Nancy Jaffer
EQUESTRIAN SPORTS
NEWS AND FEATURES
FROM NEW JERSEY AND BEYOND
An equestrian heritage pays off in USEF Talent Search
Nature vs. nurture. It was the first thing that came to mind when I realized the top four competitors in the Platinum Performance/ U.S. Equestrian Federation Show Jumping Talent Search Finals East came from equestrian families. In case you’re not...
A partnership of dreamers who get things done
They’re a hard-working power couple who rode away from Dressage at Devon with several blue ribbons last weekend. But the story of Shannon Stevens and her husband, Olympic team member Marcus Orlob, is about more than victories. Behind each of the...
Dance-Off jazzes up Dressage at Devon
How does she do it? Silva Martin has three rambunctious little boys at home (and an energetic eventer husband, Boyd Martin). At Dressage at Devon she is riding five horses. No, make that six, because five wasn’t enough. Friday night, Silva got on...
Lots to applaud in the Dressage at Devon freestyle
It’s been 15 years since Kevin Kohmann last rode at Dressage at Devon, and now he’s busy making up for lost time. The Floridian won Friday’s Prix St. Georges and Saturday’s Intermediate I, both with scores over 70 percent on Scala, an intriguing...
A masterful Masterclass during Dressage at Devon
“It’s a simple sport, but it’s hard to do,” mused Brett Parbery as he wrapped up the Jewel Court Stud USA's Masterclass Thursday evening during Dressage at Devon, after giving short lessons to five riders involved in everything from western...
A key player is missing from Dressage at Devon
It was going to be a second chance, of sorts. Marcus Orlob’s Olympic ride on Jane in Paris was cut short after a judge spotted a tiny scratch on her white hind leg, a trifle she sustained after spooking when the horse before her left the ring. Jane...
It’s the end of an era for Suppenkasper, Steffen Peters and Four Winds Farm
They have been a pillar of U.S. dressage teams through more than 80 international competitions, with 59 victories over eight years. The career of Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper has included silver medals at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games and...
Dressage at Devon has it all: Who will be riding? (UPDATE)
The breed and performance competition is great during the week of Kingsview Partners Dressage at Devon, but going beyond that, this Heritage show offers a fun experience combined with the opportunity to learn. It’s really a multi-dimensional...
Princeton shows cancelled for the autumn
A lack of entries has led Princeton Show Jumping to cancel its three remaining shows for the season, which would have been held this month and in October. Andrew Philbrick, who runs the hunter/jumper venue in Montgomery Township, N.J., attributes...
USEF replies to Princeton Show Jumping concerns
Entries for U.S. Equestrian Federation-licensed shows were up 30,000 from 2022 to 2023, and figures for this year through July are on track for another projected increase, according to the federation’s CEO, Bill Moroney. “Overall, our numbers are...
Development plans for Monmouth Park include racing as a priority
Multifamily housing, a 200-room hotel, retail offerings, entertainment elements and youth sports facilities are slated for the 80 acres around Monmouth Park, where racing is slated to continue at the New Jersey track under an 85-year lease...
Bad news, good news for competitions in Las Vegas
Cancellation of the November Las Vegas qualifier for the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ North American League has led to new possibilities for the Marshall+Sterling Insurance/USHJA National Championships, which had been scheduled to run...
What a wild weekend!
So much incredible competition went on in all the disciplines this weekend that it was positively head-spinning trying to keep up. But we managed. First, let's deal with the richest grand prix in the world, the $3 million (Canadian) CPKC...
HITS grand prix topped by an international trio
Jump-offs can be cutthroat affairs when the stakes are high and there is, as the British would say, all to play for. Speaking of the British, they accounted for two-thirds of the top placings in Saturday’s Core Specialty Insurance $250,000 4-star...
Belgian Olympic event horse positive for banned substance, could change results
The fourth-place finish of the Belgian eventing team at the Paris Olympics could be in jeopardy The Belgian Equestrian Federation has been informed that Tine Magnus’ horse, Dia van het Lichterveld, had a positive test (A-sample) for a banned...
They did it! U.S. Para team takes gold
The U.S. Paralympic Dressage Team earned its first-ever team gold, securing the title with a score of 235.567 following three team rides Friday from Roxanne Trunnell (Grade I) and Fanta Tastico H, Fiona Howard (Grade II) and Diamond Dunes, and...
Weber sets a four-in-hand record
Chester Weber, who has long been a star in the dressage segment of four-in-hand driving, outdid himself on Friday in Hungary with a record score of 31.06 penalties. He leads the field of 41 at the world championships, earning four 10s and one 9.5...
