Lexington, Ky. - To reach the highest level of excellence in equestrian sport requires talent, perseverance, a tremendous spirit and often, unwavering courage. In 2013, six horses have shown the world these qualities and more. On January 11, the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) will bestow two of them with the prestigious title of Horse of the Year, the highest honor the USEF awards a horse. Again this year, both a national and international horse will be crowned. The six champions...

Findlay, Ohio - November 18 - After four days of riding instruction, stable management, a written test and the Nations Cup competition, Sunny Drescher stood out among her peers and earned top honors in the USHJA Emerging Athletes National Training Session, presented by Dover Saddlery, November 14-17. "Sunny's the whole package. She's another kid whom we admire in all aspects of her horsemanship," said show jumping Olympic gold medalist and lead clinician Peter Wylde. "She's an...

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...

Dressage Young Rider Team Gold Medalists from Region 7: Teresa Adams, Ariel Thomas, Jamie Pestana, and Jaclyn Pepper (SusanJStickle.com) Lexington, KY – The first day of competition at the 2013 Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North (NAJYRC) featured the top up-and-coming talent in the sport of dressage. Team medals were presented in the Junior and Young Rider divisions in the USDF/Platinum Performance North American Junior and Young...

Beezie Madden and Simon (Sportfot) Wellington, FL - The powerhouse U.S. show jumping team of Kent Farrington, Reed Kessler, Laura Kraut, and Beezie Madden earned victory in Friday night's $75,000 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ presented by G&C Farm, at the 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL. Teams representing seven different countries participated in the evening's competition with a win for Team USA over Canada in second and Germany in third. Week...

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 - To reach the highest level of excellence in equestrian sport requires talent, perseverance, a tremendous spirit and often, unwavering courage. In 2012, six horses have shown the world those qualities and more. On January 18, the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) will bestow two of them with the prestigious title of Horse of the Year, the highest honor the USEF awards a horse. Again this year both a national and international horse will win. The six champions have earned...

With just 24 hours to go to the London 2012 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony, excitement and great expectations are building up in the Olympic venues dotted around the city whilst record ticket sales – over 2.2 million tickets sold – are already hailing this edition as the greatest ever. This will be the fifth time Para-Equestrian Dressage is on the programme but it is the first time it is held in a country with such a strong Para-Equestrian culture, so strong that since it became...

Leslie Howard and Lennox Lewis 2 Win $15,000 Equine Insurance Speed Stake Presented by Great American Insurance Group Candice King and Kismet 50 (Tammy Hardy Photography) Hampton Falls, NH – More than 5,000 spectators came to watch the final day of The Jumper Classic®, presented by Fidelity Investments® and Audi of America. Held at the Silver Oak Equestrian Center, The Jumper Classic had their two final highlight classes of the week. In the $75,000 Fidelity Investments Grand Prix,...

Del Mar, CA - The 2012 Rancho Valencia Dressage Affaire CPEDI3* will be the site of the FEI Para-Equestrian Dressage Judges Course and FEI Para-Equestrian Dressage Steward Course. Both courses are still open for registration. Applications can be found for the Judges Course at https://www.usef.org/newsletterLicensedOfficials/2012schedule.html . The application for the Stewards course is available here. The 2012 Rancho Valencia Dressage Affaire CPEDI3* takes place at the Del Mar Horse Park in Del...