Kelsey Thatcher and Balougris SL Z slice the second fence in the jump-off round (Phelps Media Group) Parker, CO - Show jumping returned to the Kathy and Brad Coors Family Grand Prix Arena at Summer in the Rockies VI at the Colorado Horse Park. Highlights of the day included the $2,500 1.30m Open Jumpers and the $2,500 1.40m Open Jumpers. In the 1.30m Open Jumpers, seven of the 13 horse and rider combinations that took on international course designer Danny Foster's course progressed to the...

Kenya and Caitlyn Shiels topped the $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Derby, sponsored by Walgreens (Tricia Booker Photography) Traverse City, MI - July 15, 2013 - Caitlyn Shiels gave Kenya a pep talk before heading to the R.L. Polk Family Main Hunter Ring for the $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Derby, sponsored by Walgreens. After collecting a bountiful array of ribbons during Horse Shows by the Bay Series II, Kenya had one more important outing on Sunday afternoon, July 14. "I told him, 'Today is...

Emily Chapman, the winner of the 2013 USEF Saddle Seat Adult Amateur Medal Final, riding CH EQ One Night Stand (Howard Schatzberg) Lexington, KY – A sunny day at the historic Red Mile Race Track in Lexington, Kentucky provided the backdrop for the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Saddle Seat Adult Amateur Medal Final, held during the Lexington Junior League Charity Horse Show. The judges made a unanimous decision to crown Emily Chapman the 2013 winner of the USEF Saddle Seat...

Canada’s Carly Morrison riding Duvel won the $10,000 SJHOF High Junior/Amateur-Owner Classic on Sunday (David Mullinix Photography) East Dorset, VT - Canada’s Carly Morrison and Connecticut’s Wendy Collins were the two big winners on Sunday, July 7, at the Vermont Summer Festival running July 2 through August 11 at Harold Beebe Farm in East Dorset, VT. Morrison took the win in the $10,000 SJHOF High Junior/Amateur-Owner Classic riding Duvel while Collins emerged victorious in the...

Show season keeps moving forward and the scores keep coming in. At the last WSH show, the high score rider, Linda Coates-Markle, received a whopping 76% on NAWD Level 3 Test 1 (that is the western equivalent of USDF First Level) riding her Quarter Horse mare. Once again, this last weekend, shows featuring Western Dressage classes were held all over the country and WD riders on both sides of the nation received the highest Phyllis Ray and Starr in the warm-up (Darcia Drapeau) scores recorded at...

A couple weeks ago a friend and I attended a WSH Dressage Show halfway across the state to ride the NAWD tests. The weather was gorgeous, the drive uneventful, the horses well behaved. The show was at a beautiful facility, with a qualified judge I trust to evaluate our western dressage horses. My stallion was perfectly behaved even in the warm-up area with the little ponies and their tiny children. Sounds like a perfect horse show weekend huh? It was, but for one thing. I was confused! For the...

Calgary, Canada - The United States sent two teams into competition Thursday afternoon in the $100,000 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup at the CSIO5* Spruce Meadows ‘Continental’ Tournament. Not only was the U.S. eyeing top finishes but qualification for the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping Season Series Final as well as a chance to win the North American, Central America and Caribbean League of Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping Series were all on the line. In its inaugural season...

John Pearce and Chianto (Flying Horse Photography) Parker, CO - The Kathy and Brad Coors Family Grand Prix Arena was christened on the first week of the Colorado Horse Park's Summer in the Rockies in a ceremony during the $30,000 Kathy and Brad Coors Family Grand Prix. A field of 12 horse and rider combinations accepted the challenge of Hector Loyola's technical track, but it was Canadian John Pearce who expertly navigated the jump-off round, besting the rest with long-time partner...

Western horses jog. English horses trot. Dressage horses trot. Everyone knows that. What does that mean for the western dressage horse? The western jog was a gait that could be ridden for long distances over the range or on the trail that horses could sustain without exhaustion and which could be sat comfortably. The trot is a gait that covers more ground at a reasonable tempo. To deal with the dynamics of the gait and to unload the horses back, some riders learned to post. Western riders bred...

Woodside, CA – Matt Brown punctuated a memorable weekend at the Woodside Horse Trials by winning the Horse division of the Preliminary Challenge on Che Landscape (32.4) and finishing fourth on Happenstance (36.0), while Kiera Carter rode Corinthoz to first place (32.0) in the Rider division. Professional’s Choice and Equine Insurance of California were the Presenting Sponsors of the Woodside Preliminary Challenge. The Preliminary Challenge reached an exciting climax in the...