Liza Boyd and Crack On (Shawn McMillen Photography) pper Marlboro, MD – Professional riders gain points all year in order to be the top six in the country and qualify for the WCHR Professional Finals, sponsored by the John R. Ingram Fund, at the Capital Challenge Horse Show. This year, the top six were Liza Boyd, Kelley Farmer, John French, Peter Pletcher, Amanda Steege, and Scott Stewart, and it was Liza Boyd who finished the competition with top honors. In the afternoon session, Haleigh...

Welcome to the fifth nstallment of a different kind of blog from WDAA! The purpose of this post is to allow the reader "into the heads" of both a trainer/judge/competitor, Karen Abbattista and her student, Deborah Herbert, a Florida WDAA member. We would like to share with you some moments in Deb's journey as she pursues her riding goals with her AQHA mare "GenuineArcticSpring", barn name "Belle". Please enjoy as you follow along with these posts that we consider interesting or challenging...

Holly Shepherd and Triompf claim the $35,000 Grand Prix de Lamplight victory with speedy tie breaking jump-off (Kendall Bierer/PMG) Wayne, IL - The resounding cheers and applause could be heard throughout the Lamplight Equestrian Center as six horse and rider combinations faced off in today's $35,000 Grand Prix de Lamplight, presented by Saddler's Row. It came down to a battle of speed as each consecutive rider bested the next, but it was Holly Shepherd and Triompf that came away the...

Aaron Vale and H&M Cisco (PMG) Lexington, KY - Although there were grey skies in the area for the second day of the Kentucky Summer Classic, the weather did not dampen the competition in the Rolex Stadium. Both the 1.40m and 1.35m Open Jumper classes were determined by just fractions of a second. As the last in the class, Aaron Vale had the draw on his side as he bested Juan Pablo Gaspar and Shamrock with H&M Cisco in the 1.40m Open Jumpers. In the 1.35m Open Jumpers, Geoffrey Case and...

Samantha Segedy and Nandino (Tricia Booker Photography) Traverse City, MI - Even though Samantha Segedy stood third with Nandino after the Classic Round of the $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Derby, sponsored by Walgreens, she didn't return for the Handy Round seeking a victory. Instead, Segedy's goal was to give Mrs. Ellen Malson's 5-year-old Brandenberg gelding more experience in the show ring. "I told his owner before the Handy Round that even if he drops in placing my goal was to...

Centurion B and Lisa Goldman Traverse City, MI - Lisa Goldman took a chance. When she came around the corner to the last line in the jump-off of the $10,000 Positive Step Open Jumper Welcome Prix, she had a choice to make: pull or kick. Her split-second decision to kick made all the difference. She and Centurion B earned their second consecutive blue ribbon at Horse Shows by the Bay Series IV, by a margin of just .06 seconds. Charles Jacobs, of Boston, MA, who challenged Goldman eight horses...

Tatiana Dzavik and Dahlia Lexington, KY - Perfect weather greeted riders as competition got underway during the Kentucky Summer Series at the Kentucky Horse Park. The Open Jumper riders gathered at the Rolex Stadium, where the first 1.40m Open Jumper class focused on speed and Tatiana Dzavik had the winning key with Dahlia. She topped Shane Sweetnam and Fineman by just 3/10ths of a second to claim the blue ribbon. The final event of the day was the 1.40m Open Jumper Table 2 Section 2b jump-off...

Dressage Young Rider Freestyle medalists: Jamie Pestana (Reg 7) - Silver; Ayden Uhlir (Reg 6) - Gold; Tanya Strasser Shostak (CAN) - Bronze (SusanJStickle.com) Lexington, KY – On Saturday afternoon, dressage riders competed for their Freestyle Individual medals in the Rolex Stadium at the 2013 Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North (NAJYRC). Ayden Uhlir (Region 6) and Sjapoer won their second Individual Gold medal of the week in the...

Hannah Holik and Dahlila (Mary Adelaide Brakenridge for Phelps Media Group, Inc. ) Parker, CO - Hannah Holik is moving up the ranks in the jumpers and showing that she is capable of dominant performances in the hunter ring as well. She and Czech Mate LLC's Dahlila notched two wins on Wednesday and placed well on Thursday to secure the championship in the 3'6" Performance Working Hunters, with Ashley Keeler and Emma Willsky's Simply Said taking the reserve. "She was really good...

Lexington, KY - The SmartPak North American Junior and Young Riders’ Reining Championship reached fever pitch today with the Team competition for Juniors and Young Riders at the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park. With Gold medals for both nations in respective divisions, the top of the podium and hardware was evenly divided at the North American Championship today with Team USA South Central taking gold in the Junior division and Team Canada golden in the Young Rider division. With...