from www.okstate.com/ Stillwater, Okla. - For the third-straight season, the third-ranked Oklahoma State equestrian team will be the top seed at the 2014 Big 12 Equestrian Championship, the league announced today. OSU (7-3), the two-time defending Big 12 champions, finished conference play with a 3-3 record. The Cowgirls lead the league with three titles, taking the crown in 2009, 2012 and 2013. All four Big 12 teams finished this season with a 3-3 record, but the Cowgirls claimed the...

Rich Fellers and Flexible were on top of their game Friday in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, at HITS Thermal. They topped an impressive field of 58 for the win (Flying Horse Photography) Thermal, Calif. - Rich Fellers of Wilsonville, Oregon and the famed Flexible climbed the ranks at HITS Thermal on Friday to win the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, over a field of 58 starters. Earlier this year, the fate of 2012 USEF International Horse of the Year...

University of South Carolina junior Katherine Schmidt finished the regular season with a 21-2-1 hunt seat record, including a perfect 12-0 record in equitation over fences. Martin, Tenn. - No. 1 ranked South Carolina won 3-of-4 MVPs and overpowered Tennessee-Martin in its regular season finale on Saturday, as the Gamecocks defeated the Skyhawks, 13-7, at the Ned McWherter Agricultural Pavilion. South Carolina (11-2 overall, 4-2 SEC) wraps up the regular season with a program best 11-wins. "Very...

The American Horse Council’s initiative offers $100,000 in cash and prize incentives for engaging newcomers in horse activities. Washington, D.C., – Time to Ride, an initiative of the American Horse Council, today announced an aggressive grassroots effort designed to engage 100,000 new people with horses in a 100-day period. The “100 Day Horse Challenge” is a nationwide campaign that will expose at least 100,000 new people to hands-on horse activities while providing...

Aaron Vale and Gems Bond were the ones to beat in the $2,500 Brook Ledge Open Welcome 1.40m at HITS Ocala (ESI Photography) Ocala, Fla. - Boasting the richest prize in show jumping, the Great American $1 Million Grand Prix is only two weeks away and riders are now looking to punch their ticket for the showdown in the Ocala Horse Properties Stadium. Tracy Fenney of Flower Mound, Texas made herself a top contender for the March 24 title with her fifth grand prix win of the circuit on Friday in...

This weekend, the Red Hills International Horse Trials is featuring the first Adequan USEA Gold Cup qualifier for the 2014 calendar year. In anticipation of an exciting year for the Gold Cup series, the USEA has adjusted the qualification requirements for the series Championships at the Texas Rose Horse Park in Tyler, Texas. In response to requests from Advanced-level competitors, the USEA will allow qualified riders to compete any Advanced-level horse in the Championships. Any rider that has...

Ben Maher and Aristo Z (Sportfot) Wellington, Fla. - A $34,000 G&C Farm 1.45m speed class was held Friday afternoon in the International Arena at PBIEC with an exciting win for Ben Maher (GBR) and Jane Clark's Aristo Z. The class saw 60 competitors with 20 clear rounds and an increasingly fast pace as the rounds went on. Fifth to go, Shane Sweetnam (IRL) and Spy Coast Farm LLC's Cyklon 1083 set a very tough time to beat at 63.23 seconds. The pair held the lead through most of the...

Nicole Bellissimo and VDL Bellefleur (Sportfot) Wellington, Fla. - The $25,000 Artisan Farms Young Rider Grand Prix Series Semi-Final was held on Friday night, presented by the Dutta Corporation in association with Guido Klatte. Fifty young riders under the age of 25 competed under the lights in the International Arena, with seven clear rounds to jump-off, and a win for 20-year-old Nicole Bellissimo of Wellington, FL. Riding Bellissimo LLC's VDL Bellefleur, an eight-year-old KWPN mare by...

Kent Farrington and Voyeur (Sportfot) Wellington, Fla . - The 2014 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) hosted a full schedule of international show jumping at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) on Friday with several feature competitions during the day and night. The morning kicked off with the remaining jump-off competitors from Thursday's $125,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 9 and a victory for Kent Farrington (USA) and Voyeur. A $34,000...

Joao Castro and Quarelly (Kendall Bierer/Phelps Media Group) Wellington, Fla. - Sometimes it can be hard for young riders to find backers, but famed equestrian Nelson Pessoa was happy to step up to the plate with 23-year-old Stephen Barcha. The talented Brazilian rode Ad Jacpote to the first place finish in the Wellington Turf Tour 1.40m Grand Prix at the International Polo Club Palm Beach. They swept away the competition with a brilliant jump off in 34.115 seconds. Out of a field of 50 riders,...