hotel...