Ocala, Fla. – The USEF Combined Driving National Championships got underway with the first of three phases at Live Oak International. Two of the five championship divisions completed their dressage tests; Scott Adcox takes the early lead in the Intermediate Pair Horse division with a score of 60.88 penalties. Chester Weber tops the leaderboard in the four-in-hand division with a score of 40.11 penalties. USEF Intermediate Pair Horse Combined Driving National Championship Adcox (Myakka...

The eighth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder Western Dressage is a big up and coming equestrian discipline right now. I believe this is the right time for the sport to emerge as a reality and the interest level proves that the idea has been around for a long time. When I started talking to everyone about it, I was surprised! In our area, a Western Dressage Facebook page was started and we had 130 members within about 2 days! That was so important because it showed how much...

If you like to keep up with equestrian competitions, you’ve been born into a great time. It has never been easier to stay connected to your favorite atheletes and disciplines. There are plenty of good ways to go about it, but I am going to briefly explain why twitter has become my favroite way to keep up with the equestrian action nationally, and internationally. Finding results and watching live events is part of my job, but I need to discover new sources all the time. Of all the avenues...

Courtney King-Dye will speak about The Road to Grand Prix during the KWPN-NA Annual Meeting. (Susan J. Stickle.) Sutherlin, OR - Once again the KWPN-NA Annual Meeting pulls out all of the stops to give breeders, trainers, owners and riders information to help them advance their horses up the ranks to Grand Prix, for both jumping and dressage. The Royal Dutch Warmblood Studbook of North America (KWPN-NA) has put together an unprecedented number of experts that includes Olympic medalist Steffen...

Fear of the unknown often darkens our dream of buying the young horse that will become the next show star. Perhaps we are drawn to this idea by the harmony that arises between human and equine when raising a horse from his first years; possibly it's the chance to be able to buy him before he costs six figures. But will this charming youngster transform into that fancy show horse we had envisioned? Here is a way to peek into a crystal ball. Start from the bottom up — your bottom line Clearly...

Laura and O Lordy++//. (Photo by Suzanne Sturgill.) Aurora, CO - It makes sense that the Arabian Horse Association’s Amateur of the Year would be the owner of the High Point Horse of the Year—it’s happened before. Laura Wolsey of Langley, B.C. and her gelding O Lordy++// (The Firelord+/ x Hi Passion) were recently given the AHA annual honor. In 2010 however, the AHA High Point Horse was also named Equine Canada’s High Point Horse for Breed Sport, the United States Equestrian Federation’s (USEF)...

Unseasonably wet Fall conditions and ensuing reports of widespread mold in harvest crops have horse owners highly concerned about the possible presence of illness-causing, and sometimes fatal, toxins with every bag of horse feed they tear open. To ensure that mycotoxins do not get into the feed mill, much less their feed, Pennfield Equine Feed Technologies puts the horse first by investing in a highly effective rapid detection chemical test to identify and eliminate tainted ingredients before...

Photo Courtesy AHA/Conley Driediger (Conley Driediger with gelding, Winning Afire+//.) Alexis Starer Doughty of Cape Charles, VA, and Conley Driediger of Yarrow, BC, Canada, were named the Arabian Horse Association (AHA) Adult and Youth Amateurs of 2009, respectively. Doughty earned an impressive 646 points at 22 AHA-recognized shows in 2009, while Driediger earned a whopping 485.5 points from 17 shows. The AHA Amateur Achievement Award program began in 2002 and tracks the points of individual...

The Kentucky National Horse Show was held September 16-20 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. Lucille Oken Wins Grand Slam with Land's End Mad Hatter Lucille Oken and Land's End Mad Hatter were unstoppable at this year's Kentucky National Indoor Horse Show. The pair completed a clean sweep of the Large Pony Hunter division, taking home each of the blue ribbons and the championship award. Oken rides at her family's Hi Hopes Farm in Charlotte, NC, with trainers Steve Heinecke and Jeff...

Interest and participation in the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) has never been greater. The association continues to exhibit phenomenal growth, especially in the areas of membership and approved shows. During its June meeting, the NRHA’s Board of Directors announced a year-to-date increase of 4.5% in memberships for 2006. The board also announced a significant growth in NRHA-approved shows, especially in international venues where there’s been an increase of more than 33% in 2006...