Una Bella and Christopher Schroeder easily clear an oxer in a 1.30m jumper class at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL. Una Bella is a Holsteiner mare, by Con Air out of Philine II. She is owned by GK Performance Horses, LLC... and her seventh birthday is March 3! :)

Posted in Bigeq Show Shots ,

Hello,

it has been brought to our attention by a prominent photography company that many of their photographs are being used in advertisements on Bigeq.com without their prior authorization. Although we have established policies on illegal photo usage, and have regularly removed illegal photographs in the past, we again remind you:

Do not use proofs in your ads.

It's that simple. But if you'd like more information on our policies, please refer to our Terms of Use, which all users agree to in visiting Bigeq.com and/or utilizing our services. Here's part of it, with some of the items in bold for emphasis:

"All postings, messages, text, files, images, photos, video, sounds, or other materials ("Content") posted on, transmitted through, or linked from it, are the sole responsibility of the person from whom such Content originated. You are entirely responsible for each individual item of Content that you post, email or otherwise make available via Bigeq.com. Bigeq.com may not pre-screen content, but Bigeq.com reserves the right (but not the obligation) in its sole discretion to refuse to publish or remove any content that is available via our website. Bigeq.com in its sole discretion, shall have the right to remove any content that violates any provision of the terms of use or is otherwise objectionable. Bigeq.com does not control, and is not responsible for Content made available through it, and that by using it, you may be exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent, inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise objectionable. The user represents that they are fully authorized and licensed to use the entire contents of the material submitted for an ad on Bigeq.com. This includes the names, portraits and/or photographs of persons and/or animals, any copyrighted material, any testimonials, and has the right to and is capable of selling or providing the product or service advertised at the price advertised. The advertiser agrees to relieve Bigeq.com of responsibility from any and all claims or suits arising out of online posting of ads based on information supplied by users. Bigeq.com does not pre-screen or approve Content, but that Bigeq.com shall have the right (but not the obligation) in its sole discretion to refuse, delete or move any Content that is available via the Service, for violating the letter or spirit of the terms of use or for any other reason."

Posted in Bigeq

Hello! Another Capital Challenge Equitation Weekend is in the books... and we were thrilled to be able to support the equitation weekend again this year as presenting sponsor. What wonderful performances we saw all weekend.. from the division winners on Saturday to the equitation champions on Sunday. Special shout-outs go to Victoria Birdsall, the 2010 North American Equitation Champion; Molly Peddicord, the Taylor Harris Insurance Services National Children's Medal Champion; and Sara Green, the 2010 North American Adult Equitation Champion. These riders, and so many others, rode some excellent courses. And the horses... oh the horses... SO BEAUTIFUL. :)

So for our loyal visitors and equitation fans... here are videos of the big winners from the Capital Challenge Equitation Weekend 2010.

ENJOY! :)

Victoria Birdsall
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RidBHMWmxhY

Molly Peddicord
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnoOtXV1iV0

Sara Green
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPTQqXsvWIY

Posted in Bigeq Cool Clips ,

Hello! We have been hard at work making some changes to Bigeq.com based on your feedback. We've gotten lots of suggestions requesting different pricing options, so we will soon be offering a new pricing system for ads. The new system will allow users more variety in selecting the price, features and duration of their listings. Here is a preview:

We will also be offering discounted bulk listings, which will be available for the Silver and Gold package levels. Farms may purchase Silver ads at the discounted rate of $30 and Gold ads for $65, with a minimum purchase of ten ads. Users purchasing in bulk will then have the listings 'credited' to their account to be used as needed.

Lastly, we are automating our "Hunter/Jumper Barn Links," so farms will be able to submit their website link and pay in a few quick steps! Yay!

We thank all of our users for your valuable feedback and hope you will find these new changes helpful in buying and selling your amazing horses and ponies!! Thank you SO much to our loyal visitors!

Posted in Bigeq

We all know who the real stars at horse shows are: the dogs! You can't escape their ever-present cuteness.

