So we are closing in on the end of the Para-Equestrian Dressage portion of the 2012 Paralympic Games, with only two Freestyles left for the U.S. to perform. It has been an amazing experience for me so far and the icing on the cake would be a medal for our riders! We have come incredibly close on a few occasions but with two more opportunities we are still hopeful. Jonathan Wentz and NTEC Richter Scale were so close on Saturday but had to settle for fourth, not bad in your first Paralympic...

Today was all about familarization. For me I had my second day in London and a second day navigating around. It was much more successful; I got to and from the venue with no wrong turns. That’s not to say that there weren’t delays and extended pauses where I questioned my next move but I never actually went the wrong way. Sometimes it’s all about the small victories! Once at the venue, I was greeted by extremely nice and helpful volunteers and military officials. Not enough...

So I have been in London for about five hours or so and it is everything I was expecting and more. To rewind a bit I spent last Wednesday-Sunday at the 2012 USEF National Dressage Championships at the picturesque Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, IL. After spending the better part of the last week watching the best up-and-coming Young and Developing Horses in the U.S. as well as juniors demonstrate fabulous equitation skill the future of the sport certainly seems very bright. A big hand and...

Gabe Aniello performing his Free Test at the 2012 World Vaulting Championship (www.barny-th.de) Le Mans, France - On the second day of competition at the FEI World Vaulting Championship, the U.S. vaulters had a day of strong performances. Gabe Aniello (Redwood City, CA) leads the U.S. vaulters in the Individual Male Championships, currently sitting in ninth place with a total score of 7.277. Aniello partnered with Forrest Cump and lunger Agnes Forst. "I had a rough beginning but I pulled it...

Organisers of the Longines FEI World Endurance Championships at Euston Park, near Newmarket, Suffolk, UK have released final details of the 160km track that will test up to 150 riders from around 40 countries on 25th August 2012. The route comprises six loops of between 20km and 38km five of which take riders on different routes around the Suffolk countryside covering heathland, forest tracks, river meadows and open farmland all with the support of local landowners, farmers and the Forestry...

FEI President HRH Princess Haya is proud to announce that London 2012 was a clean Games for equestrian sport, following confirmation that all human and equine samples taken during the Olympic equestrian events at Greenwich Park were negative. “The FEI had a really steep mountain to climb after Athens and Hong Kong, but we had a clean Youth Olympic Games, a clean FEI World Equestrian Games and now we’ve crowned it with a clean Olympic Games in London,” Princess Haya said....

The eighth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder Western Dressage is a big up and coming equestrian discipline right now. I believe this is the right time for the sport to emerge as a reality and the interest level proves that the idea has been around for a long time. When I started talking to everyone about it, I was surprised! In our area, a Western Dressage Facebook page was started and we had 130 members within about 2 days! That was so important because it showed how much...

Dougie Hannum doesn’t stress. But when the red foam finger feeding frenzy kicked off today - he may have gotten slightly agitated. It didn’t last long. The SmartPak/USEF Foam Finger “Dressage is #1” Initiative has really taken off. These things are everywhere and everyone wants one. The British are so polite. They say please, they insist on paying, they ask if they can have their photo taken with Sarah Paull who is actually running around wearing a giant foam finger...

Paige Johnson and Chiron S won the $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic at the Kentucky Summer Horse Show (Kendall Bierer/PMG) Lexington, KY - Thunderstorms plagued the Kentucky Horse Park as riders gathered beneath the lights of the Rolex Stadium to compete in the $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic at the Kentucky Summer Horse Show. Paige Johnson proved to be the best of the best, controlling the jump-off with one of only seven double-clear efforts aboard Chiron S to lead the victory gallop. Shane...

Robin Brueckman and Radetzky at the Veterinary Inspections (Lindsay McCall) Gladstone, NJ - Competition in the National Para-Equestrian Championships featuring the USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage Paralympic Selection Trials is set to begin Monday in five grades. All 24 horses presented at the Veterinary Inspection Sunday afternoon were accepted. Riders will perform three tests over three days of competition held at Pine Meadow which is part of the USET Foundation Headquarters. On Monday, riders...