David Marcus and Don Kontes Loxahatchee, FL - The International Horse Sport (IHS) Champions Cup CDI-W hit the ground running both literally and figuratively with all the horses passing the FEI jog on the beautiful International Horse Sport Showgrounds in Loxahatchee, FL. The horses and competitors settled into the comfortable surroundings featuring plenty of green spaces and a convivial atmosphere on the historic grounds that also play host to the Palm Beach Dressage Derby. Competitors chatted...

Wellington, FL - The 2013 Winter Circuit has been riveting with exciting new jumper action lying outside of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL. The Ridge at Wellington's $175,000 1.40m Invitational Grand Prix Series has complemented the Winter Equestrian Festival for 10 weeks, offering a variety of venues for Level 2 Jumpers as they hone their skills as riders, and those of their young horses. This season has also hosted a number of historical landmarks for...

No.8 Kansas State University def. Oklahoma State University The Wildcats were looking to prove that they were back on top of their game. It appears as though they are. A huge question mark just a few weeks ago, Kansas State now looks like a team to watch heading into the big 12 championship and NCEA National Championship. Their 11-8 decision Saturday was vengeance for an early season loss to the Cowgirls, and a confidence booster. It was an even match, but K-State Hunter and Western teams got...

Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Bella Donna were the ones to beat in the at HITS Thermal in the AIG Thermal $1 Million Grand Prix, presented by Lamborghini Newport Beach (©Flying Horse Photography) Thermal, CA - With a first-place prize of $350,000 on the line, Germany’s Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum rose to the occasion, piloting Bella Donna to a paycheck she will not soon forget as winner of the first-ever AIG Thermal $1 Million Grand Prix, presented by Lamborghini Newport Beach. The best...

Saer Coulter has been knocking on the door of a grand prix victory all winter circuit, but capitalized Friday with a win in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix Wild Card, presented by Zoetis, at HITS Thermal. She piloted Graciella 50 (Flying Horse Photography) Thermal, CA - They were the first pair to go clear, and Saer Coulter cleaned up with Graciella 50 to win the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix Wild Card, presented by Zoetis, on Friday. The Stanford-based Coulter piloted the nine-year-old...

Ben Maher and Quiet Easy 4(Sportfot) Wellington, FL - Week ten of the 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF), sponsored by Horseware Ireland, continued on Friday at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) with a win for Great Britain's Ben Maher and Quiet Easy 4 in the highlight $33,000 G&C Farm 1.45m speed class. In an exciting finish, Maher just edged out Canada's Eric Lamaze and Wang Chung M2S for the win with Japan's Eiken Sato and Viva...

The NCEA regular season is almost over. There’s not a lot going on this weekend, but the one major conference matchup is a good one. No.3 Oklahoma State University vs. No.8 Kansas State University This marquee matchup of Big 12 rivals is a fitting way to close out the conference’s season, and get a glimpse of what’s to come in the Big 12 championship and the NCEA Championship. Oklahoma State is the higher ranked team, and the favorite here, and a win for the Cowgirls would...

Thermal, CA - The fine tuning of an official rider’s list for the AIG Thermal $1 Million Grand Prix, presented by Lamborghini Newport Beach, was completed during last night’s rider meeting at HITS Desert Horse Park. With the touch-down of the East Coast manger’s picks in California, the final order of go was drawn and revealed that Candice King of Wellington, Florida will clip the hypothetical ribbon of the first-ever West Coast $1 million grand prix aboard Campbell VDL.....

Mount Holyoke College Equestrian Center in South Hadley, Massachusetts and their dressage team will host over 100 riders from more than 20 colleges and universities throughout the United States at the Intercollegiate Dressage Association’s 12th annual National Championship on April 27th and 28th. Four-member teams and individuals in each of the IDA’s four divisions--Introductory Level, Lower Training Level, Upper Training Level and First Level--are chosen from the approximately 600...

I have been promising to update readers on current trends in the Western Dressage world. One way of keeping track of what WD is doing, where it is going and who is doing it is to track events. NAWD, CD and WDAA all maintain calendars of clinics and shows around the country. By analyzing those calendars we have a simple method of tracking what is happening. The information is limited by the fact that show and clinic organizers must report their event to the organization for inclusion on these...