Okay, sports fans, time to get out the scorecards and track the action to the three biggest prize offerings in U.S. show jumping, the HITS Triple Crown: three individual $1 million classes. With the opening of the HITS Desert Circuit in Thermal, CA, this week, qualifying starts in earnest. The rules have changed a bit […]
The year 2015 was not a great one for U.S. opponents of horse slaughter. Although the last two U.S. horse slaughter plants were closed in 2007, an estimated 140,000 American horses are being exported annually for slaughter in Canada and Mexico, purchased at stateside auctions by meat suppliers who truck them across the borders. The animals are more often […]
The joint was jumpin’ at the Compton Jr. Posse’s Holiday Horse Show, Saturday, Dec. 19. Ribbons, stockings and the spirit of the season lent a festive air to the proceeds, designed to thank sponsors and supporters for their work throughout the year. The kids who are at the heart of the program put on an […]
After legal tussling that has yet to come to a conclusion, the Fédération Équestre Internationale has granted interim approval for member riders to participate unsanctioned in third-party team competition, specifically the newly formed Global Champions League circuit. The ongoing battle sees the FEI and the GCL, two of the world’s most powerful horse sport entities pitted in a confrontation […]
Just three weeks after the attacks that plunged the world and the City of Light into mourning, French riders elected to wear their French team jackets in all classes at the Longines Masters of Paris, Dec. 3-6. So it was fitting that native son Patrice Delaveau won the CSI5* show jumping contest’s top prize, the […]
Matthieu Gheysen is an executive with a mission: Establish world-class show jumping in Los Angeles, on par with top events in Europe where equestrian sport is prestigious and culturally established (arguably for centuries). Two years into his assignment, Gheysen has certainly managed to surpass every expectation held by U.S. enthusiasts. Equestrian Events Management’s second annual […]
The mood lighting was great, due in no small part to the sparkling crowd at the Longines Masters of Los Angeles, Oct. 1-4. To EEM, a toast (Barons de Rothschild, mais oui!) for fantastic production values throughout. Across the board, horses, hosts, riders and guests offered consistent spectacular turnout, but The Equestrian News votes its Style & Prestige award […]
Fifteen clear among 35 starters. That’s awkward! Such were the results of the $130,000 Gucci Gold Cup, won by Patrice Delaveau (FRA) Oct. 3 at the Longines Masters of Los Angeles. Reining in our value judgments was SoCal trainer Steve McAllister, taking in the action from the Ventura Farms skybox with wife Jenni Martin McAllister, a top […]
There was nothing easy about Bertram Allen’s win in tonight’s Longines Speed Challenge aboard Quiet Easy 4. The 20-year-old Irish rider was blazingly fast and fault-free over a tricky course that saw rails toppling like matchsticks. The $130,000 1.45m CSI 5* was a single round, with each downed rail converting to two seconds added to the time […]
Hickstead, Sapphire, Shutterfly and now Hello Sanctos. Mega-watt equine luminaries, all. Over the years, their presence on the international show jumping circuit seeming to channel Pegasus himself. Today’s top A-lister, Hello Sanctos, is a 13-year-old bay Belgian Warmblood gelding ridden by Scott Brash. The pair, who ride for Great Britain, began their supernova ascent at the London 2012 Olympics, where they […]
