Marie Hecart and Myself de Breve (Sportfot) Wellington, Fla. - France's Marie Hecart and Myself de Breve were the winners in Saturday night's $372,000 FEI World Cup™ Grand Prix CSI-W 5*, presented by Fidelity Investments®, at the 2015 Winter Equestrian Festival. Earning her first five-star victory as well as her first major Saturday night win in Wellington, Hecart topped a roster of major competition, including Olympic gold medalists Ben Maher (GBR) and Eric Lamaze (CAN)....

Upper Marlboro, Md. - After working for six years to qualify for and achieve her ultimate goal of winning the ARIAT National Adult Medal Finals, Rachel Boggus of Indianapolis, Ind., succeeded. She rode Papillon 136 through two rounds of equitation competition and came away with the win over 30 competitors. Since it's inception in 1994, the ARIAT National Adult Medal has given adult riders the opportunity to compete in a competitive equitation class over fences 3' in height. The classes...

Pablo Barrios and Antares Soar to Victory (A. Galvin/Phelps Media Group) Lexington, Ky. - Who ever said lightning never strikes the same place twice has not met Pablo Barrios. The Venezuelan rider once again piloted Antares to the top of the pack in the $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic presented by Zoetis, mimicking his effort two weeks prior in the $50,000 Kentucky Summer Grand Prix. The win comes just in time for Barrios to add to his stockpile of points for the Hagyard Leading Rider Bonus...

Long hours in the saddle…….trailering to lessons……..scrimping and saving to pay for show fees………cleaning tack………body clipping……….polishing hooves. The preparation work for the first show of the season is time-consuming and sometimes tedious. But equine enthusiasts around the country could not imagine spending their time doing anything else right now – that show is right around the corner. Besides...

Ben Maher and Diva (Phelps Media Group, Inc.) Wellington, Fla. - The sun was getting low in the sky at the Ridge at Wellington as Britain's Olympic Gold Medalist Ben Maher entered the Grand Prix Field. Aboard his most recent mount Diva, Maher, the number two ranked rider in the Longines World Rankings, tackled the track and climbed to the top of the leader board for today's 1.40m Wellington Turf Tour. It was a moment that marked a solid beginning for the pair-their first win as a team....

Shane Sweetnam and Solerina (The Book LLC 2013) North Salem, NY - The 2013 American Gold Cup CSI4*-W returned to the picturesque Old Salem Farm Wednesday to kick-off the week-long international jumping competition featuring the world's top athletes. Thanks to phenomenal reviews from 2012, a large number of entries created a section split for the day's main event on the Grand Prix Field: the $8,000 Danbury Porsche Audi 1.40m Open Jumper class. During the first section, it was...

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 their journey...

Kristen Bumpus and Cupid (Phelps Media Group) Halifax, MA - The first day of the Fieldstone Spring Festival welcomed the top riders in the nation to the new and improved Fieldstone Show Park. After an overhaul, the Fieldstone Show Park kicked off the first day of the weeklong show with thrilling hunter and jumper competition. David Oliynyk rode to the top of the 1.15m Jumpers, while Kristen Bumpus piloted Cupid to the top of the ranks during the 1.25m Schooling Jumpers as she tackled the course...

How can you practice anything on your horse when there’s six inches of snow on the ground, it’s below freezing, the wind is blowing, and you’re not blessed with an indoor arena? Here in Colorado, we often have beautiful, sunny days where we can exercise our horses outdoors for hours. On other days, not so much. As a friend of mine said, "it’s not how you ride your horse; it’s how you live your life." He was referring to work you can do off your horse, such as...

This is a truly thrilling time to be a part of Western Dressage and the Western Dressage Association® of America! I recently had the opportunity to chat with Cliff Swanson, who has been instrumental in many facets of the program, including authoring and editing the new tests, working with the Rules Committee, developing the Train The Trainers™ Program and conducting a wonderful series of Skill Set Clinics. Cliff also sits on the Advisory Board for the WDAA. According to Cliff,...