As the United States looks forward to the 2012 Paralympics for the United States Para-Equestrian Dressage Team, the Para-Equestrian Driving Team will be preparing for the 2012 Para-Equestrian World Driving Championships, scheduled August 30-September 2, 2012 in Breda, The Netherlands. The 2012 USEF Para-Equestrian Driving Team for the World Driving Championships include Diane Kastama, Grade 1, from Arroyo Grande, CA; Pam Johnson, Grade 2 from Pleasant Hill, MO; and Karen Gorham, Grade 2, of...

The sixth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder When on a horse, I wear a riding helmet. My students wear riding helmets. I ride and show western and dressage. The helmet/hat quandary, style vs. safety, the tradition or common sense conversation is therefore a subject near and dear to my heart. On March 22, 2012, I went into the hay barn to get a bale of hay to feed lunch in the barn. To make a long story short, despite my usual care in tipping bales, as I turned to leave the...

Bromont, July 22, 2012 - Nicolas Dello Joio completes the only double clear round of the BonjourQuébec.com World Cup qualifying event at the International Bromont today, Sunday July 22. A high-caliber event The course, designed by Venezuelan Leopoldo Palacios, was made up of 13 obstacles for 16 efforts, including 3 double combinations (2 jumps counting as one). The time allowed of 80 seconds proved to be a handicap for many riders who did not make it to the jump-off. Of the 26...

Leslie Howard et Lennox Lewis 2 Credit Normand St-Jacques Bromont - American rider Leslie Howard, who won the first FEI Open Jumper 1m50 this week, presented by the Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport, enjoys victory again in the Desjardins Speed Derby, winning with a comfortable six-second margin. A high-energy course The Speed Derby's course, built in two rings, added a challenge for the horses by using the walkway to cross over. Twenty-two horse/rider teams...

Kristen Smith, the winner of the 2012 USEF Saddle Seat Adult Amateur Medal Final, riding Who Needs Mama (Howard Schatzberg) Lexington, KY - Kristen Smith of Smithfield, KY rode Stephens College's Who Needs Mama through heavy downpours to the championship win in the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Saddle Seat Adult Amateur Medal Final, under the tutelage of Zubrod Stables. The Final took place Friday the 13th as part of the Lexington Junior League Charity Horse Show at the...

The fifth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder Last week I poked a little fun at what western dressage riders are wearing for both schooling and show. This week I want to bring you the reality of the situation from manufacturers who give us the products that will ultimately be seen in rings around the country. Last week I showed you the proposed North American Western Dressage rules for WD show attire. Since the requirements state that riders must wear a long-sleeved shirt with...

Molly Wolfe and ZZ Top won the $5,000 Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic at the Brandywine Valley Summer Series. (AnLi Kelly-Durham/PMG) Devon, PA - It was a beautiful evening as the jumper riders took center stage this evening at the prestigious Devon Show Grounds during the Brandywine Valley Summer Series, presented by Taylor Harris Insurance Services (THIS). The $5,000 Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic was tonight's highlight event, and following the two-horse jump-off it was Molly...

Cathleen Driscoll and Color Me Blue won Small Hunter Championship at the Brandywine Valley Summer Series. (Rebecca Walton/PMG) Devon, PA - With an early start to today's event, the riders at Brandywine Valley Summer Series presented by Taylor Harris Insurance Services (THIS) were able to beat the heat at the Devon Show Grounds. Amateur rider Cathleen Driscoll topped this year's new Small Hunter division, and their efforts over the last two weeks also won the Circuit Championship. Louise...

Oklahoma City, Ok - 147 of the nation's leading middle school and high school equestrians competed at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma June 28-30, 2012. The Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) student-riders competed in the Western discipline during the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Derby. The NRHA and the National Reining Horse Youth Association (NRHYA) are affiliates of the IEA and sponsored the event. The finalists represented 33 teams from...

The fourth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder Every day I head out to the barn to work. Like other trainers, I work outside in temperatures from 0 to 100 7 days a week, almost 365 days a year, from dawn till dark and sometimes longer. As a professional trainer and riding instructor I am called on to muck stalls, fix fence, buck hay, dump grain, rake footing, fill water buckets, sweep the aisle, clean tack, change bandages, medicate, lead beginners, longe riders, heft children...