Rider Aaron Vale of Aiken, SC, rode Alison Register’s 13-year-old Warmblood bay mare Alliance to a double-clear round victory over a field of 26 competitors in the H n’ D Stables’- and Wilton Connor Family-sponsored Lucky Sevens Welcome Stake on July 21. Alliance's first round time of 63.50 made him the third out of four mounts for Vale going into the jump-off. Their second clear round time of 34.70 was just one second enough to pull off the win. Pablo Barrios of Wellington, FL, aboard Wild Cat...

The Youth National Arabian and Half-Arabian Championship Horse Show (Youth Nationals) is celebrating its 13th anniversary in Albuquerque, NM, at Expo New Mexico on July 23-30, 2005. The Arabian Horse Association (AHA) of Aurora, CO, produces the weeklong event that features top-level competition, a shopping expo, the annual youth convention and daily activities. This year's show features more than 1,000 horses from across the United States, competing in 124 classes in a wide variety of...

The 2005 American Shetland Pony National Championship Congress show is set to kick-off August 3-6 at the Gordyville Arena in Gifford, IL. Last year's Shetland Pony Congress show drew record participation with over 500 entries from all over the United States. "We were pleased by the increased entries last year," said ASPC Executive Director Zona Schneider. "Shetland ponies are very versatile and compete in a variety of open competitions, so it is especially gratifying when we can draw a large...

The multi-U.S. National Champion Andalusian stallion, Davido MC, died on May 2, 2005, of an aortic aneurism, while breeding a mare at Selwood Park Stable, in Elkhorn, WI. Davido MC was owned by Gareth A. Selwood for 12 of the horse's 15 years and was bred by Music City Andalusians of Nashville, TN. He was sired by the imported 2000 USEF Leading Andalusian Sire, Ofendido VII, and out of the imported Poseido V daughter, Huerfana. Davido MC qualified for and showed at a record 11 consecutive...

On October 20, 2005, the American Riding Instructors Association (ARIA) will host an American Riding Instructors Certification Program (ARICP) Test Center in conjunction with its National Riding Instructors Convention in Orlando, FL. The convention, October 20-23, features seminars, workshops and one-on-one consultations for instructors, equine business managers, stable owners, trainers and coaches. Those registering for both the convention and the ARICP Test Center pay a discount rate. The...

The annual mid-year meeting of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) ended in near-record time July 12th, owing to the cooperative spirit of more than 40 members of the USEF Board of Directors. The meeting, which has become a traditional mid-year “State of the Federation” report, played host to some 70 attendees in all at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Lexington, KY. The Board of Directors worked diligently to pass a number of rule changes presented to them, including one in...

Suzy Stafford, first U.S. driver to take Individual Gold at FEI World Combined Pony Driving Championships (Jim Graham) Results from the 2005 FEI World Combined Pony Driving Championships Derbyshire, England – When Suzy Stafford set out to compete in the 2005 FEI World Combined Pony Driving Championships, she didn’t realize she was about to make history—as the first American driver ever to win an Individual Gold Medal at the World Championships. But the Bear, Delaware native...

Lexington, KY --The first edition of the Performance Horse Registry (PHR) e-newsletter, American Breeder News, was sent on Friday, July 8. A breeder-savvy publication about sport horse breeding in North America, American Breeder News will continue to be delivered to subscriber's e-mail boxes every month, offering the latest news affecting the breeding industry from the PHR, breed registries across the United States and American breeders themselves. This launch coincides with the unveiling...

Lexington, KY – The USEF has announced the team members and ponies which will be competing at the 2005 FEI World Combined Pony Driving Championships in Catton Park, England this week. The competition begins on Wednesday, July 13th, with the official inspection of ponies, followed by two days of dressage, the Marathon on Saturday, and Obstacle Driving on Sunday. United States Team Members are as follows: Sara Schmitt of Glen Gardner, NJ, with High Country Doc (1996 Morgan stallion, owned...

The Vermont Summer Festival, the largest ‘AA’ rated hunter-jumper horse show held in New England, has a huge economic impact on the state of Vermont with approximately $15 million spent throughout the duration of the five-week competition. With approximately 1,200 horses competing each week at the Vermont Summer Festival, which will run July 13 to August 14 in East Dorset, VT, and approximately 3,000 people related to the horse show visiting the area on a daily basis, the impact on the local...