How do good ideas happen? By great people putting their minds together – and that’s what happened when Frances Carbonnel, Cliff Swanson, and Neide Cooley got together last August to work on the Educational Program for the Western Dressage Association® of Colorado. I had the pleasure of speaking with Frances about how the Train The Trainers clinic came into being. “We decided we needed some videos to help people understand what the gaits are for Western Dressage,”...

Lexington, KY - Voting is now open for the coveted 2012 USEF Equestrian of the Year award. Following decades of tradition, the winner will again be announced when the horse world meets at the United States Equestrian Federation's annual Pegasus Awards gala. This year's gala will be held on Saturday, January 19, 2013 at The Henry Clay in Louisville, Kentucky and broadcast live on the USEFNetwork presented by Smartpak . Known as the USEF Equestrians of Honor, eight stars of equestrian...

James Alliston and Tivoli (Amy McCool) Temecula, CA - Start calling James Alliston “Mr. Galway Downs.” The Galway Downs International Three-Day Event has offered a CCI3* for the last three years. Alliston finished third in 2010, finished first and seventh in 2011, and this year he finished first, second and sixth. Alliston, of Castro Valley, Calif., rode Tivoli to first place (53.4) Jumbo’s Jake, the horse he won with in 2011 and finished third with in 2010, to second place...

Tracy Scheriff-Muser with Absolut and Macallan. (Shawn McMillen Photography) Upper Marlboro, MD – The 2012 Capital Challenge Horse Show continued today with competition for the amateur and adult hunter riders, along with a evening session final for Children's/Adult Jumpers. Tracy Scheriff-Muser and Absolut captured the Grand Amateur-Owner 3'6” Hunter Championship, while Nancy Hooker and Castlewalk were named the Grand Amateur-Owner 3'3” Hunter Champions. Alexa...

Lilly Ulrich and Monetenegro garnered the Grand Junior Hunter Championship at the 66th Buffalo International Horse Show. (Kendall Bierer/PMG) Buffalo, NY - The final day of the 66th Buffalo International Horse Show got underway this morning at the Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center. The day was filled with fierce competition as horse and rider combinations vied for the top honors in their respective divisions. The Junior, Pony and Children's Hunter divisions concluded their second day of...

Shane Sweetnam and Amaretto D'Arco rode to the top of the leaderboard during the $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic at the Bluegrass Festival Horse Show. (Kendall Bierer/PMG) Lexington, KY - The lights were bright in the Rolex Stadium as the onlookers cheered on their favorite horse and rider combinations in a highly competitive 14-horse jump off. It was the $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic that took center stage tonight, seeing a field of 50 entrants vie for the top prize and valuable series...

Blythe Marano and Urban won the $50,000 Rood & Riddle Grand Prix at the Kentucky Summer Classic. (Kendall Bierer/PMG) Lexington, KY - The applause and excitement could be heard resounding throughout the Kentucky Horse Park [yesterday night] as the $50,000 Rood & Riddle Grand Prix got underway in the Rolex Stadium. It was the fifth day of the Kentucky Summer Classic, and the nation's top riders gathered to show under the bright lights of the stadium for a share in the prize money,...

Chloe Reid and Damascus won the High Junior Jumpers at the Kentucky Summer Horse Show. (Kendall Bierer/PMG) Lexington, KY - Today marked the third day of the Kentucky Summer Horse Show, and it seemed as though the competition was only beginning to escalate as the amateur and junior jumper riders showcased their skills in the Rolex Stadium. Topping the High Amateur-Owner Jumpers, Paige Johnson piloted La Martinee to a double-clear victory, and also claimed third with her second mount Monopoly....

Cosmo and Laura Pfeiffer. Traverse City, MI - Although Laura Pfeiffer has collected many blue ribbons during the Horse Shows by the Bay Equestrian Festival, there was one that had eluded her since the series started: the $10,000 Open Jumper Welcome Prix. Her wait ended today, however, when she guided Fox Meadow Farm's Cosmo to the top and bested a field of 30 horse-and-rider combinations to capture the $10,000 Open Jumper Welcome Prix, sponsored by Positive Step Farm. "I've been...

The inaugural FEI Sports Forum began on 30 April in Lausanne (SUI). (Photo by Edouard Curchod/FEI) Lausanne, SUI - On 30 April in the presence of more than 280 delegates representing 39 National Federations (NFs), Event Organisers, International Riders, Owners and OrganisersClubs, members of the FEI Technical Committees, veterinarians, sponsors, and media. “This day marks a new beginning for the International Equestrian Federation,” FEI President HRH Princess Haya said in her...