Penny Brennan guided Japan to the winning time of 38.170 seconds during the $7,500 South Shore Equine Welcome Stake at the Fieldstone Summer Showcase I (Kendall Bierer/Phelps Media Group) Halifax, MA - It was only three short weeks ago that Penny Brennan was released from the hospital for a severe case of pneumonia, but no one would have known as she raced Japan to the top of the leader board during the $7,500 South Shore Equine Welcome Stake. Brennan and Japan posted the blazing time of 38.170...

Mark Bluman celebrates winning the $10,000 Sir Ruly, Inc., Open Jumper Awards with the Torano Family. From left to right: Danielle Torano, Natalia Torano, Maria Teresa Torano, Mark Bluman and Jimmy Torano. (David Mullinix Photography) East Dorset, VT - Colombia’s Mark Bluman, 22, closed out the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT, on a high note after winning the $10,000 Sir Ruly, Inc., Open Jumper Awards with 137 points. As the leading rider at this year’s event, Bluman was...

Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) and Representatives Joe Pitts (R-PA), Ed Whitfield (R-KY), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) have introduced the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2013 to regulate/prohibit substances, methods and treatments that may be used in racing. The legislation is not the same as the bill they introduced in the last Congress. The bill calls for a new "independent anti-doping organization" to be responsible for "ensuring the integrity of horseraces that are the...

Beezie Madden & Simon (Rebecca Walton/ Phelps Media Group) Gothenburg, Sweden - Valuable World Cup points were at stake Friday evening in the Rolex/FEI World Cup Final as riders vied for a place in Sunday's final competition. Uliano Vezzani tested the 38 riders that returned for round two over a flowing 13-obstacle track in the Scandinavium Arena. Riders within the top 26 placings following tonight's round qualified to jump in Sunday's final competition and of those entries...

Recently on the NAWD Facebook page, discussion has centered on the terms “connection” and “collection” with riders, trainers and instructors piping in with comments. If you have not checked in with the Facebook discussions on the websites for all the organizations, I encourage you to do so. All of these comments are so valuable! This is a critical conversation and is truly at the root of the discussion that surrounds WD videos that are currently out there. Dressage...

Raeford, NC - The marathon phase proved extremely influential at the Southern Pines CDE as the leaderboards across the competition saw great shake-ups. In the USEF National Combined Driving Single Pony Championship, Paul Maye drove a consistent and determined second phase to seize the two-day lead on a score of 126.39. While in the USEF National Combined Driving Pair Pony Championship, Jennifer Matheson will head into the cones as the leader with a score of 136.25. Lisa Stroud maintained her...

Aaron Vale dominated the Open Jumper divisions on the second day of the Tampa Bay Classic. He guided Kryptonite to the 1.40m victory in only 42.398 seconds (Kendall Bierer/PMG) Tampa, FL - The course was the talk of the day Thursday at the Tampa Bay Classic, as each consecutive rider was faced with a technical track that tested the best of their abilities. Riders gathered at the Covered Arena early this morning, and the cold weather only added to the mounting anticipation as some of the...

Show season is rolling all over the country. Let the games begin indeed! Western Dressage tests are being ridden in competitive venues all over, especially in the more temperate areas of the nation. Not the northeast! Riders are already sending test sheets in to the “NAWD Trax” year end award program. IPHDA has already completed 2 cycles of virtual shows with entries due for the March V show on Monday April 1st. USEF Morgan tests have been ridden in the first dressage schooling show...

Tina Konyot and Calecto V at the 2013 World Dressage Masters CDI5* Palm Beach (Susan J. Stickle) Loxahatchee, FL - Tina Konyot and Calecto V have competed lightly but successfully in South Florida this winter, and now their bid to compete in the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Final rests on their performance in the March 21-24 International Horse Sport Champions Cup CDI-W. The IHS Champions Cup, held at the IHS Champions Park at Equestrian Estates in Loxahatchee, is the final World Cup qualifier for...

Last week I gave you some wonderful numbers that show the tremendous growth we have seen in Western Dressage over the last year. Almost 200 shows and events are already scheduled for 2013… 200! All those events are the brainchildren of people who want to help develop WD in their area. Most riders start by going to audit or participate in a clinic first or by becoming familiar with different philosophies and approaches to western dressage via the FaceBook pages or investigating the...