In a brilliant display of skill and finesse, Sara Schmitt, of Glen Gardner, NJ, drove her Morgan stallion, High Country Doc, to one of only a few clean and clear rounds in the cones phase at The Laurels at Landhope and her first national championship. The last in the order of go on Sunday, September 11, Schmitt had some wiggle room. Ahead by only four points under the new rules where a ball down is now a three-point penalty instead of five. This gave her a small margin of error, one that could...

Proving again that Morgans are among the some of the finest driving horses in the world, Fred Merriam drove Nicholas Mercede's Gaitwood Lightwing, a 1995 bay gelding, to finish first in the FEI Single Horse Division. Lisa Singer finished first in the FEI Pairs Division driving Mimi Torrington's chestnut geldings, Count On Me and LR Ami Bengali. Sara Schmitt was first in the FEI Single Pony Division driving her High Country Doc, a 1996 bay, who also had the best marathon score. Suzy Stafford was...

Lexington, KY – On March 15, the Executive Committee of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) approved an extraordinary rule change to rule DC147.2, for Combined Driving Events. Effective April 1, 2005, all drivers competing in obstacles on the marathon must wear protective ASTM/SEI certified headgear. The rule has been amended as follows: DC147. Add new and renumber. Effective 4/1/05 2. Dress. At USEF sanctioned National Events b. It is compulsory for all drivers competing in...

The Colorado Horse Park hosted the National Combined Driving Singles Championship on August 27-29, in Parker, CO. Day one, which offered the dressage phase, was overcast through all the preliminary and intermediate level tests. The weather continued to worsen, and with the entrance into the ring of the first advanced driver, torrential rains began and continued through the conclusion of the day’s competition. Despite the weather, accuracy and skill were nonetheless demonstrated by the drivers,...

January 26, 2017 As announced late last week, the American Driving Society is no longer the United States Equestrian Federation’s (USEF) Recognized Affiliate for Driving; Pleasure and Combined. USEF will be handling the affiliate responsibilities internally for the Driving discipline, at least in the short term. The primary focus is ensuring minimal impact on USEF members during this transition and that the sport of Driving (Combined and Pleasure) responsibly grows and flourishes in the U....

Dear USEF Members, 2017 marks the 100 th Anniversary of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and there is no better time than the present to launch a version of the organization which will pave the way for years to come. There was a much different feeling and buzz to this year’s USEF Annual Meeting. If you did not get to attend this year’s meeting, you missed out on an outstanding and high-energy experience filled with informative live presentations ranging from the...

Lexington, Ky. – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) announces that, effective immediately, The American Driving Society (ADS) will no longer be recognized by the USEF as the affiliate for the driving discipline. The change in recognition results from an inability to reach an agreement as to the responsibilities of the Recognized Affiliate for the driving discipline. The USEF Board of Directors conducted a thorough review regarding the status of a draft affiliate agreement...

Dear fellow USEF member, Last Saturday, I was formally elected to be President of the United States Equestrian Federation. I am deeply honored to have been elected to this volunteer position and am so excited to have been given this opportunity to help drive growth in equestrian sports in the United States. For those of you who don’t know me, the first thing you need to know is that I come to this position with 45 years of equestrian experience. And put simply, I love horses. Our family...

Lexington, Ky. - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased to announce Elizabeth “Lizzy” Traband as the 2016 Junior Equestrian of the Year. Growing up on a sport horse breeding and training farm, horses have always been a part of 18-year-old Traband's life. Despite being born with only one hand, Traband has not let anything limit her passion for horses. She has successfully competed in dressage, hunters, jumpers, and para-dressage. Traband is also an...

The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) voted at the November 22 FEI General Assembly to support changes to the Olympic format for equestrian sport. The biggest change in format across all three Olympic disciplines involved the number of riders per team and how they are scored. In the previous format there were four riders that participated on each team with a drop score in each round of competition. Under the newly approved format there will be three riders per team and no drop score....