As we count down to the end of 2010, the content team at the Chronicle of the Horse decided to review the highs and lows of this year. We’ve compiled a list of our “thumbs up” and “thumbs down” moments in no particular order. Have you got something to add to the list? Leave us a comment or post on our Facebook wall.

Thumbs Up…

– To the addition of para dressage at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

– To air vests, making cross-country even safer (and the finish line occasionally more amusing).

-To the junior hunter Caretano and his rider Hannah Goodson-Cutt for showing us how the West was won by traveling from California to make a clean tricolor sweep of the fall indoor shows.

– To the U.S. Eventing Association’s continuing research into the cardiovascular effects of competition on horses.

– To the growing success of the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s Emerging Athletes Program, with its focus on all-around horsemanship.

– To the managers of the Devon (Pa.) and Pennsylvania National horse shows for refurbishing the footing in their rings, giving horses a new spring in their step.

– To the U.S. vaulting and reining teams accessorizing their unique outfits with more gold bling.

– To riders who laid down their top hats in favor of helmets in the dressage ring.

– To the HITS organization for bringing the richest grand prix in North America—the Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix—to Saugerties, N.Y.

– To Galway Downs (Calif.) organizer Robert Kellerhouse for bringing a CCI*** to the West Coast and sanctioning blindfolded golfcart races.

– To the U.S. Equestrian Federation for the ongoing debate about NSAID use.

– To Steffen Peters and Ravel for earning the first U.S. individual medals in World Championship or Olympic dressage since 1932.

– To the U.S. Equestrian Federation for their long-range vision in making the development of young dressage riders and horses a priority.

– To steeplechase trainer Jonathan Sheppard for passing the milestone of 1,000 wins.

Thumbs Down…

– To the failure of the U.S. show jumping team to qualify for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

– To Michael Morrissey’s excessive use of the whip at the U.S Equestrian Federation Show Jumping Trials for the WEG, and to the event’s ground jury, which failed to immediately penalize him.

– To the move of The Chronicle of the Horse/USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals to an indoor venue.

– To the owner-rider relationships that crumbled in the spotlight of success and the horses caught in the middle.

– To the volcano that interrupted air travel and disrupted competition plans for Rolex Kentucky, the Rolex FEI World Cup Final (Switzerland) and Badminton (England) and proved we can’t pronounce Icelandic words.

– To the unfair disqualification of Sapphire from the Rolex FEI Show Jumping World Cup Final in Geneva, Switzerland.

– To the mysterious vandalism of a driving carriage at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

– To Jane Atkinson’s departure from Equestrian Events, Inc. The Rolex Kentucky CCI**** won’t be the same without her.