HITS was represented by President and CEO Tom Struzzieri and Dale Harvey of the West Coast Management Team. Zone 10 members were represented by West Coast Active Riders Board Chairman Bernie Traurig and President Will Simpson. Sally Ike, Managing Director of Show Jumping, Leigh Anne Claywell, Director of Competitions, and Allen Rheinheimer, the USEF’s footing expert for this project, served as the USEF representatives. Bart Poels, who is the footing specialist for the 2008 Olympic Games and has...

The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) is pleased to announce and congratulate its new USDF Certified Instructors. The USDF Instructor Certification Program is designed to set a standard of excellence in dressage training and instruction in the United States and to educate dressage riders, instructors and aspiring instructors. New USDF Certified Instructors include; Meaghan Byrne of Beverly, MA; Nancy Burba of St. Gabriel, LA; Lisa Bukowski of Stillwater, MN; Jontelle Forbus of Staunton,...

The American Saddlebred Horse Association's (ASHA) Annual Meeting and Youth Conference will be held Thursday–Friday, February 14-16, at the Embassy Suites in Lexington. The weekend ends with the annual Saddlebred Ball at Keeneland Race Course. Open meetings and forums with committees begin Thursday, as is customary, and the Charter Club Council will also conduct a workshop. Thursday evening is highlighted by a Welcome Reception sponsored by the FEI & Emerging Disciplines Committee. Friday...

The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation has announced that the Foundation will be featured in a special 24-page editorial and advertising section in the February 2008 issue of Town & Country magazine. The fundraising initiative raised $200,000 for the USET Foundation's high-performance fundraising programs. These contributions will help support high-performance equestrian athletes, including those preparing and competing at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. "The project with Town &...

The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased to announce the 2008 triple point competitions for the Saddlebred, roadster and Hackney/harness divisions. Each year, the corresponding discipline committees vote to assign “triple point” status to a competition in each of the 12 regions. Points won at any of these designated competitions will count as triple points for the Farnam®/Platform™ USEF Horse of the Year Program. Questions regarding triple point shows should be directed to the...

Equestrian Sport Productions, LLC (ESP), is offering individual reserved seating with in-seat a la carte food service for the first time during the 2008 CN Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). WEF begins its 12-week season at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington on January 16 and runs through April 6. Six hundred flip-up stadium-style seats are being installed in four rows on the south side of the main International Arena in front of what used to be the Jockey Club...

The Board of Directors of Fair Hill International, Inc. (FHI), has voted not to host a combined driving event at the Dansko Fair Hill International when it returns to the Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area in Fair Hill, MD, October 16-18, 2008. The board made the decision with great reluctance at the recommendation of Fair Hill International Co-President Lana Wright. While Wright reported to the Board that the National Advanced Combined Driving Championships held at Fair Hill in 2007...

Two digital clocks in downtown Lexington will mark the number of days until the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. The clocks were unveiled by Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry and World Games 2010 Foundation CEO Jack Kelly, with 1,000 days until the Games’ Opening Ceremonies. The Games will begin on September 25, 2010, and end on October 10, after 16 days of world championship equestrian competition at the Kentucky Horse Park. “The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games have been the talk of the...

Lexington, KY - The USEF has announced the location and dates for the USEF Show Jumping Trials for the 2008 Olympics. The trials will be held during the Zada Enterprises, LLC CSI***- W (February 27-March 2) and the CN Open CSIO***** (March 5-March 9) at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL. The trials will take place over five classes. Please see the schedule below. Thursday, February 28th Trial #1 (embedded in Class 100, $30,000 WEF Challenge Cup - Round VI) Sunday,...

Little Bit Farm is very proud to report that at the 2007 Sporthorse Stallion Performance Test at Paxton Farm, our three-year-old ISR/Oldenburg stallion Rashka (Raymeister x Tashka/Opus) not only won the 30-Day Short Test, but earned the highest score in the history of U.S. stallion testing, and possibly even in all European testing, as well, with a score of 164.86. Although Rashka is still maturing physically at 16.3 hands, his innate talent for both dressage and jumping was more than apparent....