Recently on the NAWD Facebook page, discussion has centered on the terms “connection” and “collection” with riders, trainers and instructors piping in with comments. If you have not checked in with the Facebook discussions on the websites for all the organizations, I encourage you to do so. All of these comments are so valuable! This is a critical conversation and is truly at the root of the discussion that surrounds WD videos that are currently out there. Dressage...

Devon, PA - Two time Olympic team gold medalist McLain Ward will defend his Leading Open Jumper Rider title at the Devon Horse Show and Country Fair, which runs May 23 to June 2. Ward of Brewster, N.Y., has entered last year’s Devon Open Jumper Champion Antares F, the horse he rode in the 2012 London Olympic Games. Ward also won last year’s $100,000 Wells Fargo Grand Prix of Devon on Antares F, a class he has won six times in the last 10 years. Devon benefits Bryn Mawr Hospital,...

Western Dressage clinics are rolling all over the nation. Here in the Pacific Northwest one clinic series has been endorsed by our USDF Region 6 Director, Donna Longacre. Her lifetime of experience in the dressage world combined with her judging experience in both dressage and western disciplines makes her uniquely qualified to comment on Western Dressage training and judging. I am so excited to have created a clinic series that carries such an endorsement as I continue to try to present...

Show season is rolling all over the country. Let the games begin indeed! Western Dressage tests are being ridden in competitive venues all over, especially in the more temperate areas of the nation. Not the northeast! Riders are already sending test sheets in to the “NAWD Trax” year end award program. IPHDA has already completed 2 cycles of virtual shows with entries due for the March V show on Monday April 1st. USEF Morgan tests have been ridden in the first dressage schooling show...

Victoria Colvin and Waminka (Sportfot) Wellington, FL - Starting off Sunday's competition on the derby field,15-year-old Victoria Colvin jumped to victory in the $15,000 Artisan Farms Young Rider Grand Prix presented by the Dutta Corporation in association with Guido Klatte. Thirty-one entries showed in the class with four clear rounds to advance to the jump-off. None of the competitors were able to clear the second round course without fault, and Colvin's four-fault round was the best...

Last week I gave you some wonderful numbers that show the tremendous growth we have seen in Western Dressage over the last year. Almost 200 shows and events are already scheduled for 2013… 200! All those events are the brainchildren of people who want to help develop WD in their area. Most riders start by going to audit or participate in a clinic first or by becoming familiar with different philosophies and approaches to western dressage via the FaceBook pages or investigating the...

Tina Konyot and Calecto V (SusanJStickle.com) Wellington, FL - The Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) hosted an entertaining night of equestrian sport at the WEF Dressage Classic, CDI 3* presented by Today's Equestrian & Fellows on Friday. The night's schedule included an opening $10,000 Puissance won by Great Britain's Tim Gredley and Unex Valente, which led into the highlight class of the week, the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle sponsored by Horseware Ireland. The winning score...

Wellington, FL - The United States wrapped-up an impressive week at the 2013 CSIO Wellington, that included FEI Nations Cup victories for the Senior and Young Rider Teams, with the top two spots in the $150,000 CSIO 4* Grand Prix presented by Wellington Equestrian Realty. Kent Farrington and Kent Farrington & Blue Angel (Sportfot) Blue Angel just edged ahead of his teammate from the winning U.S. Team in Friday's $75,000 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup presented by G&C Farm, Beezie Madden...

Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven and Don Auriello (SusanJStickle.com Wellington, FL - With the sun making its first appearance since competition started, the Florida Dressage Classic CDI-W presented by USPRE Association began to wind down Saturday at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF). In the Small Tour, Christilot Boylen (CAN) was triumphant, taking the top two spots in the $5,000 FEI Intermediare I sponsored by Havensafe Farm. In the Large Tour, Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven (SWE) clinched the...

After a second-place finish in last week’s $5,000 offering, Jenny Karazissis stepped up for the cash and finished first in the $10,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix, this time aboard Undeniable. Karazissis hopes to again make the trip east this year for the Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final (Flying Horse Photography) Thermal, CA - It was a rewarding day for hunter riders in Thermal, as Desert Circuit III wound to a close with two big-money competitions on Sunday, which marked the conclusion of...