Andrew Nicholson had a win with Quimbo in the Advanced Section J at the Weston Park Horse Trials in Shropshire. The gelding moved into first place when William Fox-Pitt, the leader after the dressage phase, dropped in the standings because of cross-country time penalties added to his score. Quimbo also had time penalties but finished in first place by two points.

Nicholson claimed second place with Nereo in Advanced Section L after a single show jumping rail dropped the pair out of first place. 

He also finished in second place in Advanced Section A on Avebury, one of his possible Badminton entries. 

Nicholson is sponsored by Bluegrass Horse Feeds, a Kentucky Equine Research Team Member.

In a demanding competition in which fewer than half the starters completed all three days of the event, riders sponsored by Kentucky Equine Research (KER) and its Team Members claimed four of the top twelve spots when the final results were posted.

Karen O'Connor rode Mr. Medicott, a 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, to fourth place in the event. In fourth after the dressage phase, O'Connor had a few time penalties on the cross-country course to drop to fifth at the end of the second day. Her double-clear stadium round helped her advance to a final fourth-place standing. An experienced horsewoman who has won the event in the past, O'Connor is hoping to ride for the United States in this summer's Olympic Games in London. She is sponsored by KER and also by Pennfield Equine Feed Technologies.

New Zealand rider Andrew Nicholson finished in seventh place on Qwanza, a nine-year-old CDE mare. Nicholson, who is sponsored by KER Team Member Bluegrass Horse Feeds, stood in 24th place after dressage. He rode double-clear rounds in both the cross-country and stadium phases, moving him up to seventh position.

Another rider who moved up considerably because of excellent cross-country and stadium rounds was Phillip Dutton, who placed tenth on Mighty Nice and twelfth on Fernhill Eagle. Both horses are Irish Sport Horse geldings. Though he had stadium rails down with each horse, Dutton finished with fewer penalties than many riders because of his fast and accurate rides in the cross-country phase of the event. Dutton is sponsored by KER.

New Zealand event rider Andrew Nicholson holds second place in the HSBC Rankings, 59 points behind leader William Fox-Pitt and 146 points ahead of Piggy French. The ranking system is based on points earned in the previous 12 months of competition, so riders lose points gained from events that occurred more than a calendar year ago.

Rankings may change after the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event to be held in late April. Fox-Pitt has one horse entered, while Nicholson has listed three entries in the challenging competition.

Nicholson is sponsored by Blue Grass Horse Feeds, a Kentucky Equine Research Team Member.

At the Belton Park One Day Event in England, sponsored rider Andrew Nicholson won the Advanced division with Avebury. After leading with a dressage score of 25.9, Nicholson added a few cross-country time faults for a final score of 39.9. Nicholson also claimed fifth place in the division with Mr. Cruise Control.

The New Zealand native is sponsored by Blue Grass Horse Feeds, a Team Member of Kentucky Equine Research.

Record numbers of horses are registered to compete in this year's Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event to be held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington in late April. The international field of riders includes several past Rolex Kentucky champions, Olympic Games veterans, and top national and international eventers. This year's competition will serve as a selection trial to choose the U.S. eventing team for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Phillip Dutton rides for the United States. He is a three-time Olympic veteran with two team gold medals (1996 and 2000) for his native Australia. Dutton was the 2008 Rolex Kentucky CCI**** champion. He is listed to ride Fernhill Eagle and Mighty Nice. Dutton is sponsored by Kentucky Equine Research (KER).

Karen O'Connor also rides for the United States. She is a three-time Olympic veteran with team silver (1996) and bronze (2000) medals. She was the 1999 Rolex Kentucky CCI**** champion and two-time Rolex Kentucky CCI*** champion (1991 and 1997). O'Connor is listed to ride Mr. Medicott and Veronica. She is sponsored by KER and is also a Promise Partner of Pennfield Feeds, a KER Team Member.

