Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce the 2024 Horse of the Year nominees. The International and National Horses of the Year will be announced at the 2024 SmartPak/USEF Horse of the Year Awards Dinner on Saturday, Jan. 25 during the 2025 US Equestrian Annual Meeting in Lexington, Ky. Horses of Honor are nominated by their USEF affiliate organization or USEF breed or discipline committee, and the finalists are selected by the USEF Awards Committee. The final Horses of the...

Lexington, Ky . - US Equestrian is pleased to announce the host locations and dates for the 2025 US Equestrian Open of Dressage Qualifier Events. The US Equestrian Open of Dressage will consist of 24 qualifying events around the country leading into the series final, to be hosted at Desert International Horse Park in Thermal, Calif., November 13-16, crowning the inaugural US Equestrian Open of Dressage champion. All FEI registered athletes (U.S. and foreign) and horses are invited to...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce the host location of the 2025-27 USEF/USEA Developing Horse National Championship , which will take place at Morven Park International & Fall Horse Trials in Leesburg, Va. from October 9-12, 2025. The USEF/USEA Developing Horse National Championship will continue to feature two divisions – the first for six-year-old horses competing at the CCI2*-S level, and the second for seven-year-old horses competing at the CCI3*-S level....

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian would like to update pony hunter owners and exhibitors on the current qualifying criteria and qualification period for the USEF Pony Hunter National Championship green pony division at the 2025 USEF Pony Finals presented by Marshall + Sterling. ©Leslie Potter/US Equestrian Green pony hunters can qualify for Pony Finals by winning one championship or two reserve championships at a national or premier rated competition during the qualification period....

Lexington, Ky. - US Equestrian is pleased to announce the Eventing Pathway Program Lists for 2025, including the Elite, Pre-Elite, Development, and Development 25 Programs. Eventing Elite Program: The following athlete-and-horse combinations, listed in alphabetical order, have achieved the Eventing Elite Program List for 2025. Will Coleman (Ocala, Fla.) and Off The Record (VDL Arkansas x Dumagoldan Bay), a 2009 Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by the Off The Record Syndicate. Boyd Martin...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian congratulates Hannah Hiiva (Roy, Wash.), recipient of the 2024 US Equestrian National Youth Sportsman’s Award. Hiiva is an active exhibitor on the Arabian circuit and serves as a Region 5 Youth Director for the Arabian Youth Horse Association. She was nominated for this award by the Arabian Horse Association . Hannah Hiiva. ©Miley DeFalco Hiiva is a junior at Yelm High School where she is active in leadership roles, including as yearbook...

Lexington, Ky. – The United States Dressage Federation™ (USDF) and the US Equestrian Federation (USEF) are thrilled to announce that, effective January 1, 2025, USDF will become the USEF Recognized Affiliate Association for Para Dressage. Leading up to this transition, representatives from the United States Para Equestrian Association (USPEA), USEF Para-Equestrian Sport Committee, and USDF representatives formed a taskforce that worked in tandem with the USEF executive arm to...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce that Kilcarna French Fancy “Arnie”, the 2008 Irish Sport Horse gelding from Great Oak Equine Assisted Programs , is the 2024 USEF Heart Horse Award winner. Arnie was selected as the winner following voting by the USEF membership and will be honored during the USEF Pegasus Awards Dinner at the USEF Annual Meeting in Lexington, Ky., on Jan. 23, 2024. At seventeen hands high, Arnie is hard to miss when visiting Great Oak. He...

The “Chromatic Fund,” a collaborative initiative of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), US Equestrian (USEF), Chromatic’s breeder KC Branscomb, and The Foundation for The Horse will fund innovative research and education initiatives designed to improve the health and welfare of sports horses worldwide. The fund is named in honor of Chromatic BF, a 13-year-old Oldenburg U.S. show jumper who tragically died at the 2024 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Finals...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce that the FEI North American Youth Dressage Championships (NAYC) will include an FEI Children Championship for dressage athletes aged 12 through 14 for the first time in 2025. Additionally, selection procedures for all divisions are now posted on USEF.org . ©Avery Wallace/US Equestrian NAYC FEI Children Championship Dressage FAQ In order to help athletes with their planning, below are some frequently asked questions regarding this...