Sara Lieser

Today, June 11, the Court of Arbitration for Sport announced a reduced suspension for the Saudi Arabian riders Khaled Abdullaziz Al Eid and Abdullah Waleed Sharbatly.

On May 23, the Fédération Equestre Internationale Tribunal found that the riders had violated the FEI Equine Controlled Medication Rules and suspended them for a period of eight months, which would’ve prevented them from competing in the 2012 Olympic Games.

June 10—Gladstone, N.J.

Talent and ability are necessary qualities for a top Grand Prix horse, but ask Steffen Peters what he values even more, and he’ll say it’s the willingness to try.

That desire to try put Legolas on top in the Olympic Grand Prix Special, his second win in two days at the Olympic selection trials at the U.S. Equestrian Festival Dressage Festival Of Champions. It’s also something he shares with his champion stablemate Ravel.

June 9—Gladstone, N.J.

It was good to ride early on Day 1 of the U.S. Equestrian Federation Dressage Festival Of Champions, as Steffen Peters cantered into the lead out of his 8:18 a.m. slot aboard Legolas.

“It was a perfect spot for me to ride. I like to get it done early in the morning,” said Peters, 47. “I loved it. I got to watch all the others.”

Tiana Coudray, one of two U.S. riders competing at the Saumur CCI*** in France, placed second after dressage with Ringwood Magister (41.4) behind England’s Laura Collett on Rayef (38.0), but both riders had problems on cross-country, and Saumur turned into a showcase for Australian rider Chris Burton. Burton finished first with Haruzac and second with Holstein Park Leilani.

Coudray and Ringwood Magister had a run-out at fence 15B, an angled brush combination, and incurred 13 time penalties on cross-country as well. She then show jumped clean to finish in 11th. 

April 29—Lexington, Ky.

Ice water in his veins. Cool as a cucumber. Nerves of steel. All of these clichés have been used to describe William Fox-Pitt as time and time again he’s gone in the ring on Sunday afternoon and closed the deal at the world’s most prestigious three-days.

April 28—Lexington, Ky.

William Fox-Pitt had the luxury of a noon cross-country ride time with Parklane Hawk, so he made sure to get up nice and early to watch.

“I was out there on course waiting to see the first few experts show us how to do it, and when they didn't get to me, I thought, ‘This isn’t a very good start,’ ” he admitted.

April 26—Lexington, Ky.

Boyd Martin knows as well as anyone that Rolex Kentucky is no dressage competition, but it’s still a nice way to start your weekend by winning the first phase on the first day. He trotted into the Thursday lead aboard Remington XXV on 45.3 ahead of Karen O’Connor on Veronica (47.8) and Andrew Nicholson on Calico Joe (48.7).

April 7—Norwood, N.C.

Phillip Dutton didn’t go out on cross-country in the CIC*** division at The Fork with the plan to hold onto his dressage lead. Mystery Whisper is still a new ride for him, and he wanted to focus on rideability over speed.

But at the end of the day, he found himself sitting atop the leaderboard in the PRO Tour Series event after adding just 4 time penalties to his dressage score of 39.6 on the 12-year-old Australian Warmblood (Richmeed Medallion—Socialite, Salute).

April 6—Norwood, N.C.

A month ago, Phillip Dutton held a healthy lead after dressage aboard Mystery Whisper in the Red Hills CIC*** (Fla.), but at The Fork, he had to be content sharing first place with Will Faudree and Pawlow as he heads into cross-country in the three-star.

The riders tied on 39.6 ahead of Michael Pollard on Jude’s Law (41.1).

Dutton’s early morning test at The Fork in the cold drizzle didn’t garner quite the score of his previous record-breaker at Red Hills (27.9), but Dutton had no complaints.

On Feb. 25, Megan Moore’s horse The Grasshopper collapsed while jumping fence 17 on the advanced course at the Pine Top Advanced Horse Trials in Thomson, Ga.

Moore, 28, of Lexington, Ky., was uninjured. A full necropsy will be performed due to a suspected aneurism according to a statement on Pine Top’s website.