A mentor who was a special inspiration has left us
Jack Levy wasn’t a horseman to begin with. He was in the nursing uniform industry, where he did wholesale, retail and catalogues when he got a call from Miller Harness Co., which was looking for a CEO with his skill set.. His experience got him the...
Michael Barisone is heading south
Michael Barisone made progress toward resuming his career as a dressage trainer on Friday, when a judge gave permission for the 2008 U.S. Olympic team alternate to leave New Jersey and travel to his Florida horse farm. “I do think it is appropriate...
U.S. Open championships will showcase the country’s best horses and riders
A new competition series with $1 million in prize money for dressage, show jumping and eventing is being launched by the U.S. Equestrian Federation, with an eye toward the 2028 Olympics in California. The disciplines all will have qualifiers and a...
Help Kevin Babington while you enjoy a special horse show
Six years ago, the life of the Babington family changed forever. Top international show jumper Kevin Babington suffered a disastrous fall with his horse in a grand prix, a crash that left him with a contusion of the spinal cord as a result of...
Dalera goes out on top
It was an obvious decision -- after winning her second Olympic individual gold medal this month and earning a host of other global titles over the years, German dressage queen TSF Dalera BB will be retired from competition, rider Jessica von...
Chromatic’s loss has resulted in a gain for U.S. sport horses
The tragic death of Chromatic BF at April’s FEI World Cup Show Jumping Final in Saudi Arabia has sparked a three-part U.S. Equestrian Federation welfare initiative, designed to improve the safety and well-being of sport horses. In the bigger...
A young star on the way up: Simonson takes Brentina Cup
For three-time Olympian Adrienne Lyle, the Adequan®/USEF Brentina Cup Dressage National Championship has taken on the status of a tradition. The Cup for riders under 25, is named for the stellar dressage mare ridden by Adrienne’s coach and mentor,...
Vale gets a piece of the Dublin grand prix
It’s been a long road for Aaron Vale and Carissimo 25 this year, winding through Abu Dhabi, Rome, elsewhere in Europe and now Dublin. But he and the brilliant chestnut reached the personal pinnacle of their partnership (so far) with a third-place...
Dublin is golden for US show jumpers
The prestigious Nations Cup of Ireland on Friday stacked up to be a match between the U.S., which hadn’t won the Aga Khan trophy since 2017 and Ireland, a country with a habit of fielding winning teams this year. And so it was at the end of the...
It’s time to bid the Paris Olympics “adieu”
The 2024 Paris Olympics is a long way from Chariots of Fire, the Best Picture of 1981, which depicted the Paris Games of 100 years ago. That was an idealistic time, with participation limited to amateurs, when athletes sought glory for their...
The incredible backstory of an Olympic gold medalist and his horse
The new Olympic individual show jumping gold medalist, Christian Kukuk, is known to have been mentored by another Olympic gold medalist, Ludger Beerbaum. But it would seem that the foundation for his prowess was laid in Christian's genes by his...
Germany does it again with victory in the Olympic individual show jumping
Germany clinched a clean sweep of the individual equestrian medals at the Paris Olympics today, with Christian Kukuk and the dazzling grey Westfalian gelding, Checker, producing the only double-clear effort in a dramatic tiebreaker for the show...
Germans get dressage gold again, but not the highest individual score
For the fifteenth time, Germany won dressage team gold at the Olympics, but the margin in Paris on Saturday was so small that the outcome was in doubt until the very end of the competition. Germany’s edge over silver medal Denmark in the Grand Prix...
U.S. Olympic equestrian medal drought ends in show jumping silver
Britain earned its first Olympic show jumping team gold since the landmark 2012 London Olympics with a mere 2 time penalties Friday, as the U.S. claimed silver on 4 faults and France was third with 7. The Brits took the lead with a 1-time penalty...
Jung takes individual gold; Britain dominates in Paris team eventing: UPDATE
It was a historic day at the Olympics, for Germany's Michael (Michi) Jung and the British. Let's rename the country "Very Great" Britain. The British eventing team of Laura Collett Ros Canter and Tom McEwen at the Paris Games defended its Tokyo...
Two U.S. riders in jumping medal finals; Ward out
There were some astonishing results in Monday’s Olympic show jumping individual medal qualifier. A couple of very key contenders failed to make the list of 30 eligible starters from a field of 73 seeking a place in Tuesday’s final competition,...
