Lexington, KY – The USEF will be hosting a Para-Equestrian Dressage Training Session March 18-19 2009 in Woodinville, WA. The Training Session is designed to help riders who have various disabilities learn more about competing in Dressage at a National or International Level and will be hosted by the Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center. US Assistant Coach, Sharon Schneidman, will be conducting the Training Session. Sharon has earned a USDF Gold Medal, has a winning resume at the FEI levels...

The first meeting of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) Dressage Force took place on January 12-13, 2009, in Frankfurt, Germany. The meeting was chaired by Frank Kemperman with Richard Davison (GBR), riders’ representative; Robert Dover (USA), trainers’ representative; Alain Franqueville (FRA), representing chefs d’equipe; Elisabeth Max-Theurer (AUT), owners’ representative; and Katrina Wuest (GER), judges’ representative, in attendance. The FEI was represented by its Sports and...

The stallion Hickstead, winner of Individual Gold and Team Silver medals at the 2008 Olympic Games under Canada’s Eric Lamaze, is now offered for breeding for the first time in North America. Hickstead is a 1996 brown Dutch Warmblood stallion standing 16 hands-high. Sired by Hamlet, his dam is Jomara by the well-known and recently deceased stallion, Ekstein. Hickstead’s bloodlines also feature such prominent show jumping names as Nimmerdor, Notaris, Ulft, Le Mexico and Joost. Based on his...

Para-equestrian and high school senior Jonathan Wentz will be featured in the television series, The Real Winning Edge , January 10-11. Other areas can find channels and times for airing at www.realwinningedge.com/index.php . Wentz was selected for the show after seeing an article in USEF’s Week in Review in June 2007, "TV Producer searching for Equestrians for New Series," and submitting his bio. The 30-minute show profiles three young achievers who have overcome challenges and each are...

Every competitive horse owner knows that showtime is stressful. However, stress from training to trailering can affect horses, too. Horses can continue feeling the stress even after stepping off the trailer. Situations such as increased stall time—especially at an unfamiliar facility—and limited turnout, along with training and competing, can often lead to Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS). In fact, 63% of nonracing competitive horses can suffer from EGUS. EGUS can diminish the...

The finalized membership of the FEI Dressage Task Force is as follows: —Frank Kemperman (NED), chairman and representative of the event organizers; —Richard Davison (GBR), riders representative; —Robert Dover (USA), trainers representative; —Alain Francqueville (FRA), chef d’équipe —Katrina Wuest (GER), judges representative; —Elizabeth Max-Theurer (AUT), owners representative The aim of having this representation is to enable the key stakeholder groups to...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The stories of U.S. Paralympians as they prepare for and compete at the 2008 Paralympic Games will be featured once again on NBC this Saturday, December 6 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The documentary, which originally aired November 9, takes viewers on a compelling journey into the lives of U.S. Paralympians as they vie for triumph in Beijing, China. The 90-minute broadcast is narrated by NBC Sports’ Bob Costas. "NBC and GE's broadcast of the 2008 Paralympics provides...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Executive Committee approved the specifications for the Eventing Watch List on November 17, 2008. Born out of discussions at the USEF/USEA Safety Summit in June, the goal of the Watch List is to notify riders at USEF licensed and USEF endorsed Eventing competitions that their riding is potentially dangerous. The Watch List is a list of horse/rider combinations that could be regarded as displaying a pattern of potentially dangerous...

The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) would like to extend thanks and gratitude to the Eventing Selectors who have served the US Eventing program from 2005-2009. Chairman Peter Green, Bea DiGrazia, Ann Getchell, Ann Taylor, and Mark Weissbecker have selected three championship teams. They chose the horse/rider combinations that made up the fourth placed team and earned an individual bronze at the 2006 World Equestrian Games. The following year they selected the team that went to Rio de...

Gladstone, NJ - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is hosting a ParaEquestrian Dressage Training Session for potential Para Dressage Equestrians and Elite Riders with US ParaEquestrian Team Coach and international eventing rider Missy Ransehousen and Assistant Coach Sharon Schneidman. The Training Session will be held November 24-25, 2008 at the Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center in Woodinville, WA. ParaEquestrian provides riders with all kinds of disabilities the chance to...