Melissa Feller and Serafino (Shawn McMillen Photography) Upper Marlboro, MD - Twenty-eight-year-old Melissa Feller of Lincoln Park, NJ, rode Serafino for owner Elisabeth McFadden to the win in the $5,000 WCHR Emerging Pro Challenge. Feller rides for trainer Robert Beck and has been training with him since she was 10 years old. This is her second year as a professional and she stated that Capital Challenge is her favorite horse show. Feller won the Ariat National Adult Medal Finals in 2010....

Sydney Hutchins and Gaudi. (Shawn McMillen Photography) Upper Marlboro, MD – Forty-one qualifiers contested this year's THIS National Children's Medal Finals. After the initial round, the top 10 returned for a second round. Thirteen-year-old Sydney Hutchins of Westlake Village, CA, led from start to finish on Gaudi, owned by Taylor Harris (who, coincidentally, is not related to the sponsor). She scored a 90.5 in the first round and an 86.7 in the second round for a winning total...

Devon, PA – The competition continued today with classes including the FEI Intermediaire I, the FEI Young Rider Individual Text, Fourth Level tests, FEI Team Test Ponies and the highly anticipated FEI Grand Prix Freestyle. The Riders Jacqueline Brooks and D-Niro (Hoof Print Images) “This night is my favorite. I’m thrilled to have won,” said Jacqueline Brooks, winner of the Grand Prix Freestyle. She’s only been riding D-Niro since February of 2011 but has already...

The fifteenth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder Last weekend our barn attended the first Western Dressage classes in our area. It was a beautiful day to ride in a beautiful venue at a facility where the idea of western dressage has been warmly accepted. It was such a nice feeling to share space with dressage riders and enthusiasts, most of whom were very curious about the discipline. We rode all the North American Western Dressage Tests through Level 4 and found the tests...

Winner of Hanovarian class Age 2 and under Francheska AH (Project Marketing) Devon, PA - Dressage at Devon attendees were treated to an amazing array of individual breed classes in the world’s largest open Breed Show. From Andulusians to Gypsy Vanners, and Hanovarians to Knabstruppers, each breed had the opportunity to show off its unique qualities. In the Hanovarian – Age 2 and under, Francheska AH (Fielding/SPS Malena), bred and owned by Kate Palmquist, took home the blue. In the...

Damocles HLF was awarded the My Dave Perpetual Memorial Trohpy (Hoof Print Images) S eptember 25, 2012 - The sun was shining all day for the first day of Dressage at Devon 2012. Days 1 – 3 are the world-renowned Breed Show with Young Horse/Sport Horse, Mature Horse/Breeding Horse, and Under Saddle Classes for horses 3 years and up. Weighting of scores for Young Horse classes is based 60% on movement, 30% on confirmation, and 10% on general impression. While all the classes are exciting...

The fourteenth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder The last several weeks I’ve talked about how to get started in western dressage. If you are curious, you’ve checked out the website, taken advantage of the free basic membership by becoming a member, read the rules, reviewed the tests, read the articles, participated in the Forum discussions, found WD groups on Facebook, visited YouTube and chatted with your friends about it. Maybe you’ve contacted your local...

Burbank, CA - The best junior and young riders on the West coast are ready to take part in the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals West during the LA International Jumping Festival in Los Angeles, CA on September 19-23. Thirty-one riders will showcase their skills in three phases of competition judged by Chrystine Tauber and Bernie Traurig. Kilian McGrath (Thousand Oaks, CA) won the Young Rider Individual Gold and Team Bronze medals at the Adequan/FEI North American...

Jennifer Gurney and The Other Brother won the $3,000 Johnson Horse Transportation National Hunter Derby at the Buffalo International Horse Show. (Anne Gittins Photography) Buffalo, NY - It was a quiet morning in the city of Buffalo, with a cool breeze welcoming the start of the fourth day of the Buffalo International Horse Show. Although the community was quiet, the Buffalo Equestrian Center was packed with a full hunter/jumper schedule with events in the morning and continuing well into the...

(Sportfot/GCT) Lausanne, Switzerland - Patrice Delaveau wowed the GCT Lausanne with a sprint finish to win the 2nd CSI 5* today on Ornella Mail. American rider Jessica Springsteen set the pace in the 1m50 speed class, accelerating and clearing the three challenging double combinations around the compact sand arena in 60.23. Jessica, daughter of “The Boss” Bruce Springsteen, has rocketed into the 5* league and is fiercely competitive. She was clearly delighted with her round on...