U.S. riders selected for individual medal competition in Paris
The entire U.S. show jumping squad that earned silver at the Olympics on Friday will be starting Monday in the individual medal competition qualifier. Kent Farrington, whose mount, Greya, was under the weather last week will stay on the sidelines...
U.S. dressage team member Orlob in shock elimination at Olympics
The Cinderella story of dressage did not have a happy ending, as the USA’s Marcus Orlob and Jane were eliminated in their Olympic debut partway through their Grand Prix test after a judge spotted a nick on the mare's right hind leg. Although it was...
So far, so good for U.S jumpers in Paris
The U.S. made it into Friday’s Olympic team show jumping competition by finishing second in Thursday’s qualifier, which sorted out the 10 countries that will ride for medals Friday from the 20 entered in that discipline at the Games. Those...
So what else happened in Olympic dressage?
While the elimination of Marcus Orlob's ride, Jane, for a tiny cut on her fetlock was the biggest news as the Olympic dressage competition got under way in Paris (click here to read the story), the big picture of the discipline there was quite...
An Olympic medal now up to U.S. show jumpers: UPDATE
It was disappointment on top of heartbreak for U.S. dressage during the final day of Grand Prix competition Wednesday, as six-time Olympian Steffen Peters put in a test that didn't come close to breaking 70 percent, uncharacteristically finishing...
An Olympic cross-country course to remember at Versailles: UPDATE
After the first few competitors finished the beautiful Paris Olympics cross-country course on Sunday, from an armchair perspective it may have seemed almost too easy, like a trail ride with challenges. Britain’s pathfinder, Tom McEwen, completed...
Eventing dressage produces two Olympic records in Paris
The Phantom of the Opera, a funky fashion show, that mechanical horse with a silver-clad rider galloping down the Seine, where boats full of jubilant athletes celebrated the glory of being Olympians. A rare performance by ailing Celine Dion, a...
Here’s the list of everyone who will be riding in Paris
You know who the U.S. is sending to the Olympics this month--this website has publicized the looong team selection process and named the names of who has been selected in all three disciplines. But what about the other 48 countries that are...
A video puts dressage gold medalist Dujardin out of Olympics: UPDATE
In a shocking development, Britain’s dressage queen, Charlotte Dujardin, has been provisionally suspended by the FEI a week before she was scheduled to ride in the Olympics, after a 2.5-year-old video surfaced that showed her making “an error of...
Barisone to remain in New Jersey — for now
After nearly five years of tumult that included a high-profile trial, jail time and stays in psychiatric institutions, a court hearing this week indicated dressage trainer Michael Barisone may be a step closer to resuming his life with horses....
Thieme first, Ward second in dramatic Aachen grand prix
Here’s a lesson that rider Richard Vogel learned the hard way in the Rolex Grand Prix Sunday at Aachen—don’t celebrate your victory until you’re sure you’ve won. The German, a real star in the show jumping at the International Equestrian Festival...
U.S. Eventers score at Aachen
The U.S. didn’t bring its Paris Olympic eventing team to Aachen, but the squad that finished second Saturday at the International Equestrian Festival demonstrated the country has some impressive depth for the future. Chef d’Equipe Bobby Costello...
The Fourth wasn’t glorious for U.S. show jumpers at Aachen
It was a disappointing way to spend the Fourth of July for the Americans at the Aachen International Equestrian Festival. The U.S. show jumping team failed to qualify for the second round of the 1 million Euro Mercedes-Benz Nations Cup Thursday...
U.S. starts Aachen eventing in a good place
The U.S. eventing team at the Aachen International Equestrian Festival is in podium position—just—after dressage and show jumping, the first two phases of the three-part test. The squad stands on 102.100 penalties, only 0.5 ahead of fourth-place...
A good day/bad day story for the U.S. at Aachen: UPDATE
Steffen Peters had a disappointing test with the veteran Suppenkasper in the 4-star Grand Prix at the Aachen World Equestrian Festival on Wednesday, scoring 68.131 percent as he finished nineteenth in a field of 22 starters. The 16-year-old...
Dressage at Aachen getting under way without Adrienne Lyle
Arguably, the Aachen World Equestrian Festival is the greatest horse show on earth. But Adrienne Lyle won’t be joining her U.S. Olympic dressage teammates there this week. Instead, she’s staying at Swiss equestrian Daniel Ramseier’s farm in Germany...
