Lexington, KY - The following horse-and-rider combinations have been named by the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) to represent the U.S. at CSIO5* Barcelona in the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping Final in Barcelona, Spain, September 26-29, 2013. The following combinations will represent the U.S. in the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Final in Barcelona at the CSIO5* Barcelona: Beezie Madden (Cazenovia, NY) will ride Abigail Wexner's Cortes 'C' and Simon Cortes 'C' is a...

Lexington, KY - The following horse-and-driver combinations have been named by the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) to represent the U.S. at the 2013 FEI Pair World Driving Championships in Topolcianky, Slovakia, August 28-September 1. The three following combinations will represent the U.S. in Topolcianky: Rachael Blanchard (Upperville, VA) will drive Belle Grey Farm, LLC’s de l’Amour, Belle Grey Farm, LLC and Heather Briggs’ Taksi and Thomas Blumschein’s Tara...

Misdee Wrigley Miller is looking to continue a successful summer competing in Europe, and she's off to a good start in Riesenback. With her team of Sam and Clemens ( can't have a much more American team name than that ), Wrigley-Miller put forth a collected effort that earned her a total score of 928.5, or 74.28%. That was good for a 5th place finish, and gives her a competition score of 41.15 heading into the Marathon on Saturday. The competition leader, Germany's Carola Diener, is...

The twenty third in a series of blog post from Michelle Binder I began this Western Dressage Blog specifically as a blog for NAWD to help raise public awareness about WD groups other than WDAA. I saw a need for publicity specific to that organization. I also saw a need for a forum that presented the reality that other organizations with different missions and goals regarding WD existed. USEF has not licensed Western Dressage as an independent discipline so at this time there is no officially...

The twenty second in a series of blog post from Michelle Binder With the Holiday, I have just a short newsy blog for readers this week. I for one am looking forward to what the New Year brings in all areas, especially video submissions for the virtual shows. It is an exciting and challenging time for everyone involved on all fronts, a time that requires courage, flexibility, willingness to share and learn from one another, as well as patience as WD emerges over time. Like Edison with the light...

The twentieth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder This week is all about news, news and more news. Never a dull moment in Western Dressage! This just out via a press release from WDAA: “The WDAA has been guided throughout by the leadership, strategy, and policies of its Board of Directors and Advisory Board, both of which are volunteer positions and provide their services without funding. Each are comprised of distinguished professionals from all facets of the equine...

The sixteenth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder In an attempt to acknowledge the current diversity within the discipline, show organizers have started offering exhibitors the opportunity to ride ANY test they want to ride, from any organization that has published tests. A buffet of western dressage is now available with something for everyone. The show organizers want to meet the needs of the competitors and in so doing really have taken the first step toward acceptance and...

The fifteenth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder Last weekend our barn attended the first Western Dressage classes in our area. It was a beautiful day to ride in a beautiful venue at a facility where the idea of western dressage has been warmly accepted. It was such a nice feeling to share space with dressage riders and enthusiasts, most of whom were very curious about the discipline. We rode all the North American Western Dressage Tests through Level 4 and found the tests...

The fourteenth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder The last several weeks I’ve talked about how to get started in western dressage. If you are curious, you’ve checked out the website, taken advantage of the free basic membership by becoming a member, read the rules, reviewed the tests, read the articles, participated in the Forum discussions, found WD groups on Facebook, visited YouTube and chatted with your friends about it. Maybe you’ve contacted your local...

The twelveth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder Every day I field calls from people wanting to know more about Western Dressage. What is it? How do I find out more about it? Can anyone do it? Is it hard? Who teaches Western Dressage? Are there shows? Last weekend a few of our riders were invited to do a Western Dressage demonstration at the local dressage show. What struck me was the feeling of being out of place amongst my dressage friends because we were wearing our western...