Nancy Jaffer
EQUESTRIAN SPORTS
NEWS AND FEATURES
FROM NEW JERSEY AND BEYOND
McKeever and Albany added to the Show Jumping Hall of Fame
Lee McKeever, McLain Ward's sport horse manager for 38 years, will be inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame March 1, along with Debbie Dolan's Albany, ridden by Leslie Burr Howard on the 1984 Olympic show jumping gold medal team. The International Award at the...
A final farewell to the Final Four
The Final Four used to be the highlight of the world show jumping championships. It offered suspenseful moments when the top four riders would jump the last course of the show, then return on their rivals' mounts and take the fences three more times to determine the...
More worries about the Maryland 5-star
The future of October's Maryland 5-star eventing competition became even more of a question mark this week, after the state Division of Legislative Services discussed 2027 budget proposals before the state Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. To insure that "new...
Big weekend wins for show jumpers from several countries
A variety of nationalities shared in the major show jumping victories around the world. In the U.S., Ireland's Shane Sweetnam took the $215,000 MARS 4-star aboard Coriaan van Klapscheut Z on the grass field at Wellington International's Equestrian Village. “His first...
Eventing great Ballaghmor Class is retiring
At age 19 after a brilliant career, Ballaghmor Class will leave the arena for good, his rider, Oliver Townend has announced. He described "Thomas" as the horse is known, "as one of the most successful event horses in history and a phenomenal partner and teammate to...
Why are showing costs so high? Here are some answers
The price of showing--and the ever-rising cost of owning horses--have been the hot topics over the last few years. For the U.S. Equestrian Federation, it came to a head with pushback when a fee increase (effective April 1) was announced last year. In an effort to find...
A new show series on the California calendar seeks to address the issues
We keep hearing the same complaints about horse showing: For all but the uber wealthy, many of the competitions have gotten too expensive -- dealing with high entry fees and add-ons, while the cost of being away from home for five or six days has skyrocketed, A new...
Orlob and Jane top 5-star Grand Prix Special
Patience and persistence paid off for Marcus Orlob with the temperamental Jane on Saturday, as they scored a personal best in the 5-star Grand Prix Special at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, Fla. Exposing the mare to different showgrounds and...
Two bargain horses win big
Although seven-figure purchase prices for horses are all too common these days in both racing and showing, Saturday's Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park in Florida illustrates that it's still possible to buy a winner for a price that doesn't break the...
Recognition for a horse from the Garden State
A New Jersey thoroughbred gelding was named 2025's Champion Male Sprinter at racing's Eclipse Award ceremonies in Palm Beach this week. Book'em Danno, by Bucchero our of the Ghostzapper mare Adorabella, raced for a New Jersey-based partnership of friends and business...
