The sixth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder When on a horse, I wear a riding helmet. My students wear riding helmets. I ride and show western and dressage. The helmet/hat quandary, style vs. safety, the tradition or common sense conversation is therefore a subject near and dear to my heart. On March 22, 2012, I went into the hay barn to get a bale of hay to feed lunch in the barn. To make a long story short, despite my usual care in tipping bales, as I turned to leave the...

Wellington, FL - Excitement is mounting for the World Dressage Masters Palm Beach presented by International Polo Club Palm Beach, which gets under way in just one week. The World Dressage Masters presented by Axel Johnson Group is the richest dressage series in the world; over half a million dollars in prize money was awarded at four WDM competitions in 2011. The WDM Palm Beach is the only WDM event outside of Europe, and the only five star CDI in North America. International Polo Club Palm...

Westport, CT - The Board of Directors of The EQUUS Foundation, Inc. is pleased to announce the award of over $270,000 in grant awards to 72 charitable organizations that are improving the quality of life for horses and the people who benefit from their unique ability to empower, teach, and heal. "Each year, the number of worthy charities applying for grants has increased, and this year was no exception. The selection process was very difficult," said Jenny Belknap Kees, Board Chairman....

Lexington, KY — Every year USA Equestrian Trust provides grants to equine non-profits. This year a total of $198,822 was awarded to 10 projects. More than 61 percent of 2011 grant funds went to the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) with the bulk of that going to its Equine Health Research Fund, which coordinates research to benefit all equine breeds and disciplines. Other monies went to programs of merit to help people with disabilities, create or expand educational opportunities...

Mt. Eden Team (Primo Ponies Photography). Dressage At the CDI-W Milton in Canada, David Marcus competed two horses throughout the weekend. In the Prix St Georges class, Marcus and Don Kontes finished in fourth with a score of 66.711%, while he tied for fifth with Chevri's Capital with a 65.570%. Marcus once again had strong finishes in the Intermediaire I class, finishing third with Chevri's Capital with a score of 69.737% and fifth with Don Kontes with a score of 67.895%....

Pictured during the draw for the third leg of the 2011 FEI Nations Cup™ series at St Gallen, Switzerland today were : L to R - Peter Stossel, President CSIO St Gallen, John Roche, FEI Jumping Director and Henk Nooren, Chef d'Equipe for the French team. Photo: FEI/Katja Stuppia. St. Gallen, Switzerland - The American team will be first into the ring for tomorrow's third leg of the 2011 FEI Nations Cup™ at St. Gallen, Switzerland. A total of nine nations will compete, as the Swiss, who...

The Irish team are hot favorites to win the second leg of the 2011 FEI Nations Cup™ series in Rome (ITA) tomorrow, but they got the worst of the draw today and so will be first into the ring as the action gets underway in the stunning surroundings of the Piazza di Siena. A total of nine teams will line up in this leg of the elite eight-nation tournament, as the host country makes a guest appearance on home turf. The American Team of Charlie Jayne, Christine McCrea, Margie Engle and Rich...

Dressage Jan Ebeling and Rafalca were fourth in the Grand Prix for the Special with a score of 69.850% and fifth in the Grand Prix Special at CDI3* Achleiten in Austria. The American pair scored 69.920% for their efforts in the Grand Prix Special. Ebeling has put together a string of success with the mare in Europe, beginning with the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage Final and good placings at back-to-back European CDIs. More information on this show is available here: https://www.achleiten.at/...

Driving At the Southern Pines CDE in North Carolina, six advanced divisions gave the U.S. drivers plenty of opportunity to hone their skills for some o f the 2011 FEI World Driving Championships. In the Advanced Single Pony Divisions, Australia's Janelle Marshall won but USA's Maggie Sullivan was second and Doris Leacy was third. In the Advanced Pair Pony division, Wendy O'Brien scored a victory over Jennifer Matheson which came down to a close competition in the cones. O'Brien...

Photo by PMG/Ken Kraus (Jennifer Waxman and Venturo) The United States Equestrian Team Foundation (USET) is pleased to announce that 18-year-old Jennifer Waxman of Chagrin Falls, OH, has been awarded the Lionel Guerrand-Hermès Trophy, recognizing a Junior/Young Rider who exemplifies the USET Foundation's ideals of sportsmanship and horsemanship. The award was established in 1983 by Patrick Guerrand-Hermès in memory of his son Lionel, an Olympic hopeful trained by U.S. Eventing...