Lindsay Berreth

Adrienne Iverson topped a field of 46 in the $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby at the Old Salem Farm Spring Horse show in North Salem, N.Y., making it her first derby win.

Kim Severson has been given Thai Olympian Nina Ligon’s former advanced horse Fernhill Fearless to compete at the upper levels.

Ligon sold her string of advanced horses last year, but she decided to keep Fernhill Fearless.

On May 14, the Fédération Equestre Internationale published its updated list of eventing yellow (warning) card recipients online. Since April, two U.S. eventers have received yellow cards, and two have received verbal warnings.

At the Ocala Horse Properties CCI**/CCI* (Fla.), April 10-14, verbal warnings went to Leah Lang-Gluscic (abuse of horse—spur marks) and Hallie Coon (incorrect behavior—late for cross-country start).

As many expected, Germany’s Michael Jung made his Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials CCI**** (Great Britain) debut a strong one, but it’s not over yet.

After taking the lead in the dressage on Saturday (36.0) with La Biosthetique Sam FBW, Jung rode a fast cross-country round, despite a hairy moment at fence 9, the Lake, to retain his top spot going into show jumping. (The event concludes May 6 due to a bank holiday in the U.K.)

Four-star eventer Boyd Martin is recovering from surgery after a series of falls over the spring season resulted in four torn tendons and ligaments in his right ankle.

“I’ve had a number of falls this year, two of which happened at Southern Pines Horse Trials [N.C., in March]. One was off a scooter, and the other was off Crackerjack in the show jumping. A combination of those things led to a couple of tears in my ankle, and I’ve sort of been struggling along with it for a couple of weeks and finally bit the bullet and did the surgery,” he said.

On April 26, a judge in Palm Beach County, Fla., found that the Global Dressage Complex, site of the Adequan Global Dressage Festival, had met South Florida Water Management District permitting regulations and will be allowed to continue to host events.

Looking for an inspirational pair to cheer for on Saturday’s cross-country at the Rolex Kentucky CCI****? Take a good look at Daniel Clasing and Houston.

Clasing has shaped Houston’s career since the chestnut gelding stood on stilt-like foal legs, having bought him as a foal and trained him from initial breaking to the advanced level 12 years later. In addition, Houston is a U.S.-bred Anglo-Arab—part of the fourth generation of breeder Ann McKay’s program in Maryland.

Flashpoint, a gelding competing in an open preliminary division at the Fair Hill International Horse Trials (Md.) with Susan MacRae, died after completing the cross-country course on April 21.

On the same weekend, two ponies by the same Connemara sire trucked around intermediate courses and won.

 While some experienced intermediate horses struggled to make time or get around the intermediate track at Poplar Place Horse Trials in Hamilton, Ga., on March 21-14, Sparrow’s Owen, a 15.1 hand Connemara-Appendix cross powered through the muddy going in his first time at the level. By the end of the weekend, he’d achieved the only double-clear cross-country round to win the intermediate rider division with Megan Harris.

Watch "Owen's" performance at Poplar Place...

April 7 - Norwood, N.C.

While Lynn Symansky might not have had the ideal lead-up to The Fork CIC*** with Donner, she gritted her teeth and laid down a double clear cross-country ride over Tremaine Cooper’s deceptively tough track to take the win.

Symansky hadn’t competed Donner for five weeks since fracturing her right pinky finger riding a young horse. “I was lucky there weren’t a lot of drops out there, and there weren’t a lot of places where I dropped my reins. I do notice it, but the pain isn’t bad; it’s just a little annoying,” she said.