Aachen opening ceremonies–all about the USA
Slices of American life, from surfing to Barbie, cowboys, cheerleaders and even the Statue of Liberty (not the real one, of course) were on display during the energetic opening ceremonies of the Aachen World Equestrian Festival Tuesday. The USA is...
Combined driving event boosts the sport on a special weekend
Alice Tarjan is best known as a dressage rider. Dennis Sargenti is a master of the Essex Fox Hounds. But enjoying the discipline of driving is something they have in common. And, oh yeah, they happen to be married. The couple from Oldwick, N.J.,...
An iconic feed store now is right where it belongs
Moving a business that has been running since 1945 isn’t easy. It’s even more difficult when that business has taken on the status of an institution among area horse people, who have relied on it for decades. But Somerset Grain and Feed, formerly...
Orlob does it again, making him a prime Olympic dressage prospect
Incredible! Or as the Germans like to say, “Wow, wow, wow!” That sums up the personal best (by far) performance of Marcus Orlob and Jane at the Schafhof Dresseur Festival in Germany, the final competition for Olympic hopefuls before the U.S. team...
Answers on the loss of Chromatic BF at the World Cup? (UPDATE)
The death of Chromatic BF shortly after a brilliant performance at the FEI World Cup Show Jumping Finals in Saudi Arabia April 18 was a devastating development that seemed unreal. The 13-year-old Oldenburg appeared to be in great condition as he...
Alumni have their moment to shine at the Tournament of Champions
When was the last time you went to a show where there were smiles all around, with exhibitors who weren’t scrambling for points or fretting about trying to qualify for a bigger show? For me, it was yesterday--at the Alumni Tournament of Champions,...
Peters leads U.S. riders in the Special at German face-off
The final day of Grand Prix competition at the Hagen, Germany, 3-star dressage show Sunday on Friday kept multi-Olympic veteran Steffen Peters on Suppenkasper ahead of the other U.S. riders in competition for a place on the team for the Paris Games...
U.S. Olympic dressage team candidates go head-to-head (UPDATE)
The second day of Grand Prix competition at the Hagen, Germany, 3-star dressage show on Friday kept multi-Olympic veteran Steffen Peters ahead of the other U.S. riders in competition for a place on the team for the Paris Games this summer. Steffen...
Essex horsepower: Equines and engines
The Essex Horse Trials has a special character. It's not just the fact that it's held at two unique venues, it also has great footing and as an added attraction, a car show. Really. There's nothing else quite like it. When Sara Kozumplik saw that...
And yet another Irish victory at Devon (UPDATE)
Ireland reigned supreme for the third time this week in the Dixon Oval, as Jordan Coyle took the $226,000 Sapphire Grand Prix of Devon with a bold performance on an equally determined For Gold while a standing-room-only crowd cheered him on. “My...
Devon remains a delightful tradition
The Devon Horse Show is one of a kind. With its unlikely location outside Philadelphia, where suburbia and commerce have shouldered in around its 17-acre parcel, 128-year-old Devon is a relic of the past that is still beloved in the present—and...
The hunter derby at Devon showcased skill and judgment
The backdrop for the press conference following the $25,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby at the Devon Horse Show was a wall covered with photos of riders who have been inducted into the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame. John French, one of...
Germany wins Rome Nations Cup; USA’s Cook takes grand prix: UPDATE
Germany won the Nations Cup at the scenic Piazza Di Sienna in Rome with zero penalties Friday, as powerhouse Ireland finished second on 4 penalties, while Belgium was third with 8. The U.S. and Mexico also had 8, but slower cumulative times than...
“Participation” is a key word for USHJA’s new president
During the two decades since the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association was formed, Britt McCormick has served it in various capacities as a volunteer. But since becoming the organization’s first president from west of the Mississippi, he is working on...
A pillar of eventing, Trish Gilbert, has passed away
She was outspoken, determined and totally devoted to three-day eventing. The sport lost one of its most ardent advocates last week, when Trish Gilbert died at 83. Doing it all, and doing it well, was the trademark of a very practical woman who was...
Badminton ends with a come-from-behind victor
The sixteenth time was the charm. New Zealand’s Caroline Powell won the MARS Badminton Horse Trials’ Whitbread Trophy on Greenacres Special Cavalier after 15 previous outings in the event. "I wasn’t ready for that," said Caroline, 51. "I thought...
Badminton eventing: what are the odds?
EquiRatings gave New Zealand’s Tim Price only a 10 percent chance of winning the 5-star MARS Badminton Horse Trials this weekend, but he’s on track to prove them wrong. On a testing cross-country course designed by Eric Winter, the optimum time of...