Bruce "Buck" Davidson, Jr. rides for the United States. Davidson was a member of the 1999 Pan-American Team and also competed at the World Equestrian Games in 2011. He is listed to ride Titanium and Absolute Liberty. He is a Promise Partner of Pennfield Feeds, a KER Team Member.

Andrew Nicholson rides for New Zealand. He is a six-time Olympic veteran with team silver (1992) and bronze (1996) medals. Nicholson is listed to ride Calico Joe, Shady Grey, and Qwanza. He is sponsored by Blue Grass Horse Feeds, a KER Team Member.

An additional attraction at the Kentucky Horse Park on Rolex weekend is the Ariat Kentucky Reining Cup. This is the only three-star reining competition currently scheduled in the U.S. in 2012, and it is expected to draw horses and riders from around the globe. Lisa Coulter, a veteran of the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games who rides for Canada, will compete in the Ariat Kentucky Reining Cup. Coulter is sponsored by KER.

Riders from 12 countries have qualified to compete at the 2012 Badminton Horse Trials to be held in early May. Horses are selected according to the number of points they have won over the past two years in FEI events at the three-star and four-star levels. Only 85 horses are accepted and other hopeful riders and horses are put on a waiting list.

Andrew Nicholson has qualified two horses, Shady Grey and Mr. Cruise Control, for the competition. Nicholson has ridden the challenging Badminton course many times and is looking for his first win there. He is sponsored by Blue Grass Horse Feeds, an Irish company that is a Kentucky Equine Research Team Member.

At the Aldon British Eventing one-day event in Somerset, Andrew Nicholson rode several horses to excellent finishes. This competition was the first big event of 2012 for the southwest England eventing calendar.

In the Advanced Intermediate section, Nicholson led after the dressage phase but slipped to fifth place when Mr. Cruise Control had just one show jump down.

He had a better finish on Viscount George in the first of two Open Intermediate sections, beating Irish international Austin O'Connor by two points. 

A single show jump down placed Tristar in the third spot for Nicholson in a second Open Intermediate section. Tristar was returning to competition after being out for two years.

Nicholson is sponsored by Blue Grass Horse Feeds, a Team Member of Kentucky Equine Research.

Andrew Nicholson had good rides at the Tweseldown Horse Trials near Newbury, England. Nicholson rode Avebury to a first-place finish and Calico Joe to second in an Open Intermediate division. The event was held in early March 2012.

Nicholson, who is from New Zealand, is sponsored by Blue Grass Feeds, a Kentucky Equine Research Team Member that serves Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Earlier in this spring's eventing season, Nicholson had a top placing with Tilikum in the Novice division at the Moreton competition's first day. He also placed fifth with Uron, seventh with Joey Clerk, and ninth with Thornton Jones in the same division before heavy rain forced the cancellation of competition at the start of the second day.

Andrew Nicholson has been chosen as a member of the 2012 High Performance squad in eventing by Equestrian Sports New Zealand. Topping the British Eventing points list for the second year in a row and holding the number-three ranking in the world in 2011, Nicholson and the other three riders on the squad are in the running for selection on the New Zealand team that will compete in the Olympic Games in London later this year. Nicholson is sponsored by Bluegrass Horse Feeds, a Kentucky Equine Research Team Member. One of the feeds Nicholson uses, Re-Solve Low GI Cube, is formulated to provide energy from fat and digestible fiber rather than totally from the feed's starch component. This formulation results in a lower glycemic response to feeding, eliminating excessive variations in the horse's energy supply during exercise.

Bloomfield Ollie claimed the RDS Dublin Horse Show Supreme Hunter Championship. The gelding by Crosstown Dancer was bred by Daphne Tierney from County Wicklow, Ireland, and ridden by Jane Bradbury.

The chestnut horse began his string of successes at the recent event by winning the Goffs Country Property Hunter Championship, and then added the middleweight crown to his credentials.

When champions from all the weight divisions were called back into the arena, the judges first had to pick their four-year-old winner, and Bloomfield Ollie was called forward to pick up this accolade. His combined honors allowed Bloomfield Ollie to step into the top slot, taking the title of Supreme Hunter Champion.