South Carolina riders Johnna Letchworth, Katherine Schmidt, and Kimberly McCormack won MVP honors and helped lead the Gamecocks into the first ever SEC Championship final. They will meet Auburn at 3pm ET Saturday. (Cory Burkarth) Auburn, AL - The host team will get a chance to win the first ever SEC Championship Saturday against a dangerous South Carolina team that's up and down season makes them upredicatble, but always formidable. The Gamecock's skill was on display Friday as they...

The twenty third in a series of blog post from Michelle Binder I began this Western Dressage Blog specifically as a blog for NAWD to help raise public awareness about WD groups other than WDAA. I saw a need for publicity specific to that organization. I also saw a need for a forum that presented the reality that other organizations with different missions and goals regarding WD existed. USEF has not licensed Western Dressage as an independent discipline so at this time there is no officially...

The twenty second in a series of blog post from Michelle Binder With the Holiday, I have just a short newsy blog for readers this week. I for one am looking forward to what the New Year brings in all areas, especially video submissions for the virtual shows. It is an exciting and challenging time for everyone involved on all fronts, a time that requires courage, flexibility, willingness to share and learn from one another, as well as patience as WD emerges over time. Like Edison with the light...

The twentieth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder This week is all about news, news and more news. Never a dull moment in Western Dressage! This just out via a press release from WDAA: “The WDAA has been guided throughout by the leadership, strategy, and policies of its Board of Directors and Advisory Board, both of which are volunteer positions and provide their services without funding. Each are comprised of distinguished professionals from all facets of the equine...

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...