Welcome to the fifth nstallment 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...

Kristen VanderVeen and Bull Run's Eternal (Mary Adelaide Brakenridge) Parker, CO - The crown jewel of the Summer in the Rockies six-week series, the $50,000 Parker Adventist Hospital Grand Prix, was held on Saturday afternoon. It was Military Day at the Colorado Horse Park, honoring and welcoming military and first responders to enjoy family activities and great show jumping. Title sponsor Parker Adventist Hospital was on hand for helmet fittings and distribution of free riding helmets to...

Ashlee Bond and Agrostar shined in round one and braved the rain in round two for their win in Saturday’s $33,000 ASHCOR Technologies Cup (Spruce Meadows Media Services) Calgary, AB – Ashlee Bond (USA) and Agrostar earned an exciting victory in the $33,000 ASHCOR Technologies Cup 1.50m competition on Saturday during day three of the ‘Pan American’ Tournament at Spruce Meadows. The pair led a five-horse jump-off out of 37 competitors to win over Canada’s Kara Chad and...

Sarah Tyndall and Jack Black (Phelps Media Group, Inc. International) Halifax, MA - The Plymouth Rock Hunter/Jumper Classic ended today with the much-anticipated $10,000 Fieldstone 3'3" Hunter Derby and both the Child and Adult Hunter Classics. The derby has always been both a competitor and crowd favorite at the Fieldstone Show Park in Halifax, MA, and today's class was no exception. Riding to two impressive scores and the blue ribbon in the derby were Emily Bickford and KEC Kool Kat....

David Oliynyk and Generous claimed the $10,000 Fieldstone 3'3" Hunter Derby victory with a near-perfect score of 192 points during the Fieldstone Spring Festival. (Kendall Bierer/Phelps Media Group) Halifax, MA - All eyes were on the hunter competitors as they took center stage on the Derby Field at the Fieldstone Spring Festival. The derby has always been an exhibitor and crowd favorite at the Fieldstone Show Park in Halifax, MA, and today's derbies were no exception. Riding to a nearly...

Lauren Barwick (CAN) and Off To Paris (Lindsay McCall) Wellington, FL - Opening day at the 2013 Adequan Global Dressage Festival WEF Dressage Classic CPEDI3*, presented by Today's Equestrian and Fellows, showcased many of North America's top Para-Dressage riders. Equestrians from Canada and the U.S. competed in the Team Test completing their first of three days of para-dressage tests. The friendly but competitive atmosphere between the countries was illustrated among the riders as they...

Show Jumping and Driving Coverage on USEF Network 2004 Olympic Champion Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil competed in the inaugural CSI2* Live Oak International, recognized as a top three ‘Specialty Event’ by the North American Riders Group (www.PicsOfYou.com) Ocala, FL – Live Oak International, the only equestrian event in North America to feature both world-class driving and show jumping, takes place from March 20 to 24 at Live Oak Plantation in Ocala, FL. For the first time, live coverage of...

Auburn finished up last weekend, and now all four SEC equestrian teams are through with regular season competition. Oklahoma State & Kansas State both picked up wins against South Carolina, setting up a season ending clash in Manhattan on Saturday. My quick recap of the weekend's NCEA action is below. No.8 Kansas State University def. No.4 South Carolina University Kansas State needed a win. After climbing to No.4 in the rankings, they had lost three straight, including a couple of ugly...

Louisville, KY - At the USEF Annual Meeting on Friday horses Flexible and Jersey Boy were named 2012 USEF International Horse of the Year and USEF National Horse of the year respectively. These two winners, determined by a vote that was open to the public, were superstars of their disciplines in 2012 and earned the admiration of voters with big wins and sustained successes. Flexible (Cruising x Flex) 1996 Irish Sport Horse Stallion Owners: Harry and Mollie Chapman Discipline - Show Jumping...

Lexington, KY - The popular helmet awareness campaign Riders4Helmets will be hosting the 4th Riders4Helmets Safety Symposium on Saturday February 2nd, 2013 at the Alltech Arena, Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, KY from 8.30am to 5pm. The symposium is being sponsored by Tipperary , Charles Owen , Troxel , GPA , One K , Ovation and High Visibility USA (Equisafety). Contributing companies include Adequan and Triple Crown . For those who cannot attend the symposium in person, videoed sessions will...