No Rolex Eventing Grand Slam winner this year
Oliver Townend, last month's Kentucky 5-star winner with Cooley Rosalent, is missing out on a chance to make history this week. With a win at the Burghley 5-star last year and then Kentucky this year, all he would have had to do was win the...
Add one more Kentucky Derby to the list of the best
Saturday’s Kentucky Derby had a stellar line-up, with the likes of $2.3 million yearling purchase Sierra Leone, erratic but brilliant Fierceness and undefeated Japanese star Forever Young, not to mention 17 other contenders. It's the one day of the...
Sad news about Potomac Horse Center
The historic Potomac Horse Center in Maryland, which trained generations of horsemen and women, is closing this summer. stating it was unable to renegotiate its 1993 lease. The 60-acre property is owned by the Maryland-National Capital Parks and...
Dressage team candidates complete one last U.S. show
This is the weekend it all came down to the wire for the U.S. Olympic dressage ranking list. Qualifying scores earned at the 3-star TerraNova show near Sarasota, Fla., will help determine which eight candidates head to Europe in the coming months....
It’s Townend on top again at his old Kentucky 5-star home: Updated
Oliver Townend had to come from behind to win the Defender Kentucky 5-star three-day event, but the world’s number one eventer simply did all he could do by riding a perfect show jumping round Sunday on Cooley Rosalent, then waited for the leaders...
The Kentucky 4-star will go down to the wire
Elisabeth Halliday, who had shared top billing after dressage in the Cosequin Lexington 4-star at the Kentucky Horse Park, found herself alone at the top of the chart with Miks Master C after a trip over the testing cross-country course on...
British 1-2-3 in Kentucky 5-star
The odds might seem to be against the U.S. repeating its 2023 victory in the 5-star Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event. Last year, Tamie Smith on Mai Baum became the first American to win the competition since 2008. This year, the top U.S. rider...
Big names top the standings in the Kentucky 5-star event
Brits, Brits everywhere at the top of the leaderboard in both the 4-star Short and 5-star three-day events at the Kentucky Horse Park, where the dressage phase wrapped up on Friday. In the Defender 5-star, a lovely, fluid test from Tom McEwen and...
Sweden on top at World Cup again, this time in dressage: UPDATED
Sweden, which is dominating the Longines Show Jumping World Cup Finals, got a winner in the co-featured dressage competition today, as Patrik Kittel took the prize on Touchdown during his ninth career start in the indoor championship. The show in...
No surprise–von Eckermann takes another World Cup Finals: UPDATED
Henrik von Eckermann of Sweden didn’t just win the Longines FEI World Cup Show Jumping Final this afternoon, he did it in a style worthy of his number one global ranking. The defending champion was fault-free in each segment of the competition in...
American horse dies after fabulous performance at show jumping World Cup Finals
Tragedy followed triumph tonight as Chromatic BF—who earlier had jumped to third place in the Longines FEI Show Jumping World Cup Finals—collapsed in his stall and died in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Click here to read the competition story or go to the...
A new president takes over ahead of schedule at USHJA: Updated
Mary Knowlton, president of the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association since 2016, resigned after an investigation and has been succeeded by Britt McCormick, who was president-elect. The issue involved building a new, independent information technology...
Marcus Orlob is riding for a dressage dream: Another UPDATE
There have been a number of last-minute horse/rider pairings at Grand Prix this season, the latest being Marcus Orlob and Jane, together only for eight weeks. Last weekend, they won the 3-star Grand Prix Special with 71.894 percent at TerraNova...
Salvino bows out: Update
The speculation about Salvino's future is over. The 17-year-old Hanoverian stallion who was a lynchpin of so many U.S. dressage teams will compete no more. He's headed for a breeding career in Florida and Colorado. Owned by Betsy Juliano and ridden...
German speedster takes WEF’s biggest prize
The 5-star finale of the Winter Equestrian Festival was worth every penny of its $500,000 purse in excitement, as a nine-horse jump-off ended with Germany’s Christian Kukuk wresting victory in the Rolex Grand Prix from U.S. favorite McLain Ward by...
USHJA Town Halls offer a chance to be heard on key issues
The loss of boutique shows, the “crazy expensive” cost of showing, reporting horse abuse, and of course, social license to operate were among the topics at the most recent Town Hall in a series offered by the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association. The...
A brave horsewoman closes the book on a life-changing fall
A little more than two years ago, professional rider Cassandra Kahle of Redfield Farm suffered a TBI (traumatic brain injury) when her horse fell during a jumper class at HITS Ocala’s Post Time Farm. On Sunday, the last day of the 2024 winter...
