Western Dressage clinics are rolling all over the nation. Here in the Pacific Northwest one clinic series has been endorsed by our USDF Region 6 Director, Donna Longacre. Her lifetime of experience in the dressage world combined with her judging experience in both dressage and western disciplines makes her uniquely qualified to comment on Western Dressage training and judging. I am so excited to have created a clinic series that carries such an endorsement as I continue to try to present...

A couple of top ranked NCEA teams traveled to Texas this past weekend and didn't escape with out scars on their records. Auburn lost its first match of the weekend to Texas A&M, K-State had a rough couple days, Georgia and South Carolina won big in their final home matches of the season, and Fresno State finally added a few marks to the win column. My quick recap of the weekend that was across the NCEA is below The Texas A&M Aggies looked like a revitalized team against Auburn on...

Victoria Colvin and Ovation (Anne Gittins Photography) Wellington, FL - Week seven of the 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF), sponsored by Hermès , continued on Saturday with the $50,000 USHJA World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) Peter Wetherill Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular. Fifteen-year-old Victoria Colvin of Loxahatchee, FL, took home her second win in a row in the prestigious class, this year riding Dr. Betsee Parker's Ovation to victory. Previous winners...

A big weekend of NCEA competition had its share of upsets and near misses. At the end of it a few things seem certain: there will be a change at the top of the next NCEA Coaches Poll, and there will be plenty of competitive drama leading up to the NCEA National Championship in April. No.3 University of Georgia def. No.1 South Carolina University 11-8 The Gamecocks stole one from the Bulldogs in Bishop during the fall season. On Saturday the Bulldogs stole one back on the South Carolina home...

The twenty first in a series of blog post from Michelle Binder It was an exciting weekend for western dressage in the Pacific Northwest November 2-4. On Friday the Washington State Horsemen (WSH) voted to add Western Dressage as a new discipline on the roster of events offered by the organization statewide. WD has been added as a sub-category of dressage and will utilize NAWD Official Rules and Tests for the 2013 show season so WD classes may now be added to any WSH approved Dressage show...

Abigail Mutrux is a 17-year-old junior at University City High School in St. Louis, Missouri. She is the captain of the three-gaited section of the 2012 U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup Team. In addition to riding Saddle Seat, she enjoys fox hunting and has been awarded her junior colors. Perhaps Saddle Seat is something that most children aren’t drawn toward when they first tell their parents that they want to start riding. I was born into it. My mother grew up competing at the same national...

Meg O'Mara and Sinatra IV were awarded the High Junior Jumper Championship for their efforts throughout the week, as well as the blue ribbon for their impressive double-clear victory in the Show Jumping Hall of Fame High Junior Jumper Classic at the Kentucky Summer Horse Show. (Kendall Bierer/PMG.) Lexington, KY - The final day of the Kentucky Summer Horse Show was afoot with the top amateur-owner and junior riders in the country gathering to compete at the Rolex Stadium. It was a day of...

Victoria Colvin and Inclusive won the 2012 USEF East Coast Junior Hunter Finals Grand Championship. (Kendall Bierer/PMG) Lexington, KY - The sweat beaded off the competitors' brow today at the Kentucky Horse Park. It was the final day of the USEF East Coast Junior Hunter Finals, and the final determinant would be the handy round. Today's second round course determined both Champion and Reserve Champion for each division, as well as overall High Point Mare, Reserve Grand Champion and...

The sixth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder When on a horse, I wear a riding helmet. My students wear riding helmets. I ride and show western and dressage. The helmet/hat quandary, style vs. safety, the tradition or common sense conversation is therefore a subject near and dear to my heart. On March 22, 2012, I went into the hay barn to get a bale of hay to feed lunch in the barn. To make a long story short, despite my usual care in tipping bales, as I turned to leave the...

Gold medal winning team dressage young riders from Region 5 (Susan J. Stickle) Lexington, KY - The first medals of the 2012 Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North (NAJYRC) were awarded today to the dressage teams for juniors and young riders. The dressage competition is sponsored by Platinum Performance and the United States Dressage Federation. Region 5 from the United States - Madeline Birch, Victoria Fernalld, Brandi Roenick, and Devon...