Karen O’Connor and Mandiba have taken the first-day lead at the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** Three-Day Event, presented by Bridgestone, scoring 43.7 penalties.

Becky Holder rode Courageous Comet to second place (45.2), and Phillip Dutton rode The Foreman to third place (47.2).

O’Connor, 52, won the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in 1999, while Dutton, 46, won the

Troxel LLC has donated more than $2,000 worth of Troxel helmets to an eBay store raising funds for Courtney King-Dye.

King-Dye, a top dressage rider and member of the 2008 Olympic team, suffered a serious head injury after falling from a horse in Florida last month. When her horse stumbled, King-Dye, who was not wearing a helmet at the time, was knocked unconscious.

To

Open Sky Entertainment, in cooperation with Launchpad Releasing, is rolling out their new documentary film titled “John Henry: A Steel Driving Racehorse.”

The film, about one of the most successful and beloved horses in U.S. horse racing history, will make its theatrical debut May 2 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. The film will simultaneously be available to purchase on DVD at t

A field of 53 horses–the largest ever since the event became a CCI**** in 1998–will start the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Bridgestone, on Thursday morning. All 53 horses that were presented to the ground jury and official veterinarian Wednesday afternoon were accepted for competition.

In addition to more than two dozen Americans hoping to be selected to ride in

The Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) will host a two-day global congress to debate the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in competition. The FEI Congress on NSAIDs Usage and Medication in the Equine Athlete, which will be held in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Aug. 16-17, will include the presentation of educational and scientific papers as well as open debate.

A new model of a Breyer horse is another reason to attend QuarterFest in Murfreesboro, Tenn., April 30-May 2. Kids 11 and younger get free admission to QuarterFest when accompanied by an adult ticket holder. QuarterFest is a three-day, education-packed celebration of the horse.

Experts in Kentucky report that eastern tent caterpillar numbers are up for the third consecutive year, although populations vary from location to location.

According to Lee Townsend, University of Kentucky College of Agriculture entomologist, now is the time to check wild cherry and related trees for eastern tent caterpillar activity to determine whether management is necessary.

The FEI reported that Sapphire, the horse ridden by McLain Ward (USA), has been eliminated from the second round of the FEI World Cup Final in Geneva, Switzerland, and disqualified from the rest of the event following a positive hypersensitivity test. The horse was selected for thermography testing on its legs Friday, April 16.

Driving or taking a train through Kent, England, might surprise you in the future. The BBC News reports that permission has been granted to built a 164-foot white horse beside the A2 dual carriageway that will also be visible from Eurostar trains.

The Gravesham Borough Council approved the Ebbsfleet Landmark Project at a planning meeting April 14. The horse will be a replica of a

For the second year, a nationwide series of more than 160 gastroscopy events showed 60% of horses were identified with stomach ulcers, according to a press release from Merial.

“This is the second year that these scopings were able to show horse owners the type of potentially painful stomach ulcers that their horses have been dealing with,” said April Knudson, DVM, manager of Merial Veterina

Equine Science 4 Kids! is a redesigned, interactive youth component now available on the Rutgers Equine Science Center website. It features an illustrated version of Lord Nelson, a 37-year old American Quarter Horse, as the figurehead to guide youth through the component.

“Lord Nelson has witnessed the development of the Equine Science Center and experienced over 20 years of Rutgers Universi

The FEI Bureau today gave its unanimous approval to new Stewards’ guidelines on warm-up techniques produced by the Working Group formed after the round-table conference held in Lausanne in February.

The American Horse Council has announced that the theme for this year’s National Issues Forum is “Emerging Diseases: a Challenge to the Industry.” This forum, which will be co-hosted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS), and the AHC will be held June 21 and 22 in Washington, DC as part of the AHC’s annual meeting.

Equine respiratory disease, care of sport horses, and training in dentistry and stallion reproduction are the subjects of the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ expanded 2010 series of summer continuing education meetings. The seminars will give equine veterinarians more opportunities to refresh skills and undertake new endeavors.

Riders competing at this week’s Rolex Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Cup Jumping Final in Geneva, Switzerland, were warned about the two-year ban if their horse was was found to have a banned substance in his system.

The Bedford County Sheriff’s Department of Shelbyville, Tenn., is forming an equine mounted patrol unit. The department is looking for Tennessee Walking Horse geldings that are 3-8 years old and stand 15-16 hands tall, preferably well-broke and willing to learn.

The Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ & Exhibitors’ Association in Lewisburg will be assisting in locating these horses