THERMAL, Calif. — Last week marked the beginning of the 2010 show jumping season on the West Coast as exhibitors from all over the world are flocking to Southern California and to participate in world-class competition at the HITS Desert Horse Park.

“We are thrilled to return to the desert for another year,” said HITS President and CEO Tom Struzzieri. “This is the 19th year of the HITS Desert Circuit and we are extremely proud of the product that we offer our exhibitors. Entries continue to grow from last year and that is exciting news for the sport.”

The circuit will host 16 Qualifying Grand Prix classes for the historic Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix, which will take place Sept. 12 in Saugerties, N.Y. In addition, HITS Thermal also offers four FEI World Cup Qualifiers during weeks II, III, IV and V, which has been attracting lots of interest from international riders from Mexico and beyond. For the finale, HITS Thermal will close out the season with a monstrous $300,000 Grand Prix of the Desert, presented by Pfizer Animal Health on Sunday, March 14.

PASADENA — The Region One Versatile Arabians was formed with hopes of riding in the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade. They amazingly achieved their goal as a first-time entry into the granddaddy of all parades, while also showcasing the Arabian horse breed.

Every New Year’s Day since she was a girl, Molly Jenks of Norco has raced to the television to watch the elaborate floats and equestrian groups in Pasadena’s Tournament of Roses Parade. So when Jenks learned in July 2009 that she and Rocky, her 21-year-old Arabian horse, had been accepted to participate in the 2010 New Year’s Day parade that she has idolized since childhood, it came as a shock. At her Norco ranch, Jenks, 37, explained how excited she was for her champion horse to walk in the world-famous parade among other first-rate equestrian groups.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — California riders and horses have been honored as finalists for the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s most prestigious awards, the 2009 Farnam/Platform USEF Horse of the Year award and Equestrian of the Year award. USEF members were given the opportunity to vote online to help decide which of the nation’s leading equines and riders will be awarded top honors.

There are five Horses of Honor nominated for 2009 USEF Horse of the Year. The California-owned horses are Kripton-Seni II, a 9-year-old bay Andalusian stallion owned by Joe and Nancy Latta of Amandalusian Farm in Burbank, Calif.; and Ravel, an 11-year-old bay Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Akiko Yamazaki of Los Altos, Calif.

The other nominees are: Courage to Lead, a 12-year-old bay Morgan mare owned by Beverley Lesher; CH Our Charming Lady, an 8-year-old bay American Saddlebred mare owned by Jack and Donna Finch; and Sapphire, a 14-year-old chestnut Belgian Warmblood mare owned by McLain Ward and Bluechip Bloodstock.

RENO, Nev. — Richard “Ricky” Neal, 17, of Pasadena, Calif., and Carly Anthony, 19 of Redmond, Wash., were named the inaugural winners of the United States Hunter Jumper Association’s Emerging Athletes Program National Training Session. For their accomplishments, they each receive 30 days of advanced training with a high-performance athlete, as well as $1,500 in gift certificates from Dover Saddlery to purchase show clothes.

“It is an honor, and I feel very privileged to be chosen as one of the two winners. I am extremely happy for Ricky,” Anthony said. “He deserved it and I am very proud of the rest of my peers for riding as hard as they can and being the best horsemen they can as well.”

Neal shared her excitement and said: “To be chosen from a group of riders of this quality is really an honor, so I feel pretty fantastic.”

PHELAN — The Appaloosa Horse Club will honor Leslie Foxvog of Phelan, Calif., with the 2009 George Hatley Award. The award, named in honor of one of the ApHC’s founders, is decided annually by its board of directors to recognize an individual in the Appaloosa industry who contributed significantly to the growth and promotion of the Appaloosa breed within the past year.

Foxvog has been an ApHC member for more than 10 years and actively promotes the Appaloosa breed. She is a member of several regional clubs in her area, and is currently the Calizona Appaloosa Horse Club president. Foxvog has been instrumental in Calizona ApHC’s two consecutive wins for the ApHC’s Regional Exemplary Award, which offers regional clubs the opportunity to win prizes and recognition by displaying the club’s efforts to promote the Appaloosa breed.

FRANKFURT, Germany — Lucy Davis, 17, of Los Angeles jumped clear when it mattered most in the European Youngster Cup at CSI Frankfurt in Germany from Dec. 17-20, 2009, to win the prestigious competition with the only clear round in the final round.

Riding True Love, a 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood owned by Old Oak Farm, Davis jumped clear in the preliminary round, with the eighth fastest time, and then had one fence down in the next round. Her score was good enough to make the final, which featured the top 16 after the first two rounds.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The United States Equestrian Federation has selected Maxance McManamy as its 2009 USEF Junior Equestrian of the Year. McManamy will be honored at the USEF’s Annual Meeting, Jan. 13-17, 2010 in Louisville, Ky., as part of the Pegasus Awards held Saturday evening.

The Ruth O’Keefe Meredith Trophy was established in 1985 to honor a junior equestrian who has made outstanding contributions to equestrian competition while exemplifying exceptional talent, sportsmanship and dedication. After reviewing the many candidates nominated for one of the USEF’s highest honors, the Awards Committee selected the young equestrian who exceeded the demanding qualification criteria.

McManamy, 18, from Templeton, Calif., is bringing positive attention to competition in the sport of Eventing. With consistent skill and maturity in the three disciplines of dressage, cross-county and show jumping, the numerous successes in her young career are quite notable.

PETERSBURG, Fla. — Larry Langer and Joe Fargis were honored with the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 2009 Evening of Equestrians Dinner during the USHJA Annual Meeting in St. Petersburg, Fla. This award was created to recognize members whose involvement in the sport, as well as in the USHJA, has benefited the industry.

“Deciding the recipients of this award is never easy. Our industry is incredibly fortunate to have an abundance of people that have dedicated their lives to this sport, which makes a decision like this even harder,” USHJA President Bill Moroney said. “However, people like Joe Fargis and Larry Langer, who, in their own way, have been synonymous with dedication and achievement in our sport, are why we created this award.”

RENO, Nev. — National Reined Cow Horse Association recognized the best of the industry at its annual NRCHA Hall of Fame banquet on Oct. 1 at Silver Legacy Resort Casino during the 2009 Snaffle Bit Futurity. The evening included the induction ceremony for new members of the NRCHA Hall of Fame and Hall of Merit, in addition to presenting Snaffle Bit Futurity Awards and the Vaquero Award to Jimmy Flores, Sr. of Perris, Calif. 2009 NRCHA honorees included:

Ted Robinson, Hall of Fame 2009

Ted Robinson of Oak View, Calif., holds the distinction of being the winningest NRCHA rider of all time. He has won the prestigious NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity a record seven times and has also taken the NRCHA World’s Greatest Horseman title twice.

HARRISBURG, Penn. — The four team members from California’s Zone 10 might have traveled the farthest to get to the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s National Junior Jumper Championships, but the reward made it worthwhile for the junior riders. Lucy Davis, Saer Coulter, Paris Sellon and Karl Cook came from California with the intention of winning, and with anchor rider Davis turning in a clear-and-fast ride in the jump-off, they took home the title in this prestigious Prix de States team competition Oct. 9.

The riders from Zone 10 were always in contention for the title, but the combined team of riders from Zones 1 and 8 were in the lead after the initial round.

For Zone 10, Coulter riding Chalan went around the track fault free, while Davis on True Love and Cook aboard Notories Utopia each had a rail down. Sellon riding Troyes had two rails down and two time faults in their first round, and were the ride that was not counted.