Awwww!

Posted in Bigeq Show Shots ,

Meredith Darst and Forte compete in the pony hunters.

Pony hunter kids... There's nothing like some free time between classes to bond with friends.

Posted in Bigeq The Pony Zone ,

It's here! Bigeq.com is proud to announce the 2010 Bigeq.com Equitation Index! So who's the hottest rider in 2010? Read on...

We are so excited to be offering our eleventh Bigeq.com Equitation Index! It's been a great barometer of the equitation divisions for the last 10+ years, and we're proud of our mathematical formula for predicting finals winners... no politics - just straight numbers based on the results of a six-week window of shows each winter.

2010 looks like an interesting year for the equitation divisions. There is a strong group of front runners who are experienced and ready to claim victory in the fall. The Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Fl., was the toughest circuit to compete on, achieving a difficulty rating of 10 out of 10. HITS Thermal in California ranked with a 7.5 difficulty rating, followed by HITS Ocala, Fl., at 6.82.

Interestingly, we had more riders than ever competing on multiple circuits. Five of the top twenty-five riders rode at more than one circuit. The second circuit attended was always Wellington, leading us to believe these riders purposely go to Wellington to compete against the very best, as it consistently scores as the most difficult circuit to compete at. In our ten years of creating the Index, only once has any circuit been more difficult than WEF. In the early 2000s, Indio consistently ranked in the 9's, and was the most difficult circuit in 2002. Since then, however, WEF has remained the toughest. You know what they say... to win you've gotta compete with the best.

And the best is...

2010 BIGEQ.COM EQUITATION INDEX

Posted in Bigeq

Ivy and Laura Pfeiffer, Winter Equestrian Festival 2010

We were deeply saddened to hear that the great Ivy has passed away. He was an amazing equitation horse. Watching his expression as he galloped around a course, it seemed as though there wasn't a more cheerful or happy creature to be jumping around a course. It made watching him so enjoyable.

He's a tremendous favorite at Bigeq.com. He shot onto the equitation scene in 1999, when Missy Clark's working student Kristin Mauks spent the season training him. We, of course, started our website the same year. Back then we did a lot of photos and interviews, and Ivy was a frequent photo subject through the years.

Back when Bigeq was just a fledgling little site, Ivy was a precocious five year-old competing at his first equitation finals. As a youngster, Ivy placed in two finals with Mauks. He went on to great success with Vanessa Haas, Charlie Jayne, Haylie Jayne, and Zazou Hoffman. The latter rode him to the ASPCA Maclay title last year, a fitting climax to a long and successful career.

In honor of him, we put together a little slide show and posted it on YouTube. It contains our favorite photos of him, dating back to Devon in 2000. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXX7-CxMXTw

We also had posted a video of him last summer, taken from the early 2000s with Charlie Jayne. Here's that link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBG9IJaW-oc

RIP Ivy!!

Posted in Bigeq Bigeq Classic , Show Shots ,

We're very excited that the 2010 Bigeq.com Equitation Index will shortly be posted. In honor of that, here are two big eq riders, Lucille Oken and Stallone VDL looking sharp in a medal class.

Originally, we thought the second photo was of Olivia Champ, but we're told it's not. Anyone know who this is?

Addendum: we're told it's Leah Chenelle! Thanks for your comments in helping us ID this rider. :)

Lucille Oken and Stallone VDL

Leah Chenelle

Posted in Bigeq Show Shots ,

Jane Gaston and Lumiere make a striking pair in the Amateur-Owner Hunters. The judges agree, as they were recently awarded the 36 & over championship at WEF. It's hard to take your eyes off the gorgeous chestnut. We've seldom seen a horse where every photo we took was a beauty, but he's quite photogenic! Gaston and Lumiere are from Virginia. Lumiere is an Oldenburg gelding, standing 16.2 1/4 hands. We also want to wish Lumiere a happy birthday. His 9th birthday is March 15!

Posted in Awesome Amateurs Bigeq ,