Three rising dressage stars are representing the U.S. this week in Ermelo, Netherlands, at the 2023 FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championship for Young Horses (WBC). Get to know more about these up-and-coming equine athletes with insights from their owners and trainers. Vianne and Hope Beerling. ©SusanJStickle.com Vianne (Kastel’s Vitalis x Raureif) 2016 Hanoverian mare Owner: NorCodia USA Rider: Hope Beerling (Califon, N.J.) Vianne is the product of Catherine Haddad...

It takes years and a full team effort to develop a horse to the top level of equestrian sport— with riders, owners, grooms, coaches, and many more focusing on giving a horse the best chance at success. This process was true for Mai Baum, known as Lexus, on his road to winning the 2023 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian™ CCI5*-L with Tamie Smith in the irons. Smith remembered seeing Lexus, a 2006 German Sport Horse gelding owned by Alexandra...

Megan “Meg” Kepferle of Long Valley, N.J., was a longtime groom for Sinead Maynard (née Halpin) before starting her own business and pursuing her own riding goals. Kepferle groomed multiple times for Maynard at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian™, and she made her riding debut at the 2023 event in the CCI4*-S with Anakin, Rogue Won Syndicate LLC’s 2009 Thoroughbred gelding. When asked about her favorite memory grooming at the...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce the coaching team for the 2023 FEI Vaulting World Championships for Young Vaulters and Juniors , which will take place July 26-30 in Flyinge, Sweden. Emma Seely has been named Chef d’Equipe and Kimberly Wellmann will be the Assistant Chef d’Equipe. Emma Seely Seely is the founder and head coach of the Mt. Eden Vaulting Club in Saratoga, Calif. She has more than four decades of experience as a coach in the sport of vaulting,...

Jane Hamlin My journey as a judge has led me from northern New England all around the world, including judging at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. It’s been an exciting ride starting when two friends and I traveled down monthly to the New England Dressage Association dressage judges’ program. This was prior to the USDF “L” program. We had the good fortune to spend a weekend a month for nine months learning from different judges before taking our final exam to become a...

USEF rule changes occur in four different ways: Clarifications, Extraordinary rule changes, Standard changes, and adopting FEI rule changes. Clarifications and Extraordinary changes can happen at various points throughout the year – as they are necessary and time-sensitive modifications to the current rules. However, Standard changes and adopting FEI rules only happen once a year, just before the new season begins. Check out the new or upcoming rule changes for Combined Driving :...

Children’s and Pre-Junior competitors took to the podium for the first time during team competition on Thursday at the Gotham North FEI North American Youth Championships for Jumping, presented by USHJA. Canada took the top spot on the first podium of the day, claiming gold in the Children’s Team Competition for teammates Taylor Wood, Livia Martin, Tristan Tobin, and Mathilde Candele. In the Pre-Junior division, Zone 7 claimed the top honors with Campbell Brown (Fayetteville, Ark.),...

Kurt Martin and D.A. Lifetime. ©Leslie Potter/US Equestrian Elkton, Md. – The threat of severe storms and heavy rain loomed over cross-country day at the USEF CCI3*-L Eventing National Championship and Maryland 5 Star, but sunny skies held almost all the way through every trip. Riders in both divisions had the opportunity to test the tough courses in favorable conditions, and the leaders from the dressage phase held on to their top spots heading into the final day of competition....

Dear USEF Members, As a follow-up to our recent webinar on competition calendar management, we are writing to provide an update on the competition calendar for the first trimester of the 2022 competition year (December 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022) in the state of Florida. In April 2021, the USEF Board approved a resolution to amend GR315 Mileage Exemptions to facilitate the collective review of all Mileage Exemption Requests for the first trimester of 2022 in the state of Florida. The Board...

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian has announced a horse substitution for the U.S. Eventing Olympic Team ahead of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The Luke 140 Syndicate’s Luke 140, the selected mount for Boyd Martin (Cochranville, Pa.), will be replaced by Martin’s first direct reserve , Tsetserleg, a 14-year-old Trakehner gelding owned by Christine Turner, Thomas Turner, and Tommie Turner. Luke 140 sustained a minor injury during his training preparation and has been withdrawn from...