Earlier this week, things weren’t looking good for Catalina Sherwood as she pursued her dream of riding at the US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®, a unique national head-to-head competition for adult amateur and open riders of all levels being held November 5-8, 2015 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. After a long van ride from Tucson, Ariz., her eight-year-old RPSI mare Razmitaz wasn’t her usual self. “She wasn’t feeling well when she came off the...

Most competitors dread having to be the first rider to enter the arena in any class, let alone the first rider down the centerline on Day One of national championship competition First in the ring, Rachael Hicks & Fabio Bellini set the standard for the rest of the class and won the Intermediate I Adult Amateur Championship. Photo by Susan J. Stickle at the US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®, a unique national head-to-head competition being for exhibitors of all levels held...

Molly Schiltgen and Leisl TF earned their first ribbon today from the 2015 US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®. Photo by Susan J. Stickle Under glorious skies and with unseasonably warm temperatures the third edition of the annual US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan® got underway Thursday at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. Riders took advantage of a full day of open competition with Dressage in the Bluegrass classes to prepare for their Championship performances over the...

Cecilia Cox works all year to be able to make her annual trip to the U.S. Dressage Finals by Adequan a reality. (SusanJStickle.com) Lexington, Ky. - Competitors are now arriving on the hallowed grounds of the Kentucky Horse Park for this week’s U.S. Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®, and these horses and riders represent a myriad of both physical and personal journeys in traveling from across the country to take part in this unique national head-to-head dressage competition. For...

Temecula, Calif. – A small but mighty field contested the Galway Downs International CCI3* this weekend with USEF Land Rover Competition Grant recipients Phillip Dutton and Mr. Candyman and Lauren Kieffer and Meadowbrook’s Scarlett having stellar performances. The combinations finished in the top four with Dutton winning top honors with his other mount, Fernhill Fuguitve. Phillip Dutton and Mr. Candyman (Captured Moment Photography) Dutton (West Grove, Pa.) earned finished first-...

Lexington, Ky. – The future stars of United States Show Jumping were tested during three days of tough competition for the 2015 USEF U25 National Championship presented by the Porter Family, the Jacobs Family, the Jobs Family and the Keenan Family. Following two clear rounds during last night’s $30,000 Final Competition, Lucy Deslauriers stood on top of the podium as the winner of the inaugural USEF U25 National Championship. Champion Lucy Deslauriers with Silver medalist Katherine...

Temecula, Calif. – An influential cross-country day at the Galway Downs International CCI3* shook up the leaderboard on Saturday. The USEF Land Rover Competition Grant recipients had excellent performances over Ian Stark’s challenging cross-country track with Lauren Kieffer and Meadowbrook’s Scarlett and Phillip Dutton and Mr. Candyman moving into the top four. Lauren Kieffer and Meadowbrook's Scarlett (Captured Moment Photography) Kieffer (Middleburg, Va.) had a stellar round...

Three years ago, the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) launched an innovative Developing Driver Program to provide supplemental training opportunities for American combined drivers who demonstrated a commitment to the goal of competing at the USEF/FEI level and who were in pursuit of competitive excellence. The eventual goal was to increase the number of drivers and their horses/ponies competing at high performance levels, therefore developing the drivers that could become be future...

Andres Rodriguez and S.F. Ariantha (Sportfot) Mill Spring, N.C. - Andres Rodriguez (VEN) and the talented grey mare S.F. Ariantha proved too quick to beat in the $127,000 Tryon Estates Grand Prix CSI 3*, the final Grand Prix of the 2015 season at Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC). Rodriguez and S.F. Ariantha flew through the timers, securing the fastest double clear effort of the night, finishing with a time of 43.26 seconds. Andrew Kocher (USA), winner of the $34,000 Suncast®...

Lexington, Ky. – Bruce “Buck” Davidson Jr. and Sydney Hagaman held on to their first place positions, following the show jumping phase, to secure the USEF One-Star Eventing National Championships as part of the Hagyard Midsouth Three-Day Event & Team Challenge. Davidson led the victory gallop with Legion Kat as they claimed the USEF One-Star Eventing National Championship for the Richard Collins Trophy on an overall score of 41.50. Hagaman and Diablo Tejano secured the...