It’s the Irish show jumping team on top of the world
The Longines League of Nations’ debut in the U.S. crackled with excitement from beginning to end, as teams from 10 countries that included 18 of the world’s 20 top-ranked show jumpers offered what might be a hint of the action in this summer’s...
Stunning performances highlight the Lugano Grand Prix at WEC
When is a $330,000 grand prix not the featured attraction at a horse show? Answer: When it’s held during a week that offers the only U.S. leg of the Longines League of Nations, a new version of the traditional Nations Cup series. Teams from 10...
A thrilling week for international show jumping: The world is focused on Ocala
The Longines League of Nations show jumping is the kind of competition for which Ocala’s lavish World Equestrian Center was created. Teams from 10 countries from three continents are being showcased at a setting offering the ultimate comfort for...
The Essex Horse Trials is adding to its special history
As dusk fell on the evening before the first Essex Horse Trials in 1968, Sally Ike was helping organizer Roger Haller complete work on the final cross-country fence at his family’s Hoopstick Farm in Bedminster, N.J. At the time, Sally was a...
U.S. and Aachen set for a new partnership
Britain’s splendid Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment is a hard act to follow in the pantheon of the Aachen horse show’s “partner country” collaborators. But the USA is ready to handle the position in Germany this summer, armed with such...
New Wellington showgrounds gets final nod from Council
It’s been a long slog to get to a new showgrounds for Wellington, Florida; nine-plus months and approximately 70 hours of hearings (I admit I’ve lost the exact count.) But on Tuesday night, the Village Council signed off on the project with a...
A special horsewoman who knew just how to help is being missed
You may not have heard of trainer Debbie Haimowitz. She didn’t run a big stable, have high-profile horses or compete on the Florida circuit. But the Goshen, N.Y., resident, who succumbed to cancer last month at age 67, was a kind and dedicated...
The equine welfare question and how to handle it
Less than a month after the last U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s Town Hall about social license to operate, the organization held another Zoom session dominated by that subject and horse abuse on Monday night. It gained an even greater sense of...
Wellington board votes on showgrounds compatibility
In the quietest – and shortest-- meeting since consideration of the controversial Wellington North and South projects began last year, the Florida village’s Planning, Zoning and Adjustment Board unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday night...
Gladstone’s exciting driving revival is under way
“Gladstone.” It’s a name synonymous with excellence in the horse world, the former U.S. Equestrian Team training center at Hamilton Farm in New Jersey, now the home of the USET Foundation. For decades, Gladstone was known around the world as the...
Show Jumping Hall of Fame to induct a special horse and a memorable man
A panel of voters from the horse industry has selected Francisco “Pancho” Lopez and the Holsteiner gelding Cedric, a regular on the U.S. Nations Cup teams, for induction into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame March 3 in Wellington, Fla. The...
Details about the new Wellington showgrounds revealed at hearing
Some crucial questions about the expanded Wellington, Fla., showgrounds finally were answered Thursday night at a meeting of the Equestrian Preserve Committee. Although the session, which ran more than five and one-half hours, was held to insure...
Dressage medalist Adrienne Lyle is up for the Paris challenge
Olympic and world championships dressage medalist Adrienne Lyle is off to the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Fla., with two new horses this week. The trio is still in a period of adjustment with each other, since the horses arrived from Europe...
Dressage winners Marek and Howington often cross paths
It’s fun to see fresh faces at the top of U.S. dressage classes. For a long time, the USA’s familiar names have been leading competition in America and elsewhere, but now there’s a changing of the guard, so to speak. A perennial team member, the...
The Babington Benefit has become a special tradition for a special person
The annual Kevin Babington Benefit is more than a fundraiser; it’s also a tribute to the inspirational show jumper whose spinal cord injury has not dimmed his spirit. He was front and center in his wheelchair last week at Victoria McCullough’s Mida...
An Irish triumph was more than luck
Partnered with three exceptional horses, Irish riders took complete possession of the podium at the Winter Equestrian Festival’s weekend feature, the $385,000 Fidelity Investments 5-star Grand Prix. Winner Darragh Kenny was aboard the 14-year-old...
Hunter teams have a promising WEF debut
Amid all the controversy and lobbying about expanding the main showgrounds in Wellington, Florida, remember that even as equestrians cite the need for big improvements there, what the public sees is pretty darn good when they come to the home of...
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