Liza Boyd and Crack On (Shawn McMillen Photography) pper Marlboro, MD – Professional riders gain points all year in order to be the top six in the country and qualify for the WCHR Professional Finals, sponsored by the John R. Ingram Fund, at the Capital Challenge Horse Show. This year, the top six were Liza Boyd, Kelley Farmer, John French, Peter Pletcher, Amanda Steege, and Scott Stewart, and it was Liza Boyd who finished the competition with top honors. In the afternoon session, Haleigh...

Ashlee Bond (Flying Horse Photography) Sacramento, California - Gusty winds threatened tents, show set-ups, and anything not tightly secured during Day Two of Sacramento International's World Cup Week. The stakes were high in the $33,000 Welcome Grand Prix as 55 entries including international stars Will Simpson, Nayel Nassar, Susan Hutchinson, Duncan McFarlane, Ashlee Bond, and Harley Brown as well as local favorites Joie Gatlin, Macella O'neil and Carol Wright navigated a formidable...

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...

Welcome to the fourth 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...

Holly Shepherd and Triompf claim the $35,000 Grand Prix de Lamplight victory with speedy tie breaking jump-off (Kendall Bierer/PMG) Wayne, IL - The resounding cheers and applause could be heard throughout the Lamplight Equestrian Center as six horse and rider combinations faced off in today's $35,000 Grand Prix de Lamplight, presented by Saddler's Row. It came down to a battle of speed as each consecutive rider bested the next, but it was Holly Shepherd and Triompf that came away the...

Centurion B and Lisa Goldman Traverse City, MI - Lisa Goldman took a chance. When she came around the corner to the last line in the jump-off of the $10,000 Positive Step Open Jumper Welcome Prix, she had a choice to make: pull or kick. Her split-second decision to kick made all the difference. She and Centurion B earned their second consecutive blue ribbon at Horse Shows by the Bay Series IV, by a margin of just .06 seconds. Charles Jacobs, of Boston, MA, who challenged Goldman eight horses...

Amanda Steege guided Tony Arena’s Majestic to the High Performance Hunter Championship title during WCHR week at the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT. (David Mullinix Photography) East Dorset, VT - World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) competition took place throughout the third week of competition, held July 17-21, at the Vermont Summer Festival, attracting the East Coast’s top hunter riders as they prepare for WCHR Finals this fall. Professionals were among the first to...

Lexington, KY - The SmartPak North American Junior and Young Riders’ Reining Championship reached fever pitch today with the Team competition for Juniors and Young Riders at the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park. With Gold medals for both nations in respective divisions, the top of the podium and hardware was evenly divided at the North American Championship today with Team USA South Central taking gold in the Junior division and Team Canada golden in the Young Rider division. With...

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...

Calgary, Alberta – Five weeks of world-class competition wrapped up at Spruce Meadows on Sunday afternoon with a fantastic win for Ireland’s Conor Swail and Lansdowne in the $400,000 Spruce Meadows ‘Pan American’ Grand Prix. The final event of the summer featured a five-horse jump-off with a win for the Irish, Colombia’s Daniel Bluman and Sancha LS in second and fellow Irishman Cameron Hanley and Antello in third. Canada’s Peter Grant set the track on Sunday...