Minneapolis, Minn. - The Welsh Pony and Cob Society of America (WPCSA) held its 2014 Annual General Meeting over the weekend of February 22-23, 2014 in Minneapolis, MN. The cold weather around the country may have created travel difficulties but attendees received a warm welcome from the Welsh of Minnesota! Society members from across the United States joined in in Society business and committee meetings, award banquets and presentations. The WPCSA Election Results The membership elected to...

Layla Choate Scottsdale, Ariz - University of South Carolina junior Layla Choate won the 2014 Sun Circuit Shootout Championship on Sunday at the Arizona Sun Circuit horse show. Choate defeated opponents from South Dakota State, West Texas A&M, and Baylor to win the title. "This is a great accomplishment for Layla and we are all thriled for her today," South Carolina head coach Boo Major said. "Layla has proven herself to be one of the best, if not the best reiner at the college level so...

USET Foundation President S. Tucker S. Johnson, Katie Dinan, Brownlee O. Currey, Jr. Chairman of the Board, and Courtney Caverzasi, Hermes Equestrian Representative. Gladstone, N.J. - The United States Equestrian Team Foundation is pleased to announce that the recipient of the 2014 Lionel Guerrand-Hermès Trophy is the talented show jumping rider Katie Dinan of New York, NY and Wellington, FL. Each year this award is presented to a young rider in one of the Olympic disciplines who...

Rachel Wade and "Cambria" won the CDS Horse of the Year title for Open Training Level on the final day of competition at the CDS Championship Show(Jennifer M. Keeler) Racho Murieta, CA - A final group of champions' names was written in the history books on Sunday as the California Dressage Society Championship Show came to a close in Rancho Murieta, CA, with a roster full of new Great American/USDF and CDS Horse of the Year titles presented throughout the afternoon. The final day of...

McLain Ward and Rothchild won the first leg of the THIS Triple Crown Challenge at the Devon Horse Show (The Book LLC) Devon, PA - For the second consecutive year, two-time Olympic gold medalist McLain Ward of Brewster, NY, finds himself going into the $250,000 FTI Hampton Classic Grand Prix with the potential of winning the Taylor Harris Triple Crown Challenge. This unique challenge awards riders a $200,000 bonus should the same horse-and-rider combination win three of the country's best...

Richie Moloney and Slieveanorra - (Cealy Tetley) Bromont, Quebec - Irish rider Richie Moloney finishes in first place in the Modified Grand Prix event, on Saturday July 27 at the 38th edition of International Bromont. Venezuelan course designer Leopoldo Palacios' course comprised many technical difficulties, as the participants' results reflect. Of the 34 pairs registered, none succeeded in executing a perfect round: the time allowed of 83 seconds combined with a highly challenging...

Welcome to 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 moments on her journey...

Caroline V. Roffman and Her Highness O Wellington, FL - The 30th Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI-W kicked off with all the horses passing the FEI jog on the beautiful International Horse Sport Showgrounds in Loxahatchee, FL. There was a friendly camaraderie in the air as well as a bit of welcome relief from the heat on a sunny South Florida day as the competitors settled into their routines and vendors arranged their wares for a busy shopping weekend. There was concern about the recent positive...

Thermal, CA - The crowd had plenty to cheer about as Canadian rider John Pearce and his majestic grey mount Chianto sped to victory in the $30,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, on Sunday. With 10 making it into the jump-off from a field of 55 starters, there was no question that the final round would provide a fast and furious finish to HITS Desert Circuit IV. And it did. Pearce’s jump-off time of 39.56 seconds was less than a half-second faster than Germany’s Meredith...

Good Times and Ailish Cunniffe. (Shawn McMillen Photography) Washington D.C. - The Junior Hunter divisions concluded their second day of competition on Friday morning with the presentation of championship awards at WIHS. Fifteen-year-old Ailish Cunniffe, of South Salem, NY, and Whipstick Farm Ltd.’s Good Times were awarded the Grand Junior Hunter Championship, sponsored by Roseknoll Sporthorse and Victoria Holstein-Childress. Cunniffe and Good Times were presented The Ides of March...