Rachel Kolb and Stanford's Ronny (Stanford Univ/IHSA) Fairfield, CT - Stride for stride, solid horse sense leads to scholarly achievement. For the second time in two years, the Rhodes Trust has awarded a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to an Intercollegiate Horse Show Association college equestrian athlete to pursue post-graduate study at Oxford University. This year’s recipient is IHSA hunter seat rider, Rachel Kolb, of Los Ranchos, NM, who is in her second year as president of the...

Lexington, KY - President Lee Vulgaris announced this week that the Paso Fino Horse Association (PFHA) has officially named Sally Walker as its new Executive Director. The association president stated that Walker was chosen to serve as the organization’s Director from over 70 candidates elicited through a nationwide search. Walker comes to PFHA with extensive leadership experience in the nonprofit, corporate, and private business worlds. She is also a lifelong horsewoman. Most recently,...

Alexandra Lawson is a 19-year-old freshman at Purdue University from North Salem, Indiana. She is a member of the three-gaited section of the 2012 U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup Team. I've spent most of my life in the small farm communities of Danville and North Salem, Indiana. My parents and maternal grandparents are grain farmers - farming about 5,000 acres in the surrounding area. When you grow up in farm country, you just naturally get involved with FFA and 4-H, and it was through 4-H that...

Victoria Colvin and Inclusive captured the Overall Grand Junior Hunter Championship at the Alltech National Horse Show. (Shawn McMillen) Lexington, KY - The Alltech Arena was filled with top junior talent as riders showcased their mounts during the handy and stake classes Saturday afternoon at the Alltech National Horse Show, 129th Edition. Victoria Colvin and Inclusive were awarded the Large Junior 15 and Under Championship for their efforts throughout the division. They were also presented...

Lexington, KY - Another evening of electrifying American Saddlebred competition continued Friday. A cheering audience enjoyed the $3,000 Three Gaited Championship Stake, the $1,500 Fine Harness Open Championship the $3,000 Five Gaited Championship Stake and the very first Roadster class of the show, the $25,000 Equine Services Roadster Cup. The Roadster classes are a throwback to the origins of the American Saddlebred breed. The American Saddlebreds were developed from pacing Standardbreds, the...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation and Georgetown College are excited to announce a long term strategic partnership that will combine the academic and facility resources available at Georgetown College with the membership of the largest multi-breed and discipline organization in the United States. To kick off the partnership, Georgetown College will offer USEF members, employees and their children an opportunity to receive a $10,000 annual scholarship upon admittance as a...

Misdee Wrigley Miller and Grande (Brooke Jacobs with Jacobs Photography_ Lexington, KY - The audience cheered as the first American Saddlebreds, since 1999 competed at the 129th Edition of the Alltech National Horse Show at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. The breed, known as "the horse that America made," had been a fixture at the National Horse Show since the late 1800's but after the 1999 the Saddlebred performance classes had disappeared from the show. It is only natural that...

AMHA Youth of the Year Ellery Walker (Howard Schatzberg) Shelburne, VT - The 2012 American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) Youth of the Year Contest took place at this year's Grand National & World Championship Morgan Horse Show®, held October 6-13 at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma City. It is with great enthusiasm that AMHA honors Ellery Walker of Marshall, Michigan, as its 2012 Youth of the Year winner, and Rebecca Jones of Efland, North Carolina, as the reserve...

54th Annual Washington International Horse Show Hosts Opening Day with Professional and Amateur-Owner Hunters Washington, D.C. – The 54th Annual Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) hosted its opening day on Tuesday, October 23, with a full day of hunter competition at Verizon Center in downtown Washington, D.C. The professional and amateur-owner riders showed throughout the day in the first classes of their divisions and conclude their competition for championship honors on...

The eighteenth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder The latest addition to the Western Dressage information network is a new Facebook page dedicated exclusively to calendar events around the nation. The new page is called, appropriately, “Western Dressage Shows & Events” and is maintained by Vaquero Training Center in Connecticut. The page is designed to keep Western Dressage enthusiasts informed about what is going on all over the country. It is a brand new FB...