The Dressage Foundation is proud to announce this year's recipients of the Carol Lavell Gifted Scholarships for Adult Amateurs. Each will receive a $1,000 Scholarship to enable them to set aside quality time in concentrated training with a horse they own, with a trainer of choice, away from the daily pressures of job and family. "All of these adult amateurs are so deserving of these scholarships. They are all very active volunteers for their GMOs, busy with their daily lives, and deserve to...

The All American Cup pays through 16 places - the most places ever paid in any Saddlebred competitions. Lexington, KY - The Ninth Annual All American Cup (AAC) Stallion Review and Auction will be held at Claudia Sanders Restaurant in Shelbyville, KY, on Saturday, January 21. Dinner and festive activities are scheduled to begin at 4 PM. A total of 175 stallion services are set to be auctioned by Mr. Walt Robertson starting at 6 PM. The list of stallions, Reservation Forms, and Absentee Bid Forms...

Lexington, KY - The deadline to submit 2011 Stallion Nominations and Foal Recordings is Monday, December 12, 2011. Since its inception in 1984, Grand National has awarded over $2.9 million in prize money. In 2011 alone, Grand National offered over $94,000 in prize money to Grand National eligible horses showing at 29 different competitions, spanning 51 various classes. All owners, original recorders, and sire nominators must be active members of ASHA at the time of the competition to receive...

Lexington, KY - The American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA) is pleased to announce the unveiling of a brand new Saddlebred blog on the ASHA website . Featured in this week's blog is the first in what will be a series of entries about a three-year-old American Saddlebred filly, who began as a show horse, but is now learning how to jump. Future blog posts will include an array of subjects from fun facts to helpful hints, reflections, and more! To suggest ideas to the blog or to make a...

Team USA's first training ride in Abu Dhabi. Photo courtesy Kelly Kimbler. Lexington, KY - The U.S. finished fourth among 19 teams Saturday in Abu Dhabi, UAE, at the FEI Junior and Young Rider World Endurance Championship despite an uphill battle that included an injured horse at the first inspection. "What an exhilarating team effort and realistically an unexpected result - but privately hoped for," said Chef d'Equipe Emmett Ross. Unexpected, in part, because Natalie Muzzio's horse...

Last night we went into the city of Frankfurt for a little fun after a good practice session. The city was so busy and vibrant with Christmas market stands. As beautiful as Kronberg is, it was great to see the big city for a change. Watson continues to progress through our practice sessions. We have started to ride tests everyday before the competition, as the Schafhof Team was nice enough to set up a standard arena for us in the Riding Hall. I hope that things will continue to go well as we...

Lexington, KY - Applications for media credentials to attend the 2012 United States Equestrian Federations's Annual Meeting are now open for submission. The 2012 USEF Annual Meeting will be held from January 11-14, 2012, at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza in Cincinnati, OH. Included during the five days of meetings will be the Performance Horse Registry (PHR) Silver Stirrup Awards, the Horse of the Year Awards, and the Pegasus Awards galas. To apply for credentials, contact Brian...

Lexington, KY - Following submission of the proposed slate to the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA), the list of nominees standing for election as Directors of the Association for terms beginning in February 2012 was released. In February 2012, six directors are to be elected by ASHA members for terms ending in 2015, from the following 11 candidates: Susan Aschenbrenner (Iowa), Betsy Boone (North Carolina), Randall Cates (Oklahoma),...

Paul E. Chovanec Former American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA) member Paul E. Chovanec passed away on Sunday, December 4, 2011, at the age of 63. Paul grew up on a small farm in Wisconsin, son to parents who had survived the great depression and a father who worked in the navy shipyard. In addition to working the farm, Paul’s father lead an orchestra at fancy dinner clubs in the evening and the couple ran Paul’s Beauty Shop, where they served Milwaukee’s finest clients....

Things have begun to settle into a rhythm as our full practice schedule has resumed. Watson and I had a good practice today and I hope it continues to get better. We have much to work on in the next few days in order to fully prepare for the competition. We are all enjoying the atmosphere at Schafhof. Everyone is so nice, and there is much to see and do. I finished my work early today, so we all decided to take a short field trip to the Schloss Johannesberg Wiesbaden. The castle, which has now...