Wellington, Fla. – After a record-setting 2018, the U.S. Para-Equestrian Dressage Team returns to competition this week in the $10,000 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) Week 2 CPEDI3*, running January 18-20 at the AGDF show grounds. Chef d’Equipe Michel Assouline will lead the three FEI World Equestrian Games™ (WEG) Tryon 2018 medalists Rebecca Hart, Kate Shoemaker, and Roxanne Trunnell, along with Debbie Stanitski, as they represent the U.S. in the first event of...

Lexington, Ky. – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has announced that it has initiated proceedings to terminate the recognized affiliate status of the American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC) as soon as possible following the AERC Board of Director’s approval of a disaffiliation motion on January 14, 2019, indicating that they wish to terminate their affiliation with USEF as of December 1, 2019. While USEF shares AERC’s concerns regarding horse welfare, the...

Lexington, Ky. - US Equestrian is excited to announce the launch of the Para-Equestrian Dressage Coach Certification Program developed by Michel Assouline, USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage Technical Advisor and Head of Coach Development. This is a first of its kind coaching program for the industry in the U.S. The certificate program comprises of four levels: master coach, silver coach, bronze coach, and apprentice coach. In 2018, US Equestrian launched the pilot program, which played a role in...

A general rule for feeding hay is that a horse needs 10 to 20 pounds of hay a day for each 1,000 pounds he weighs. Photo: AdobeStock/michaelangeloop Unlike people, horses don’t have to worry about their weight. They have owners to do that. Is your horse overweight? Underweight? Or at the weight he should be? Determining where a horse stands on that scale (pun intended) can tell an owner about the horse’s health. The scale to start with, the Henneke Body Condition Scoring System, is...

West Palm Beach, Fla. – US Equestrian is pleased to share that Verdades, owned by Laura Graves and Curt Maes, has been voted the 2018 International Horse of the Year and Cobra, owned by Marsha Hartford-Sapp, has been voted the 2018 National Horse of the Year. International Horse of the Year Verdades (Shannon Brinkman Photo) Verdades (Florett AS x Liwilarda/Goya), a 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, affectionately known as Diddy, began his journey to international success in 2014 after...

US Equestrian President Murray Kessler and CEO Bill Moroney joined 29 leaders from US Equestrian's breed and discipline affiliates on Friday for the Affiliate Roundtable at US Equestrian’s 2019 Annual Meeting in West Palm Beach, Fla. The meeting began with a closed session, where discussions resulted in eight areas of consensus, covering a wide range of topics, including Safe Sport, the affiliate agreement process, national breed and discipline representation on US Equestrian...

The Buying, Selling, and Leasing Horses with Confidence panel on Friday discussed their focus over the past year and how they hope to educate members. US Equestrian staff attorney Amelia Sandot moderated the panel with members of the Equine Transaction Task Force and guest speakers covering this issue facing the horse industry. The task force was formed to help members navigate equine transactions and to identify what can be done to counter how misrepresentation in horse sales and leases...

During the US Equestrian Annual Meeting on Thursday, US Equestrian Director of Sport Will Connell defined his goals for sustained high-performance success. The list includes assisting in the development of young athletes and developing world-renowned coaches. These goals go hand-in-hand, and on Friday, the Coaching, Youth, and Para Dressage panelists, Michel Assouline, USEF’s Para-Equestrian Dressage Head of Coach Development and Para-Equestrian Dressage Technical Advisor, Alison Brock,...

(left to right) Lisa Blackstone, Barb Kohr, Frank Madden, Mary Babick, Elisabeth Goth, and Bill Moroney speak at the Growing the Grassroots panel (Photo by Taylor Pence/US Equestrian) Initiated by US Equestrian President Murray Kessler, the Grassroots Advisory Group is tasked with the responsibility of examining the barriers of entry for people into equestrian sport, opportunities for development and collaboration at the grassroots level with US Equestrian affiliates, how to better meet the...

West Palm Beach, Fla. – Laura Graves (Geneva, Fla.) has been awarded the Robert P. Strub Trophy as the 2018 USEF Equestrian of the Year at the Pegasus Awards presented by Adequan® during the US Equestrian Annual Meeting. Graves has been a valuable member of The Dutta Corp. U.S. Dressage Team for many years and her numerous contributions to the sport of dressage on the international stage and at home in the U.S. make her an impressive force in the sport of dressage. Laura Graves and US...