Silva Martin and Fortissimo B (Picsofyou.com) Lexington, KY – The best young dressage horses on the East Coast delivered top performances at the 2013 Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Eastern Selection Trial in Leesburg, Virginia. Held in conjunction with the VADA/NOVA Summer June Dressage Show, these five- and six-year-old horses aimed for a spot to represent the U.S. at the FEI World Breeding Championships for Dressage Young Horses in Verden, Germany in August, as well as a spot on the...

Birmingham, AL - From an early age, the importance of sportsmanship has been impressed upon Georgia equestrian student-athlete Carly Anthony. Her mother, Cara, is the head trainer at Potcreek Meadow Farm in Redmond, Wash., which, for the past 14 years has sponsored the Junior Sportsmanship Award at the Thermal Horse Show, and recently began supporting the award at the World Equestrian Festival. Anthony felt it would be equally important to bring a similar award to the National Collegiate...

(Lindsay McCall) Lyman, ME - One term often used in reference to future medal winning U.S. high-performance equestrians, is the word 'development'. By further educating and integrating the athletes, judges, trainers, and supporters from all levels will help develop and evolve each discipline. The 2013 U.S. Para-Equestrian Dressage Symposium created the platform to accomplish this task. At the Carlisle Academy Integrative Equine Therapy & Sports in Lyman, Maine, internationally...

Lexington, KY - The future of dressage was on full display over the holiday weekend in La Canada-Flintridge, California as talented combinations lined up in the 2013 Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Western Selection Trials. The rising stars of the sport were vying to earn both a qualifying score to represent the U.S. at the FEI World Breeding Championships for Dressage Young Horses in Verden, Germany in August and a spot on the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Short List. Both the winner of...

Woodside, CA – Matt Brown punctuated a memorable weekend at the Woodside Horse Trials by winning the Horse division of the Preliminary Challenge on Che Landscape (32.4) and finishing fourth on Happenstance (36.0), while Kiera Carter rode Corinthoz to first place (32.0) in the Rider division. Professional’s Choice and Equine Insurance of California were the Presenting Sponsors of the Woodside Preliminary Challenge. The Preliminary Challenge reached an exciting climax in the...

It's official. NAWD has applied for recognized affiliate status with the USEF. Supporters have until June 11th to let the USEF know that North American Western Dressage is the right choice of organizations to build the future of Western Dressage. NAWD President Jen Johnson states: “Western Dressage is coming. Over the past 3 years we have watched it grow at warp speed from the hint of an idea to not just one but three major organizations with very different ideals. Throughout, NAWD...

Note to Self: 1. Prepare classical instructor that you will be appearing before him in western tack and riding an Appaloosa stallion, NOT your third level Westfalen import and 2. Don’t ride in a clinic without a photographer A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…. I got a book from the library called The Schooling of the Western Horse by John Richard Young. It was published in 1945 (practically the dark ages) and outlined progressive training for western horses. Critically...

As with all new things, as they develop, there are certain glitches and bugs that inevitably crop up. NAWD reviewed its 2012 tests for 2013 and has corrected errors and last week the WDAA announced that there were errors in calculating the point totals on some of their tests. An important notice to competitors who have ridden USEF Morgan Tests at 2013 shows came out in the WDAA newsletter and emails to members. They “…discovered minor errors in preparing the WDAA Western Dressage...

Amy Lewis and Sir Steinerman (David Honor) Lexington, KY - The final Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Training Session of Spring 2013 wrapped up Sunday at Oak Hill Farm in Lockport, Illinois. The two-day training session featured 11 horses between the ages of four and six and was once again led by USEF Young Horse Coach Scott Hassler. “We had a terrific training session at Oak Hill Farm in Illinois. There was once again a nice balance of U.S.-bred and imported horses,” said Hassler....

North Salem, NY – The Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows will be awarding almost a half million dollars in prize money this year at their two-week event on May 7-12 and 14-19, 2013. This great opportunity for hunters, jumpers, and equitation riders is thanks to many generous sponsors that help make the shows one of the best in North America. A Top 25 Rated Event by the North American Riders Group, the Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows will welcome some of the country's best horses and...