Welcome to the fifth nstallment of a different kind of blog from WDAA! The purpose of this post is to allow the reader "into the heads" of both a trainer/judge/competitor, Karen Abbattista and her student, Deborah Herbert, a Florida WDAA member. We would like to share with you some moments in Deb's journey as she pursues her riding goals with her AQHA mare "GenuineArcticSpring", barn name "Belle". Please enjoy as you follow along with these posts that we consider interesting or challenging...

Reprinted with permission from Cowboy Dressage Newsletter: August 2-4, 2013 “Build It and They Will Come” “Cowboy Dressage Competition debuted at Rancho Murieta Gold N Grand Horse Show Aug 2-4. Gold N Grand is known on the west coast for being the premier open horse show at one of the west’s top equine facilities. A record number of 183 entries for one discipline made history. It was Cowboy Dressage. This does not happen by accident. It happens because of hard work, a...

Emily Short and Grande Finale 3E (David Mullinix Photography) East Dorset, VT - Twenty-year-old Emily Short of Cheswick, PA, and the aptly named Grande Finale 3E won the grand finale of the 2013 Vermont Summer Festival, the $50,000 Vermont Summer Celebration Grand Prix, presented by Hand Motors, on Saturday, August 10, in East Dorset, VT. A starting field of 28 entries lined out for the final grand prix of the Vermont Summer Festival’s six-week circuit with 11 advancing to the jump-off...

East Dorset, Vermont — Mark Bluman clinched another victory in the $10,000 Not Your Daughter’s Jeans Welcome Stake, presented by Manchester Designer Outlets, with G&C Blue during week five of the Vermont Summer Festival. The pair was also victorious in the same class during the 2012 Vermont Summer Festival. Bluman was thrilled with his win, especially after he and G&C Blue, a 10-year-old selle francais gelding owned by Gustavo Mirabal of G&C Farm in Wellington, FL,...

Aaron Vale and H&M Cisco (PMG) Lexington, KY - Although there were grey skies in the area for the second day of the Kentucky Summer Classic, the weather did not dampen the competition in the Rolex Stadium. Both the 1.40m and 1.35m Open Jumper classes were determined by just fractions of a second. As the last in the class, Aaron Vale had the draw on his side as he bested Juan Pablo Gaspar and Shamrock with H&M Cisco in the 1.40m Open Jumpers. In the 1.35m Open Jumpers, Geoffrey Case and...

Tatiana Dzavik and Dahlia Lexington, KY - Perfect weather greeted riders as competition got underway during the Kentucky Summer Series at the Kentucky Horse Park. The Open Jumper riders gathered at the Rolex Stadium, where the first 1.40m Open Jumper class focused on speed and Tatiana Dzavik had the winning key with Dahlia. She topped Shane Sweetnam and Fineman by just 3/10ths of a second to claim the blue ribbon. The final event of the day was the 1.40m Open Jumper Table 2 Section 2b jump-off...

Welcome to a different kind of blog from WDAA. The purpose of this post is to allow the reader "into the heads" of both a trainer/judge/competitor, Karen Abbattista and her student, Deborah Herbert, a Florida WDAA member. We would like to share with you some moments in Deb's journey as she pursues her riding goals with her AQHA mare "GenuineArcticSpring", barn name "Belle". Please enjoy as you follow along with these posts that we consider interesting or challenging moments on her journey...

Show season keeps moving forward and the scores keep coming in. At the last WSH show, the high score rider, Linda Coates-Markle, received a whopping 76% on NAWD Level 3 Test 1 (that is the western equivalent of USDF First Level) riding her Quarter Horse mare. Once again, this last weekend, shows featuring Western Dressage classes were held all over the country and WD riders on both sides of the nation received the highest Phyllis Ray and Starr in the warm-up (Darcia Drapeau) scores recorded at...

Lexington, KY – The USEF Eventing High Performance Committee has approved the following High Performance Summer/Fall Training Lists for the 2013 season. World Class Combinations that currently possess the ability to be competitive anywhere in the world. The combinations listed on the World Class List will receive Land Rover Training Grants. Will Coleman (Charlottesville, VA) and Four Star Eventing Group’s OBOS O’Reilly OBOS O’Reilly is a 2003 Irish Sport Horse gelding...

Eduardo Menezes and Caruschka (McCool Photos) San Juan Capistrano, CA - On a warm Southern California afternoon where the temperatures reached into the 80s, twenty-one pairs rode a course set by designer Pierre Jolicoeur in the $30,000 Blenheim Red, White & Blue Grand Prix, presented by Markel Insurance. With a mix of rookies and veterans, both horse and rider, the track was inviting to all who entered. Of the ten who were clear in the first round, Brazilian Eduardo Menezes once again led...