Welcome to the third installment 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...

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...

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,”...

Will Coleman and Chin Tonic. ©Shannon Brinkman Mill Spring, N.C. – The first day of competition at The Dutta Corp. Tryon International Three-Day Event was a busy one, with more than 100 horse-and-rider combinations taking to the dressage arena in the CCI1*, CCI2*-L, CCI3*-L, and The Dutta Corp. USEF CCI4*-L Eventing National Championship. Will Coleman (Gordonsville, Va.) and Chin Tonic HS, a 2012 Holsteiner gelding owned by Hyperion Stud, LLC, were the first four-star entry in the...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce the selected athlete-and-horse combinations for the Aachen CDIO5* hosted as part of the prestigious CHIO Aachen from September 10-19, 2021, in Aachen, Germany. Competition will begin on Friday, September 17, with the FEI Grand Prix and continue through Sunday, September 19, concluding with the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle. The following combinations for The Dutta Corp. U.S. Dressage Team are listed in alphabetical order and will be led by...

Lexington, Ky. – Top adult amateur saddle seat equitation riders from around the country will compete for the title of 2021 USEF Saddle Seat Adult Amateur Medal Final champion on Wednesday, July 14, at the historic Lexington Junior League Charity Horse Show. Paul Boone (Concord, N.C.), Kristen Cater (Dunbarton, N.H.), and Anne Judd (Lutz, Fla.) will serve as judges for the Final, hosted at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. Last year, Kaeley Arterburn was crowned champion aboard...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian has announced the athlete/horse combinations that will compete as part of The Dutta Corp. U.S. Dressage Team at the FEI Dressage Nations Cup TM France CDIO5* in Compiègne. The competition will take place during the Internationaux de Dressage de Compiègne, May 27-30, 2021. George Williams will serve as Chef d’Equipe. The following athletes are listed in alphabetical order and will represent the U.S. in the FEI Dressage Nations Cup France...

Lexington, Ky. – Some of the country’s best adult amateur saddle seat equitation riders will compete for the title of 2020 USEF Saddle Seat Adult Amateur Medal Final champion on Wednesday, July 8, during the historic Lexington Junior League Charity Horse Show. Hailing from as far as New Orleans, La., competitors have arrived at the Kentucky Horse Park to demonstrate their skill for the judging panel of Cindy Mugnier (Belchertown, Mass.), Jimmy Robertson (Simpsonville, Ky.), and Tim...

Fort Worth, Texas – The International Andalusian and Lusitano Horse Association (IALHA) made the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, their home for the 2019 IALHA National Championship Horse Show . From November 5-9, more than 90 of the country’s top purebred and part-bred Andalusian and Lusitano horses were presented in a variety of classes, including halter, native tack and attire, dressage, Western pleasure, saddle seat, and more. The judging panel of Dinah Babcock...

Fair Hill, Md. - Erin Sylvester and Paddy the Caddy ended their long history of competing at The Dutta Corp. Fair Hill International in style, winning The Dutta Corp./USEF CCI4*-L Eventing National Championship. Joining her in the victory circle was Woods Baughman aboard C’est La Vie 135 as The Dutta Corp./USEF CCI3*-L Eventing National Champions at Fair Hill. Erin Sylvester and Paddy the Caddy (Shannon Brinkman Photo) Erin Sylvester (Cochranville, Pa.) and Paddy the Caddy, Frank...