Wayne, Ill. – The second day of competition at the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions brought back entries in the Neue Schule/USEF Intermediaire I National Championship and the Adequan ® /USEF Para Dressage National Championship for their second tests of the show. Christian Simonson and Son of a Lady. ©Leslie Potter/US Equestrian Neue Schule/USEF Intermediaire I Dressage National Championship The Intermediaire I entries completed the Intermediate I Test today, and Christian...

Three rising dressage stars are representing the U.S. this week in Ermelo, Netherlands, at the 2023 FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championship for Young Horses (WBC). Get to know more about these up-and-coming equine athletes with insights from their owners and trainers. Vianne and Hope Beerling. ©SusanJStickle.com Vianne (Kastel’s Vitalis x Raureif) 2016 Hanoverian mare Owner: NorCodia USA Rider: Hope Beerling (Califon, N.J.) Vianne is the product of Catherine Haddad...

Hickstead, Great Britain – The NetJets U.S. Jumping Team finished in fifth place overall at the 2023 Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup of Great Britain CSIO5* at the Royal International Horse Show, completing on a final team score of 31. Great Britain took the top podium position on a score of four over two rounds, while Ireland finished in second on 12 faults, and France in third on 16 total faults. “We always strive to hit the podium but sometimes it does not happen and today was...

Drammen, Norway – The U.S. Jumping Team ended their time at CSIO3* European competitions under the guidance of Chef d’Equipe Anne Kursinski at CSIO3* Drammen. The highlight of the week came with Alise Oken and Gelvera’s win in Sunday’s CSIO3* Grand Prix with Alessandra Volpi and Haya Loma N finishing third. After winning last week’s European Equestrian Federation Nations Cup at CSIO3* Uggerhalne , the U.S. Jumping Team of Oken, Volpi, Jacob Pope, and Nikko Ritter...

It takes years and a full team effort to develop a horse to the top level of equestrian sport— with riders, owners, grooms, coaches, and many more focusing on giving a horse the best chance at success. This process was true for Mai Baum, known as Lexus, on his road to winning the 2023 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian™ CCI5*-L with Tamie Smith in the irons. Smith remembered seeing Lexus, a 2006 German Sport Horse gelding owned by Alexandra...

Megan “Meg” Kepferle of Long Valley, N.J., was a longtime groom for Sinead Maynard (née Halpin) before starting her own business and pursuing her own riding goals. Kepferle groomed multiple times for Maynard at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian™, and she made her riding debut at the 2023 event in the CCI4*-S with Anakin, Rogue Won Syndicate LLC’s 2009 Thoroughbred gelding. When asked about her favorite memory grooming at the...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce the coaching team for the 2023 FEI Vaulting World Championships for Young Vaulters and Juniors , which will take place July 26-30 in Flyinge, Sweden. Emma Seely has been named Chef d’Equipe and Kimberly Wellmann will be the Assistant Chef d’Equipe. Emma Seely Seely is the founder and head coach of the Mt. Eden Vaulting Club in Saratoga, Calif. She has more than four decades of experience as a coach in the sport of vaulting,...

Lexington, Ky. -- Kevin Freeman was a renowned and distinguished equestrian in the United States, competing in three different Olympic Games for the U.S. Eventing Team. Freeman was born in Portland, Ore., in 1941 and grew up riding on the west coast before attending Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. He received his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia, Pa., before beginning his professional riding career in California after his graduation....

Wellington, Fla. - The FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ USA CDIO3* and CDIOU25 wrapped up with more honors for U.S. combinations on Sunday at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival. The Dutta Corp. U.S. Dressage Team combinations Christian Simonson and Son of a Lady and Charlotte Jorst and Zhaplin Langholt won gold and silver, respectively, in the FEI Intermediate I Freestyle. Simonson and Son of a Lady finished on a score of 78.445 percent while Jorst and Zhaplin Langholt scored a 76.205, both of...

Jane Hamlin My journey as a judge has led me from northern New England all around the world, including judging at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. It’s been an exciting ride starting when two friends and I traveled down monthly to the New England Dressage Association dressage judges’ program. This was prior to the USDF “L” program. We had the good fortune to spend a weekend a month for nine months learning from different judges before taking our final exam to become a...