The eighth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder Western Dressage is a big up and coming equestrian discipline right now. I believe this is the right time for the sport to emerge as a reality and the interest level proves that the idea has been around for a long time. When I started talking to everyone about it, I was surprised! In our area, a Western Dressage Facebook page was started and we had 130 members within about 2 days! That was so important because it showed how much...

L to R: Lyle and Wizard, Terri Kane of Diamante Farms, Ghislain Fouarge (Susan J. Stickle) Wellington, FL - Adrienne Lyle, 27, and Wizard took the top award at the Global Dressage Festival (GDF) in the FEI Grand Prix at the $120,000 5* West Palm Beach, presented by Diamante Farms. Their score of 73.021% placed them well above Anja Plonzke of Germany on Le Mont d'Or, who received 71.851% to come in second, and Ashley Holzer of Canada on Breaking Dawn with 70.957% for third place. Lyle works...

Lexington, KY - Twenty-seven of the United States' best show jumping riders will take over the International Ring at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center March 21-24 to vie for the 2012 USEF National Show Jumping Championship. The championship runs concurrently with the USEF Selection Trials for the US Show Jumping Team for the 2012 Olympic Games, meaning there is plenty on the line at the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival. The USEF National Show Jumping Championship has...

Lexington, KY - The Maryland Horse Industry Board (MHIB) last week presented the third "Touch of Class" Award to Silver medalists John Crandell III and Heraldic. Crandell and his Triple Crown-winning Arabian gelding won two Silver medals (Individual and Team) at the Pan American Games in Chile on October 21. During the award presentation, Ashley Valis, deputy director of the Governor's Intergovernmental Affairs, presented the Crandells with a proclamation from Governor Martin O'Malley,...

The 11-year-old Westphalian gelding was produced through the USEF Young Horse and Developing Horse Program by Jason Canton. He was the 2007 6-year-old Champion at the Markel/USEF National Young Horse Championships and was then third in 2009 at the Developing Horse Championships. Now ridden by Cesar Parra, who until 2010 represented his native Colombia, is making his first U.S. Team appearance. Jenny Mandracia has worked for Cesar since 2002 but she is also making her first U.S. Team appearance....

NAJYRC was a great success this year! The Zone 4 teams won gold medals in both the Junior and Young Rider divisions for the first time in history. Zone 4 had never won a gold medal at this competition until last week! Nepal and I had a very good show. One ten fault round in the nation’s cup class on Friday kept us out of the individual medals, but Nepal jumped great and finished up in 8th place overall. The final day of competition was very intense! Katie Dinan was in the lead with only 2....

Devon, PA – Each year as fall approaches, preparation intensifies for the annual International Dressage at Devon Horse Show ( www.dressageatdevon.org ). The show combines world-class dressage competition and the largest dressage/sport horse breed show outside of Europe with international Fall Festival shops, an array of food and the Ladies’ Day Hat Contest. Dressage at Devon will take place from September 27-October 2, 2011 at the Devon Horse Show Grounds, located on US Route 30, in...

Jeff Ayers and Abercrombie won the $5,000 NEHJA Hunter Derby on Thursday, July 28, at the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT (David Mullinix Photography). East Dorset, VT — Jeff Ayers and Abercrombie dominated both rounds of competition to win the popular $5,000 NEHJA Hunter Derby held Thursday, July 28, at the six-week Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT. Abercrombie is already an experienced winner at the Derby format and proved it by posting the first...

Wellington, FL - The 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival has come to a close after a successful 12 weeks of competition. Jennifer Alfano and SBS Farms' Jersey Boy have led the USHJA International Hunter Derby program since its inception, winning classes all over the country in the last few years and proving their expertise in the handy rounds and finesse over the jumps. Tonight was no different, as the pair jumped their way to victory in the $50,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby during the...

Joel Kiesner. (Photo by Stuart Vesty.) Welcome to the second of many features profiling various people in equestrian sport - athletes, trainers and more. The profiles are published regularly in the United States Equestrian Federation's Week in Review e-newsletter. This week meet Joel Kiesner, whose lifelong experience has evolved into training methods focused on maximizing the best assets and talent of the Arabian horse. His exceptional talent and abilities have resulted in numerous awards -...