Tami Hoag, with two time FEI High Score winner, Rush Hour and California trainer, Charles Pinneo.

Suzanne and Brooks Bollman had a garden wedding

Eventing:

Right at press time, we learned that Heidi White has withdrawn Northern Spy from the US Olympic Team in Eventing for veterinary reasons. Karen O'Connor and Mandiba will ride in her stead.

This is of course especially disappointing for all the Aikenites who turned out for a cocktail party/benefit at Lydia Del Rossi's Equine Divine and showed up for a benefit show, sponsored by George and Jeanie Thomas of Why Worry Hounds. Both events were fund raisers on Heidi's behalf

But Aiken folk needn't worry: Bruce Duchossois' horse Connaught and Phillip Dutton will be representing South Carolina's horsiest town at the Olympics.

Darren Chiacchia is back in competition mode again, after his very serious fall this past spring. One has to suppose this is against doctor's orders, but he has return to competition at the Genesee Valley Hunt Horse Trials in Geneseo, NY and the Stewart Horse Trials in Victor, NY. Good luck to Darren, and please, take it slow!


Dressage: Our dressage team for Hong Kong isn't taking any chances. They are now in Europe getting ready to compete. The top three riders from the trials, Steffen Peters, Debbie McDonald and Courtney King Dye were joined in Europe by Leslie Morse, Michael Barisone and Sue Blinks. At press time, we learned that Leslie had withdrawn Kingston for veterinary reasons. Following the selection procedures, the USEF named Michael and Neruda as the replacement for the US Olympic Team in Dressage. Good luck guys - bring us home a medal!

Kimberly Boyer and Hampton Green Farms is thrilled with job that Courtney King-Dye is doing with their PRE stallion Grandioso. Last month at the Selection Trials in San Juan Capistrano, Courtney told Kim that Grandioso had been invited to travel with the Olympic Team horses to Germany for a month of training with Klaus Balkenhol, while Courtney prepared her team horse, Mythilus, for Hong Kong.

Dressage competitor and sculptor, Beverly Zimmer is featured in Vicky Moon's new colorful coffee table book, Equestrian Style: Home Designs, Couture, and Collections from the Eclectic to the Elegant (released July 15, 2008). There's a whole chapter, aptly titled "Forging Ahead" (which doesn't reflect her dressage horse's way of going, of course!) documenting the lifelong labored success of the artist.