Nancy Jaffer
EQUESTRIAN SPORTS
NEWS AND FEATURES
FROM NEW JERSEY AND BEYOND
British clean sweep in London dressage
It was exhilarating to see the talent on display Wednesday in the qualifier for Thursday’s FEI World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle at the London International Horse Show. How much better will the top horses perform when the music is playing and the chips are really down?...
The deserving receive awards and thanks from USHJA
Marty Bauman and Colleen McQuay, two popular members of the equestrian community who are inspirational, influential and important to the hunter/jumper disciplines, received the William J. Moroney Visionary Award at the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association's annual meeting...
UPDATE 12/10: Vogel wins Geneva Rolex GP; It’s the hat trick for Guerdat in IJRC
A veteran and a newcomer took the big classes at the Rolex Geneva Switzerland show over the weekend, with Steve Guerdat and Richard Vogel showing their prowess at one of the world's toughest competitions. Swiss star Steve Guerdat won the International Jumping Riders...
A sad loss at Ocala show
Kelli Cruciotti-Vanderveen's Isabella van de Zuuthoeve was euthanized Thursday night after an accident during a $50,000 show jumping competition at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala. "There are no words to express the sadness I feel right now," Kelli said on social...
A little history lesson and some USHJA rule changes
When should competitors speak to a judge with a question about their round? How many refusals should mean elimination in an International Hunter Derby Championship? Does an oxer have to be the final fence in a hunter classic? Should riders be allowed to enter mules in...
Hot topics and serious conversations at the USHJA annual meeting
There were a lot of important questions asked during Town Hall sessions Monday and Tuesday at the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s annual meeting, but they all could be boiled down to this big picture concern: “Are we doing the best thing by our horses? Are we doing...
Despite an injury, Karl Cook feels like a million
The podium for the first Coachella Cup $1 million grand prix was dominated by members of the squad that took team gold for the U.S. at the Pan American Games in October, qualifying the country for the 2024 Paris Olympics. There was a time when $1 million grands prix...
Another shoe drops for Helgstrand: UPDATE
Following a decision to ban dressage trainer/entrepreneur Andreas Helgstrand from consideration for the Danish Olympic team, the Danish Riding Federation and the Danish Riding-Instructor Association are canceling a cooperation agreement with Helgstrand Dressage as a...
Helgstrand Dressage responds to undercover documentary on its training methods
Operation X: The Secrets of the Horse Billionaire, presented the first part of a documentary that aired Nov. 22 in Denmark on the way horses are trained at Helgstrand Dressage, with information obtained by a reporter going undercover as a groom. Helgstrand Dressage,...
Michael Barisone is moving on with his life
Dressage trainer Michael Barisone is writing a book, and now it has a happy ending—except it’s also a beginning. The first line of the book, he explained, is “I have lived two lives.” Barisone was given another chance today in court, following more than four harrowing...
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