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...

Oklahoma City, OK – The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Futurity & Adequan® North American Affiliate Championship (NAAC) Show in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma continued today with two Adequan® NAAC championship classes, the second go-round, second section of the $540,000-added NRHA Open Futurity and the first go-round, third section of the $260,000-added Cinch / NRHA Non Pro Futurity. Michael Boyle marked Tuesday’s highest score, a 222.5, aboard Darling 888...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) welcomes SmartPak Equine as the presenting sponsor of USEF Network, the Federation's multi-media platform featuring live and on-demand video, news, photography, competition information and select coverage from shows and events across the country. "We are positively thrilled to be partnering with U.S. Equestrian Federation to help grow the already successful USEF Network," said Colby Balazs, SmartPak Vice President of Marketing....

Steffen Peters and Ravel. Photo: SusanJStickle.com. Gladstone, NJ - Rain greeted the competitors on the first day of the 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions but the quality of the competition shone through. The Grand Prix National Championship headlined the day, and the rain was at its heaviest during the class. Due to the conditions, the Prix St. Georges - which was scheduled for this afternoon - has been postponed until Friday, which will push the...

Lebanon, OH-based Wilhelm Genn has done it again, winning both the $25,000 Nordic Lights Grand Prix and the $25,000 Budweiser Grand Prix during the fifth week of the 2010 Gulf Coast Winter Classics. International great Dave Ballard took up the reins of course designing for the double prix week. For Thursday’s $25,000 Nordic Lights event the co-creator of the 2008 Olympic layouts built a 15-effort test full of curves that had some riders struggling to keep the horses balanced, add to this...

Two Champions "Three-Peat" as Breed Show Wraps Up When individual breed classes took center stage on day three of Dressage at Devon 2009, two horses who had dominated the news in the prestigious show's first two days continued to grab headlines. Perfect Qredit, a yearling colt by Quaterback, added an 83.80% win in the Oldenburg (GOV) division to his Grand Championship, Young Horse Championship, Colt Championship, and Yearling Colts and Geldings title for owner Michelle Coursin, an air-traffic...

The American Horse Council (AHC) has announced that the focus of this year’s National Issues Forum will be the “Welfare of the Horse.” The Forum will be held June 16, 2009, in Washington, DC, as part of the AHC’s annual meeting. Over the last year, concerns about the welfare of horses used in racing, showing, recreation, or work have been raised by our fans, the general public, the media, and Congress. Such concerns have been expressed before, but perhaps not as broadly as now. “Those involved...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce updates to the U.S. Dressage coaching structure within the program pathways, an initiative in the works for months, leveraging key stakeholder feedback and athlete participation throughout the process. The restructure will broaden the opportunity to engage with qualified coaches and allow for greater accessibility to program-affiliated resources, creating a more sustainable pathway for the future, while also increasing the depth of...

Santiago, Chile – The U.S. Jumping Team completed its mission today at Santiago 2023, earning their long-awaited qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and securing team gold with a final team total of 12.37. Canada finished with team silver on 17.62, and Brazil in third on 20.32. The final round of individual competition will begin at 11:00 a.m. GMT-3/10:00 a.m. ET on Friday, November 3, with two final rounds determining individual medals to close out equestrian competition for...

Santiago, Chile – The four team combinations and traveling reserve were all accepted at the first horse inspection today in Santiago, also completing their official ring familiarization before the start of dressage tomorrow, where the United States has drawn first in the overall order with nine countries represented and 34 total entries. Dressage will begin at 11:00 a.m. GMT-3/10:00 a.m. ET and streamed live on ClipMyHorseTV via FEI TV. “All of the horses arrived in very good order...