Combined driving star Leslie Berndl returned home to Newcastle recently after a dramatic victory with her 13-year-old KWPN gelding, Uminco, in Southern Pines, S.C., that retained her USEF Single Driving Championship. In July, she will embark on a trip to Europe that will culminate with the 2014 FEI World Championship for Single Horses in Hungary.

DEL MAR — Thirty horses tried to clear the $100,000 Grand Prix of Del Mar course on Saturday night, only two were able to do it. Designer Leopoldo Palacios lined up a set of obstacles with enough variety that one little misstep turned otherwise fantastic rides into efforts of 4 faults or more.

Nineteen from the field of thirty had tried to jump those obstacles before Lane Clarke & Charlotte Gadbois’ Semira de Saulieu finished with no faults and under the time allowed. Six horses later bow-tie clad Karl Cook & Signe Ostby’s Jonkheer Z did the same, setting up a one-on-one jump-off between two top-five finishers from Friday night’s $25,000 Surfside Grand Prix.

TEMECULA — Between Susie Hutchison’s barn and her arena at Casner’s Ranch, there lies a hill.

Since she moved here 20 months ago, each day begins with an up-and-down trek that, for a good stretch along the crest, makes one feel on top of the Temecula Valley.

“It’s good for the horses — it gives them a little ride up, and a little ride back,” Hutchison says. “And there’s a great view from up here.”

KATY, Texas — Randy Paul, the NRHA Million Dollar Rider and 2009 NRCHA World’s Greatest Horseman who returned to Day Creek Ranch in Simi Valley last summer, was California’s top headliner at the 2014 National Reining Breeders Classic, held April 13-19 at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center.

Paul, riding Day Creek’s Chics Dream About Me, scored a 223 to take the NRBC Open Prime Time Championship.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — Susie Hutchison is back on top of the 2014 Blenheim EquiSports grand prix scene. Hutchison, reunited with Ziedento after a couple years, on Saturday took the 10-year-old gelding to his second grand prix win in seven days, the $50,000 Blenheim Spring III Grand Prix, after she and Ziedento had taken the $40,000 Blenheim Spring II Grand Prix the previous weekend.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Jake Gorrell and his longtime partner, Smooth N Cash, used a 228 fence work to blast past the field and win the $25,000-added Holy Cow Performance Horses Open Bridle Spectacular held at South Point Equestrian Center.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Trainer Nicolas Barthelemy of Ramona notched another 2014 victory in the show pen, this time at the National Reined Cow Horse Association Stakes aboard Sheri Jamieson’s 4-year-old mare, Very Red Remedy (Very Smart Remedy x Flo N Blue Boon x Pretty Boy Boon), in the Open Novice Horse Division.

TEMECULA — After taking the two-phase lead in the CIC3* at the Galway Downs International Horse Trials, Kristi Nunnink said that she planned to gallop fast enough around the cross-country course to win, and she did just that. She rode R-Star across the finish line 14 seconds slow, and those 5.6 time faults kept her just in front, with a total score of 57.5. Nunnink and R-Star finished fast enough to defeat John Michael Durr on Esprit De La Danse (58.4) and Hawley Bennett-Awad on Gin ‘N Juice (60.3).

BURBANK, CA — Entries were up and the spring-like weather was gorgeous for the 2014 California Reining Horse Association “Bunny Slide” show held March 28-30 at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Top riders and horses converged on WestWorld March 5-9 to compete and get a glimpse into 2014 at the Cactus Reining Classic, the first of Brumley Management Group’s highly successful trio of annual events.