Riders selected for the 2014 U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup Team in both three-gaited and five-gaited are (left to right) front row, Brooke Boyer, Kristen Smith, Maisie Benfield, Eleanor Rainbolt-Forbes and Quinn Mercier; back row, William Nalty, Emily Gutenkunst, Aleia Brown, Sydney Shaw, Nadine Van Zomeren, McGee Bosworth and Macey Miles. Fulton, Mo. –The top saddle seat equitation riders in the country will assemble this weekend when William Woods University again hosts the United States...

Temecula, Calif. – The Galway Downs International CCI3* got underway Friday afternoon with the dressage phase. The USEF Land Rover Competition Grant recipients are off to a solid start in the competition with Lauren Kieffer and Meadowbrook’s Scarlett and Phillip Dutton and Mr. Candyman both in the top 12. Lauren Kieffer and Meadowbrook's Scarlett (Captured Moment Photography) Kieffer (Middleburg, Va.) and Meadowbrook's Scarlett laid down a lovely test with a few minor bobbles to...

Lexington, Ky. – The inaugural $100,000 USEF U25 Show Jumping National Championship presented by the Porter Family, the Jacobs Family, the Jobs Family, & the Keenan Family got underway Wednesday night in the Alltech Arena with the $15,000 Faults Converted competition. Katherine Strauss rode a fast, masterful round on All In to win the first of the three competitions that make up the championship. Katherine Strauss and All In (Shawn McMillen Photography) Seventeen-year-old Strauss...

John French in his presentation for Leading Hunter Rider with WIHS Executive Director Bridget Love Meehan, Dr. Betsee Parker, and Archie Cox (Shawn McMillen Photography) Washington, D.C. – The 2015 Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) continued with its second day of competition Wednesday featuring the presentation of championship honors in the professional and amateur-owner hunter divisions at Verizon Center in downtown Washington D.C. Representing the west coast, rider and trainer...

Lexington, Ky. – A rainy day at the Kentucky Classic CDE did not stop the competitors in the USEF Four-in-Hand Driving National Championship from delivering competitive performances in the marathon phase over the picturesque grounds of the Kentucky Horse Park. Chester Weber won the phase and remained atop the leaderboard as he looks to claim his 12th National title. Chester Weber (Picsofyou.com) Weber (Ocala, Fla.) and his and Jane Clark’s team looked phenomenal throughout the...

Gladstone, N.J. - The future stars of U.S. show jumping will be tested this weekend as 61 top junior and young riders meet for the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals East taking place October 3-4. The event will be held at the United States Equestrian Team Foundation Headquarters in Gladstone, N.J. Judges and course designers Candice King and Chrystine Tauber, both from Wellington, Fla., will put the field through an intense four-phase competition designed to prepare...

Lexington, Ky. – The USEF Four-in-Hand Driving National Championship got off to an exciting start on Thursday at the Kentucky Classic CDE. Due to excessive rain at the Kentucky Horse Park, the dressage phase was moved from its usual grass location to the Rolex Stadium. The drivers performed excellent tests on the grand stage in pursuit of a national title. Chester Weber leads the field, while less than five-tenths of a point separates the other three competitors. Chester Weber (Picsofyou....

Laura Kraut and Nouvelle (Nacho Olano Photography) Barcelona, Spain – The Hermès U.S. Show Jumping Team was in top form today as it secured a spot in the final round of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping Final for the first time in the season-closer’s three year history. Led by Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland, the team of Lucy Davis, Lauren Hough, Laura Kraut, and Beezie Madden finished the first round of the prestigious competition on nine faults, tying for fourth...

I met Jan Ebeling in 2003, when he was a clinician at Larkspur in Littleton, MA. While riding in the clinic and observing him work with the other riders, I was impressed with his professionalism and brilliant teaching methods. He encouraged everyone to see the importance of the basic building blocks of dressage, such as straightness and rhythm, and how they related to a perfect shoulder-in and ultimately to the Levels. Jan focuses on the theories of classical dressage. While I still wanted to...

Stellenbosch, South Africa – The U.S. Saddle Seat Young Riders Travel Team made the trek to Africa to compete in the 2015 South Africa Saddle Seat Invitational at the Mistico Equestrian Centre, September 16-19. The 11 U.S. athletes delivered fantastic performances against nine of South Africa’s top saddle seat equitation riders. Under the guidance of coaches Kelly Kraegel (Guthrie, Okla.) and Sarah Lawson (Rockport, Ind.) and assisted by 2012 Saddle Seat Gold Medal coach Kristen...