Lars Petersen and Mariett claimed first place in the Grand Prix (Susan J. Stickle) Loxahatchee, FL - Lars Petersen and Mariett are making a habit of winning top honors at the International Horse Sport (IHS) show grounds. This time, the pair clinched today's Grand Prix at the International Horse Sport Champions Cup CDI-W with a 73.745%. Just two weeks ago, they were double winners in the same venue at the Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI-W, collecting first place in both the Grand Prix and...

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...

Ben Maher and Urico (Sportfot) Wellington, FL - Week five of the 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) featured another exciting "Saturday Night Lights" event with over 4,000 spectators looking on as Great Britain's Ben Maher won his second grand prix in a row for the winter circuit. Maher jumped to victory in the $82,000 Adequan® CSI2* Grand Prix aboard Jane Clark's Urico after also taking top honors in last week's $100,000 Fidelity Investments® CSI 2*...

Facebook is an unending super highway of material for use in a myriad of applications. I am always amazed by several things. First, how we can consider people we have never seen or maybe even spoken to directly as “friends.” Second, how we are able to use social networking to very positive effects from fund raising for good causes to arranging emergency transportation for rescue horses. Third, how easy it is to learn from so many people who are willing to share really great...

The competition field at The Mar-a-Lago Club on the Intracoastal Waterway. (Sportfot) Palm Beach, FL - The first ever $100,000 Trump Invitational Grand Prix CSI 2* debuted to rave reviews on Sunday, January 6, at the beautiful Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, FL. With some of the world's top show jumpers competing on the lawn of Donald Trump's scenic estate overlooking South Florida's Intracoastal Waterway, U.S. rider Kent Farrington jumped to victory in the inaugural class aboard...

Westport, CT - The EQUUS Foundation and the American Association of Equine Practioners (AAEP) Foundation joinly established the EQUUS Foundation Research Fellowship program in 2011 to emphasize the importance of equine research, to reward researchers for their contributions, and to meet the increasing need to train future equine veterinary researchers. Two equine researchers were presented with the 2012 EQUUS Foundation Research Fellows for their work to advance veterinary knowledge during 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...

Rachel Kolb and Stanford's Ronny (Stanford Univ/IHSA) Fairfield, CT - Stride for stride, solid horse sense leads to scholarly achievement. For the second time in two years, the Rhodes Trust has awarded a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to an Intercollegiate Horse Show Association college equestrian athlete to pursue post-graduate study at Oxford University. This year’s recipient is IHSA hunter seat rider, Rachel Kolb, of Los Ranchos, NM, who is in her second year as president of the...

The twenty first in a series of blog post from Michelle Binder As this blog has progressed, I have tried to bring awareness about Western Dressage to the equestrian community at large. Now I am going to encourage you to do some research on your own. By now you know that there are several organizations promoting the development of the sport. At this point the question we hear most often from people all over is: “What is the difference?” To some it seems that the differences that...

Reed Kessler and Ligist with ringmaster John Franzreb, Andrea King and Emanuel Andrade of Hollow Creek Farm, and WIHS Executive Director Bridget Love Meehan. (Shawn McMillen Photography) Washington D.C. - The $20,000 International Open Jumper Gambler’s Choice Costume Class, sponsored by Hollow Creek Farm, is always an exciting event at WIHS, especially with Barn Night and thousands of young fans cheering on the riders. In tonight’s class, 18-year-old Reed Kessler, of Lexington, KY,...