The sixteenth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder In an attempt to acknowledge the current diversity within the discipline, show organizers have started offering exhibitors the opportunity to ride ANY test they want to ride, from any organization that has published tests. A buffet of western dressage is now available with something for everyone. The show organizers want to meet the needs of the competitors and in so doing really have taken the first step toward acceptance and...

Lexington, KY- The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has named four athlete/horse combinations to represent the U.S. at CSIO-W Buenos Aires in Argentina. This CSIO will take place November 6-11, 2012. The United States will be represented by the following combinations: Charlie Jacobs (Boston, MA) on CMJ Sporthorse’s Flaming Star and Deeridge Farms’ Leap of Joy. Flaming Star is a 13-year-old Irish gelding Leap of Joy is an 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding Quentin Judge...

The fifteenth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder Last weekend our barn attended the first Western Dressage classes in our area. It was a beautiful day to ride in a beautiful venue at a facility where the idea of western dressage has been warmly accepted. It was such a nice feeling to share space with dressage riders and enthusiasts, most of whom were very curious about the discipline. We rode all the North American Western Dressage Tests through Level 4 and found the tests...

The fourteenth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder The last several weeks I’ve talked about how to get started in western dressage. If you are curious, you’ve checked out the website, taken advantage of the free basic membership by becoming a member, read the rules, reviewed the tests, read the articles, participated in the Forum discussions, found WD groups on Facebook, visited YouTube and chatted with your friends about it. Maybe you’ve contacted your local...

The twelveth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder Every day I field calls from people wanting to know more about Western Dressage. What is it? How do I find out more about it? Can anyone do it? Is it hard? Who teaches Western Dressage? Are there shows? Last weekend a few of our riders were invited to do a Western Dressage demonstration at the local dressage show. What struck me was the feeling of being out of place amongst my dressage friends because we were wearing our western...

The tenth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder The development of Western Dressage as a discipline is very exciting to riders, trainers, breeders and exhibitors alike. North American Western Dressage is dedicated to finding common ground between the two disciplines, educating riders from all backgrounds, and to making dressage concepts accessible to western riders without minimizing the importance of the training pyramid nor sacrificing the principles that are fundamental to...

OCALA, FL - Tracy Fenney banked her eighth Grand Prix of the qualifying season with a win in yesterday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health , aboard MTM Farm’s MTM Centano to become eligible for her third appearance in the Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix . No stranger to Pfizer Million glory, Fenney appeared in HITS-on-the-Hudson’s big ticket class in both 2010 and 2011 with two top twenty finishes to show for it. Fenney, of Flower Mound, Texas leads...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has named the four athlete/horse combinations to represent the U.S. at CSIO-W Buenos Aires in Argentina. This CSIO will take place over Thanksgiving weekend (November 23-27). The following Team will represent the United States in Argentina: Cara Raether (Bedford, NY) will ride Trelawny Farm's Lyonell Lyonell is a 10-year-old Sachsen-Anhaltiner gelding Cara Anthony (Redmond, WA) will ride Potcreek Partners, LLC's Woodpecker...

Jumping The U.S. show jumpers had a strong showing in the final week of the two-week Horse Festival in Valkenswaard, The Netherlands. Beezie Madden and Cortes 'C' claimed victory in the weekend's most prestigious class; the Global Champions Tour Beezie Madden and Cortes 'C'. Photo by Stefano Grasso/GCT. Grand Prix of Valkenswaard sponsored by the VDL Groep. In only their second grand prix together, Madden and Cortes 'C' were the fourth and last pair to go in the jump-off,...

Jan Ebeling and Rafalca. Photo by Aly Sanderford/Phelps Media Group. Leipzig, Germany - A strong field of 15 riders from nine nations contested Saturday evening's Grand Prix Freestyle, to bring the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage Final to a close. There were three nations that qualified three riders each for tonight's class; the United States, The Netherlands and Germany. America's Catherine Haddad-Staller, Shawna Harding and Jan Ebeling performed up-tempo freestyles in front of a...