Lexington, Ky. - The United States Federation (USEF) has named Kai Handt as the U.S. Para-Equestrian Dressage Chef d’Equipe/Technical Advisor. The Search Committee, chaired by Eric Straus, USEF Para-Equestrian Eligible Athlete Committee, and USEF Para-Equestrian High Performance Kai Handt (USEF Archive) Committee recommended Handt for this position. Handt (Wylie, Texas) has a great depth of experience in the equestrian world as a competitor, trainer, and coach. Since August of 1985, Handt...

The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased to announce the names of five equestrians who have been selected to receive the year's most coveted honors. Awarded by the USEF, the Lifetime Achievement Award, Junior Equestrian of the Year, and the Pegasus Medals of Honor will be presented during the Pegasus Awards gala on Friday, January 10, at The Hyatt Regency Lexington in Lexington, Ky. The winner of the Equestrian of the Year Award will be announced at the Pegasus Awards. More...

Lexington, KY - The United States Federation's High Performance Working Group has approved the recommendation of DiAnn Langer as the U.S. Show Jumping Young Rider Chef d’Equipe/Technical Advisor. Both the Search Committee, chaired by Eric Straus, and the USEF Show Jumping High DiAnn Langer (USEF Archive) Performance Committee recommended Langer for this new position. Langer is tasked with developing and implementing a pipeline for the USEF Show Jumping discipline and will begin her...

Stephanie Sedlacko and Jennifer Alfano rode to the first place finish in the American Saddlebred Hunter Challenge (Brooke Jacobs) Lexington, Ky. - It's not every day that you see riders compete over their first hunter course during a national championship, but when four world champion American Saddlebred trainers take the reins of a hunter and grand prix and professional hunter riders take the reins of an American Saddlebred, it makes for a night of fun and excitement. It was a...

Pau, France - Fifty combinations went forward to the final phase of competition at the 2013 Les Étoiles de Pau CCI4* on Sunday to tackle Bernard Basque’s 13 obstacle track. Rails fell throughout the day and proved costly as those that could produce clear rounds climbed the leaderboard. Five U.S. combinations headed into the show jumping phase at Pau and at the end of competition three Americans had landed in the top 15. Overnight leaders William Fox-Pitt and Seacookie TSF of Great...

Phillip Dutton and Mr.Medicott (Libby Law) Pau, France- Cross country day at the 2013 Les Étoiles de Pau CCI4* saw American combinations climb the leaderboard with efficient, clear performances. Pierre Michelet's 33 obstacle track produced trouble throughout the day with thirty six combinations coming home without jumping penalties and of those only six were able to finish within the 11:48 time allowed. Phillip Dutton, Clark Montgomery, Marilyn Little and Lynn Symansky proved their...

Lexington, Ky. - Two big championships for young equestrians will be contested at the 2013 Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg, Pa. this week. The Randolph College/USEF National Junior Jumper Championships will be held over three nights from Thursday through Saturday, and the Pessoa/US Hunter Seat Equitation Medal Finals presented by Randolph College will take place all day Sunday. The Randolph College/USEF National Junior Jumper Championships include an individual championship and a...

Nayel Nassar and Lordan jump their way to Zoetis Million glory at HITS Saugerties during Championship Weekend (©ESI Photography) Saugerties, NY – Nayel Nassar of Stanford, California proved that a 3,000-mile trip across the U.S. was well worth the effort Sunday when he rode Lordan to a hard-fought victory in the fourth-annual Zoetis $1 Million Grand Prix at HITS Saugerties. With the post-competition tunes of Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell playing in the background, Nassar prepared to...

Welcome to the third installment 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...

Eduardo Menezes flying on La Fleur 4 (McCool) San Juan Capistrano, CA - On yet another great day in Southern California, a small but stellar group of international competitors took on the challenge presented by world-renowned course designer Linda Allen in the $30,000 June Classic I Grand Prix, sponsored by St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort. Previous to this event, Hannah Heidegger dominated the final qualifier for the 2013 North American Junior & Young Rider Championships and young...