It wasn’t just people that won at this year’s CHA Awards Banquet during the CHA International Conference in Amarillo, TX on October 24, 2015. One special horse won an award and four additional finalists had a spotlight shone on what they do in their careers as school horses. Out of the five school horses nominated for the CHA School Horse of the Year Award sponsored by Stone Model Horses, it was Sir Dar who captured the final honors for Experience Equus of Aledo, TX. The award was...

Adrienne Sternlicht and Providence (Rebecca Walton for Phelps Media Group) Lexington, Ky. - Adrienne Sternlicht, of Greenwich, CT, won the Show Jumping Hall of Fame (SJHF) Jumper Classic Series Final at the National Horse Show at the Kentucky Horse Park on October 31. Riding her 8-year-old mare Providence, owned by Starlight Farms, Sternlicht topped a field of 32 horses, 11 of which made it to the jump-off. Sternlicht then rode Providence to the only fault-free ride in the jump off, finishing...

Toschufro TT (Jason Bannister) Devon, PA – Each year, Dressage at Devon (DAD) selects a foal to follow on its path to the Breed Show at DAD where hundreds of colts and fillies show each year. Each foal is the product of careful breeding and watchful tending as they, hopefully, grow into champions. This year, we will follow Toschufro TT (Totilas x Baba x Don Schufro), an inquisitive, leggy, bay colt with a white star, born on January 1, 2015. Breeding “For my first breeding ever, I...

Christopher Payne and Harlan (E. Riden/Phelps Media Group) Lexington, Ky. - Christopher Payne and Harlan were the first to go in today's $5,000 Hallway Feeds USHJA National Hunter Derby, and they laid down a score of 92 to set a standard that would not be beat. Their score held up as the highest in the opening round of the derby at the Kentucky Spring Classic and put them on track to eventually clinch the victory. The win today at the Kentucky Horse Park puts Payne two for two in the 2014...

Lexington, Ky. - The United States is hosting the 2014 Saddle Seat World Cup competition during the Blue Ridge Classic Horse Show in Asheville, NC July 20-25. This is an excellent opportunity for you to volunteer your services, offer a horse for use in the competition, or make a donation to support this prestigious event. Volunteer Volunteering at the Saddle Seat World Cup is a great way for equestrian enthusiasts to get involved and find out what the program is all about. You can attend...

Sarah Nieman winner of the $10,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame West Coast Championship (Amy McCool) Lexington, Ky. - Sarah Nieman of Coquitlam, BC, Canada and her mount Danton won the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series West Coast Championship, held at the Las Vegas National Horse Show. Prior to the Championship Final in Las Vegas, the 2013 West Conference regular season came to a close at the L.A. National Horse Show. Eduardo Sanchez Navarro and Virgo topped the Amateur-Owner...

Devon, PA - Under sunshine and stars spectators at Dressage at Devon were treated to impressive rides. FEI Freestyle Grand Prix Open Lars Petersen and Mariett (Hoof Print Images) Lars Petersen, an American-based former Danish Olympic rider, and Mariett (Come Back II x Zendi), a Danish bay mare, wowed the audience with an impressive 76.975 scoring ride in the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle. “The horse keeps getting better and stronger,” said Petersen. Dressage judge Axel Steiner said he...

Recently on the NAWD Facebook page, discussion has centered on the terms “connection” and “collection” with riders, trainers and instructors piping in with comments. If you have not checked in with the Facebook discussions on the websites for all the organizations, I encourage you to do so. All of these comments are so valuable! This is a critical conversation and is truly at the root of the discussion that surrounds WD videos that are currently out there. Dressage...

Last week I gave you some wonderful numbers that show the tremendous growth we have seen in Western Dressage over the last year. Almost 200 shows and events are already scheduled for 2013… 200! All those events are the brainchildren of people who want to help develop WD in their area. Most riders start by going to audit or participate in a clinic first or by becoming familiar with different philosophies and approaches to western dressage via the FaceBook pages or investigating the...

The twenty fourth in a series of blog posts from Michelle Binder North American Western Dressage receives all kinds of questions at the website and on our FaceBook page. Last week Jen Johnson shared the following in a post and it generated a huge amount of material for consideration. She posted: “I received an email last night from a **** judge who had the following concerns about Western Dressage..... “The problem is that the western horse is going to have to be much quicker in...