Thanks to everyone who took the time to send emails to USEF and for sharing your thoughts and feelings about the direction Western Dressage should take. It is so important to hear and listen to different ideas from all directions as the discipline develops. At this point all there is to do is continue to ride and train and show, and most important, to have fun with our horses. With another show coming up this weekend for us, I have put a lot of thought into the questions the last show brought...

New Orleans, LA - Riders from South Africa and the United States braved the Louisiana heat over the weekend for international team saddle seat equitation competition at the U.S. Saddle Seat Invitational II. The U.S. was represented by the 2013 U.S. Saddle Seat Young Rider Team while South Africa sent their 2013 Junior Team and the Impondo Mining Senior Protea Team. Duplicating their success from the first Saddle Seat Invitational of the year, the U.S. Young Riders swept the competition by...

Brianne Goutal and Onira (Spruce Meadows Media Services) Calgary, Alberta – The $50,000 RBC Financial Group Cup 1.60m was the highlight event of the day and fans saw Brianne Goutal (USA) ride to victory with her veteran partner Onira. In the All Canada Ring, Shane Sweetnam and Fineman were the only clear round to win the $25,000 Direct Energy Derby 1.45m. Today's competitions were the start of weekend competition for the 'Canada One' Tournament in the Spruce Meadows Summer...

Richard Spooner and Cristallo (Stefano Grasso/Longines GLobal Champions Tour) Monte Carlo, Monaco - Richard Spooner and Cristallo electrified Monte-Carlo Saturday night winning the Riviera Grand Prix for the third time in a record triple. In a spectacular jump off in front of a full house the US rider left William Funnell on Billy Congo in second place and Edwina Tops-Alexander on Guccio in third and shook up the ranking for the 2013 Longines Global Champions Tour series. In a dramatic shift,...

Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister on their way to a tenth place finish (Shannon Brinkman) Aachen, Germany – Cross country day proved to be influential at the Aachen CICO3* at the 2013 CHIO Aachen. Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister tackled the final phase with determination and finished in tenth place in a field of world-class horses and riders. The Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team finished in seventh place after unfortunate results plagued them throughout the day. Though a disappointing...

Aachen, Germany - The United States produced top results for a second day running at the 2013 CHIO Aachen. In CAIO-4 competition, Chester Weber seized his second victory of the week as the U.S. Team stands in second place. In the Lambertz FEI Nations Cup, the U.S. Dressage Team put forth a polished effort to earn third-place honors. The American jumpers again went head-to-head with many of the best in the world in Aachen’s prestigious Main Stadium, while the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team...

Sarah Tyndall and Jack Black (Phelps Media Group, Inc. International) Halifax, MA - The Plymouth Rock Hunter/Jumper Classic ended today with the much-anticipated $10,000 Fieldstone 3'3" Hunter Derby and both the Child and Adult Hunter Classics. The derby has always been both a competitor and crowd favorite at the Fieldstone Show Park in Halifax, MA, and today's class was no exception. Riding to two impressive scores and the blue ribbon in the derby were Emily Bickford and KEC Kool Kat....

Josephina Nor-Lantzman and Chello Z (McCool) San Juan Capistrano, CA - On another gorgeous breezy Southern California afternoon, sixteen horse and rider combinations attempted the track set by internationally renowned course designer Guilherme Jorge in the $30,000 June Classic III Grand Prix, presented by The Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel. The challenges on course resulted in only three fault-free rounds with the victory going to the only double clear of the day, Brazilian Josephina Nor-Lantzman...

Michael Janson and Sangre Azul rode to the top of the $10,000 Fieldstone Grand Prix rankings during the Plymouth Rock Hunter/Jumper Classic (Kendall Bierer/Phelps Media Group) Halifax, MA - The Grand Prix field at the Fieldstone Show Park was immaculate as riders gathered this afternoon for the highly anticipated $10,000 Fieldstone Grand Prix. The arena was hot with competition for the fourth day of the Plymouth Rock Hunter/Jumper Classic. It came down to eight horses in the jump-off, all vying...

Lexington, KY – Saturday was vaulting freestyle day in Aachen, Germany. The Pas de Deux teams were just getting started at the CVI3* at CHIO Aachen, while the four individual vaulters representing the U.S. finished up their efforts. Individual Competition Elizabeth Ioannou performing her CVI3* Freestyle test in Aachen (barnysphotoshop.eu) Leading those individual efforts for the U.S. was Redwood City, California’s Alicen Divita. The 24-year-old earned a sixth place overall finish in...