The Arabian Horse Association (AHA) of Aurora, CO, has established an Arabian Horse Association task force on genetic diseases. The task force was created under the direction of and announced by AHA President Lance Walters. “The purpose of the task force is to have a group of AHA members regularly focused on genetic diseases. The end result will be an Arabian horse community that is educated about genetic diseases and knowledgeable about testing and disclosure. The task force will guide the...

The American Show Pony Registry (ASPR) has again added $6,000 in incentive prize money for ASPR classes to be held at the 2009 World Championship Show July 22-25 in Columbus, OH, and the 2009 National Shetland Pony Congress July 28-August 2 in Cloverdale, IN. The American Show Pony Registry is a division of the American Shetland Pony Club. The additional incentive money was generously donated by supporters of the ASPR and raised with the assistance of the ASPR committee. The money will be...

The Arabian Horse Association (AHA) of Aurora, CO, is proud to name its top point-earning amateurs for 2008. Natacha Lesburgueres of Louisville, KY, earned 532 points, becoming the adult amateur winner, while Collier McLeod of Augusta, GA, earned 522.5 points for the youth amateur top spot. The AHA Amateur Achievement Award program began in 2002 and has since tracked the points that individual riders, handlers and drivers earn each year. In 2008 the program was adjusted to recognize adults and...

Lendon Gray, President and CEO of The Dressage Foundation, announced that Jan Brons of Wellington, FL, has won the 2009 “Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize.” 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-performance dressage. “A strong field of applicants applied for this important new prize,...

Lexington, KY— Due to the current economic climate, three Presidential Modifications were approved by the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) February 17, 2009, which will effect the 2009 competition year for Hunters. The changes to the rules are as follows: 1. HU112.5: This will allow for the combining of the Green and Regular Working Hunter Sections at AA competitions when there are not enough to fill. This was approved at the USEF Annual Meeting to go into effect 12.1.09, in an effort...

Gladstone, NJ – The USET Foundation is pleased to announce that the Jacqueline B. Mars International Competition and Training Grant has been awarded to 21-year-old Jennie Brannigan of San Diego, CA. The grant is given to an Eventing rider who has been identified and recommended by the USEF Eventing Selectors, with an impressive record and potential to represent the United States in future international competition. Brannigan began competing in three-day eventing when she was 11 years old with...

Para-Equestrian Trainers’ Symposium This two-day workshop, held April 18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and April 19 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. will educate dressage trainers and therapeutic riding instructors alike about para-equestrian dressage rider development, the classification system and rider eligibility, competitions, and resources, both regionally and nationally. Through the use of lecture, videos and demonstration riders, examples will be given of how to bring riders along in your own program from...

Press release provided by the American Hackney Horse Society Foundation. Lexington, KY— The American Hackney Horse Society Foundation’s (AHHSF) goal is to preserve the past, promote the future and improve the breed of the American Hackney. To help accomplish this goal, the AHHSF announces the 2009 Adult Amateur Driving Challenge to help promote the showing of five-year-old and older Hackney ponies by adult amateurs at the smaller shows in a designated area. There are 15 competitions...

Male against female. Husbands battling wives. Established stars challenged by sparkling newcomers. Olympic Gold versus Olympic Gold. The winners were thousands of spectators who turned out Saturday night for the Battle of the Sexes at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival, the first time for such an event in the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center that has been completely remodeled at a cost of $10 million. For the record, the team of 10 women scored 31 points to win $50,000 shared between...

One of the top hunter breeders in the country will now have a place to store the coolers and saddle pads her horses have been awarded throughout the year thanks to winning a brand new Oakcroft Tack Trunk at the recent USEF Annual Convention. Dr. Paula Pell of St. Petersburg, FL, was the lucky winner of the “Win An Oakcroft Trunk,” which took place during an Oakcroft sponsored breakout session at the annual convention in Cincinnati, OH, and was open to all attendees. Pell and her husband were at...