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,...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and its Eventing High Performance Department is proud to announce a redesigned Developing Riders/Eventing 25 Program beginning in 2013. In 2013, a Developing Rider will be defined as a rider (maximum age of 25) who has achieved a qualifying result at the CCI2* level. Chef d’Equipe David O’Connor will lead the Developing Riders/Eventing 25 program and coach the accepted athletes. In addition to lessons under saddle, there...

Westport, CT - The EQUUS Foundation and the American Association of Equine Practioners (AAEP) Foundation joinly established the EQUUS Foundation Research Fellowship program in 2011 to emphasize the importance of equine research, to reward researchers for their contributions, and to meet the increasing need to train future equine veterinary researchers. Two equine researchers were presented with the 2012 EQUUS Foundation Research Fellows for their work to advance veterinary knowledge during the...

Connor Husain is the recipient of the 2012 Amanda Warrington Grant from the USET Foundation. (Shannon Brinkman) Gladstone, NJ - The United States Equestrian Team Foundation is pleased to announce that it has awarded the 2012 Amanda Warrington Grant to Eventing rider Connor Husain of The Plains, VA, the first male rider to win this prestigious grant. The Amanda Warrington Grant is awarded through the USET Foundation Amanda Pirie Warrington Fund. Earlier this year, Husain won the North American...

The twenty fourth in a series of blog posts from Michelle Binder North American Western Dressage receives all kinds of questions at the website and on our FaceBook page. Last week Jen Johnson shared the following in a post and it generated a huge amount of material for consideration. She posted: “I received an email last night from a **** judge who had the following concerns about Western Dressage..... “The problem is that the western horse is going to have to be much quicker in...

Susan Hancock Susan Hancock of La Vernia, Texas, received the fourth annual “USDF Region 9 Teaching Excellence Award” at the Great American/USDF Region 9 Championships held in Katy, TX, November 1-4, 2012. She received a $5,000 award for demonstrating adherence to sound dressage principles and the ability to communicate these principles so that students develop themselves and their horses in a logical, progressive and humane way up through the levels. "The methods that Susan used to...

The U.S. Five-Gaited Section Gold medalists (R. Millin) Parys, South Africa - On Saturday, December 8, the Saddle Seat World Cup sponsored by Impondo Mining and Live 2 Learn concluded with second round performances from the Three-Gaited sections of the Saddle Seat World Cup teams. After a stellar presentation of rail work, the U.S. Three-Gaited team set the stage for leading pattern work scores in both groups. With strong performances all week, hopes were high that both the U.S. Three- and...

The U.S. team following the Opening Ceremonies (R. Millin) Parys, South Africa – On Thursday, December 6, competition got underway at the Saddle Seat World Cup. Riders in the Three- and Five-Gaited sections of the U.S. team competed in the initial stages of the rail and pattern work. Both sections of U.S. riders had strong performances on the first day of competition. The Five-Gaited section riders Hunter Chancellor (Evansville, IN), Angela Darrow (Hartland, WI), Drew Taylor Hewitt...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation will ring in the New Year with the seventh annual USEF Horsemastership Training Session presented by USHJA and Adequan. The Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL will once again host the prestigious clinic January 2-6, 2013. The following 12 riders will participate in the five-day training session sponsored by Practical Horseman and Equestrian Sports Production: • Claudia Billups • Olivia Champ •...

Wellington, FL - The Adequan Global Dressage Festival (GDF) is one of the world's largest international and national dressage circuits. It features five FEI events, including a CDI5*, a CDIO3* Nations Cup (Pan American format test event), two CDI-W 3* and seven U.S. national events. Equestrian Sport Productions has made a limited number of tickets available in the Global Pavilion for tables at the international dressage competitions. Watch world-class dressage at your private table in the...