The twenty fourth in a series of blog posts from Michelle Binder North American Western Dressage receives all kinds of questions at the website and on our FaceBook page. Last week Jen Johnson shared the following in a post and it generated a huge amount of material for consideration. She posted: “I received an email last night from a **** judge who had the following concerns about Western Dressage..... “The problem is that the western horse is going to have to be much quicker in...

Susan Hancock Susan Hancock of La Vernia, Texas, received the fourth annual “USDF Region 9 Teaching Excellence Award” at the Great American/USDF Region 9 Championships held in Katy, TX, November 1-4, 2012. She received a $5,000 award for demonstrating adherence to sound dressage principles and the ability to communicate these principles so that students develop themselves and their horses in a logical, progressive and humane way up through the levels. "The methods that Susan used to...

The U.S. Five-Gaited Section Gold medalists (R. Millin) Parys, South Africa - On Saturday, December 8, the Saddle Seat World Cup sponsored by Impondo Mining and Live 2 Learn concluded with second round performances from the Three-Gaited sections of the Saddle Seat World Cup teams. After a stellar presentation of rail work, the U.S. Three-Gaited team set the stage for leading pattern work scores in both groups. With strong performances all week, hopes were high that both the U.S. Three- and...

Lexington, KY - The 2013 USEF Annual Meeting will take place January 16-19 in Louisville, Kentucky at the Louisville Marriott Downtown. Members of the media who would like to request credentials should submit a request by December 21, 2012. The USEF Annual Meeting hosts committee meetings as well as the Horse of the Year and Pegasus Awards, wrapping up the 2012 year of U.S. equestrian disciplines, both national and international. To request media access, please contact Kathleen Landwehr at...

The U.S. team following the Opening Ceremonies (R. Millin) Parys, South Africa – On Thursday, December 6, competition got underway at the Saddle Seat World Cup. Riders in the Three- and Five-Gaited sections of the U.S. team competed in the initial stages of the rail and pattern work. Both sections of U.S. riders had strong performances on the first day of competition. The Five-Gaited section riders Hunter Chancellor (Evansville, IN), Angela Darrow (Hartland, WI), Drew Taylor Hewitt...

Major equestrian competitions attended by U.S. athletes, both domestic and overseas, are listed in this weekly preview. Please look below to find competition listings by discipline* and breed. We hope you will follow the competitions that most interest you, but check Equestrian Weekly on Monday for a report of any top finishes by U.S. Equestrians. *lists of competitions in all international disciplines will include only FEI competitions or USEF Championships within the USA and international FEI...

The U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup team in South Africa (R. Millin) Parys, South Africa - Ten riders and four coaches will represent the U.S. at the Saddle Seat World Cup in Parys, South Africa on December 5-8. The team made up of two sections, Three-Gaited and Five-Gaited, will compete against four other countries as they vie for top honors in saddle seat equitation. The Three-Gaited section is made up of team members Brooke Boyer (Johnston, IA), Emily Chapman (Tucson, AZ), Brooke Jacobs...

The twenty third in a series of blog post from Michelle Binder I began this Western Dressage Blog specifically as a blog for NAWD to help raise public awareness about WD groups other than WDAA. I saw a need for publicity specific to that organization. I also saw a need for a forum that presented the reality that other organizations with different missions and goals regarding WD existed. USEF has not licensed Western Dressage as an independent discipline so at this time there is no officially...

Molly Ashe and Kennzo (© ManciniPhotos) Wellington, FL - Kristen Abbatiello-Neff's Kennzo and Molly Ashe jumped their way to victory in two rounds of competition in the $20,000 Holiday and Horses USHJA International Hunter Derby, presented by Dietrich Insurance, on Sunday, December 2, 2012. Concluding the week-long competition, the class was held in the spacious International Arena at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center with a beautifully designed course set by Skip Bailey, of...

Katie Dinan and Nougat du Vallet (© ManciniPhotos) Wellington, FL - Nineteen-year-old Katie Dinan (USA) and Grant Road Partners' Nougat Du Vallet earned an exciting victory in Saturday night's $50,000 Holiday and Horses FEI World Cup Grand Prix at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, FL. American riders took top four honors in the eleven horse jump-off. Dinan beat Todd Minikus and Macoemba and Margie Engle and Royce, who finished second and third...