Nancy Jaffer
EQUESTRIAN SPORTS
NEWS AND FEATURES
FROM NEW JERSEY AND BEYOND
It’s awards season for horse sport stars
The U.S. Equestrian Federation and the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation are handing out honors with a look back to 2025. It's no surprise that Kent Farrington's illustrious Greya received the USEF's SmartPak/International Horse of the Year title. Kent, the world's...
A plea for a fee rollback in an expensive sport
The price of showing has become an ever-more urgent issue for equestrians, who all too often must limit their opportunities to compete because it is growing increasingly expensive. For some, word last year that the U.S. Equestrian Federation would be raising fees was,...
Two horsemen honored by USEF
Irrepressible eventer Boyd Martin received international equestrian of the year honors for 2025 Thursday at the U.S. Equestrian Federation's Pegasus dinner, while hunter rider Daniel Geitner was named national equestrian of the year. Boyd, who won the first USEF...
A big promotion for a longtime eventing organizer
A dedicated worker who started as a volunteer for the Kentucky Three-Day Event when she was in the Keeneland Pony Club has been named CEO of the 5-star competition's parent organization, Equestrian Events Inc. Vanessa Coleman, who was EEI’s chief competition and...
Here’s a great idea to help insure a horse’s safe future
A new free feature called Lifetime Care Contacts is available for for horses registered with the U.S. Equestrian Federation. It enables USEF members to add their names to a horse’s USEF record. It means that if the horse is someday be in need of financial assistance...
Support the Essex Horse Trials as a rider, volunteer or sponsor
The historic Essex Horse Trials, which had a successful outing as a one-day competition last year, is increasing the offerings for its 2026 edition at Moorland Farms in Far Hills, N.J., this spring. The popular Modified division has been added to the May 31 schedule,...
Isla Carroll development gives it another try in Wellington
It's back to the drawing board yet again for the proposed Isla Carroll development in Wellington, Fla., which eked out a 3-2 approval from the Village Council on first reading Monday night. But both Mayor Michael Napoleone and Councilman John McGovern, who reluctantly...
A dynamic combined driving enthusiast is honored
John Layton has been named the U.S. Equestrian Federation's 2025 USEF Combined Driving Volunteer of the Year award, something well-deserved for the amount of time he gives to the sport. He is president of the Gladstone Equestrian Association Gladstone Driving, and...
Simonson tops in the Freestyle, Orlob in the Special (Update)
He did it again. Christian Simonson earned his second Personal Best score of the week at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival, taking Friday night's World Cup freestyle qualifier with a total of 81.445 percent on the steady Indian Rock. Their performance to themes...
The Winter Equestrian Festival is back big-time
As the Winter Equestrian Festival officially got under way this week, it was an opportunity to look at what lies ahead through the end of March at the Wellington International showgrounds in Florida. With a re-do over the last year, the facility has been spruced up,...
