Reed Kessler & Cylana after their win on Friday night in Stuttgart (from the Stuttgart German Masters facebook page) Stuttgart, Germany - A good day became a great one for Reed Kessler Friday night in Stuttgart when she rode a wave of momentum from a morning win into another first place finish. In the Prize of DIW Instandhaltung Ltd. & Co. 1.50m speed class, a qualifier for Sunday's FEI World Cup Qualifier Grand Prix, Kessler (Lexington, Ky.) guided her own Cylana to a penalty free...

Reed announced her win on Instagram. Oldenburg, Germany - Only days after winning the Longines Rising Star award at the FEI Awards Gala , Reed Kessler showed the form that earned her that recognition by taking a 1.45m winning round compeition at CSI2* Oldenburg. The class was broken into eleven groups with the winners plus three returning for the winning round. Kessler qualified for that winning round and was the penultimate in the order of go. When her turn came around she and her own Ligist...

Reed Kessler & Cylana (Karl Heinz Frieler) Munich, Germany - In Munich over the weekend Reed Kessler and Cylana put forward a beautiful double clear effort in the Championat von München at the Munich Indoor CSI3*. With a fault free jump off in 34.78s Reed and Cylana put themselves atop a group of 65 tough international competitors. South Africa’s Oliver Lazarus finished second with Pour Led Poussage. John Whitaker of Great Britain and Argento were third. Full results are...

Karl Cook and Banba (Captured Moment Photography) Del Mar, Calif. - Wrapping up the very last day of the Del Mar International Horse Show, there was still plenty of excitement to be had as the GGT Footing Grand Prix Series Final got underway. Sixty-five horse and rider pairs entered this class to battle it out for top honors today, and sixteen made it to the jump off. Out of those sixteen, we saw 7 impressive double clear rounds. In the end, Karl Cook and Banba, owned by Signe Ostby, set forth...

Welcome to the fourth installment of a different kind of blog from WDAA! The purpose of this post is to allow the reader "into the heads" of both a trainer/judge/competitor, Karen Abbattista and her student, Deborah Herbert, a Florida WDAA member. We would like to share with you some moments in Deb's journey as she pursues her riding goals with her AQHA mare "GenuineArcticSpring", barn name "Belle". Please enjoy as you follow along with these posts that we consider interesting or...

Boyd Martin and Trading Aces (Libby Law Photography) Boekelo, The Netherlands – Competition at the Military Boekelo CCIO3* came to a close Sunday with two riders of the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team contesting the show jumping phase. While there were clear rounds, rails were coming down throughout the day over Jos Brinkman’s course. Boyd Martin and Trading Aces were the top finishers for the U.S in the field of 64 combinations that moved on to the final phase of competition. Martin...

Boekelo, The Netherlands - The Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team experienced mixed fortunes on Sue Benson’s cross country course on Saturday at the Military Boekelo CCIO3*. As is customary at Boekelo, the Dutch weather and deep going proved extremely influential as the leaderboard saw an utter Boyd Martin and Trading Aces (Libby Law Photography) shake-up. Following the conclusion of the second phase, Boyd Martin and Trading Aces lead the way for the United States. Martin (Cochranville, Pa.)...

Boekelo, The Netherlands - The final two riders from the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team completed their dressage tests on Friday at the Military Boekelo CCIO3* in a deluge of rain. Lauren Kieffer and Veronica were the first pair in the ring for the U.S., earning a mark of 47.4, while Boyd Martin was the third-to-last competitor down centerline scoring a 46 with Trading Aces. The third pair of the U.S. effort in Boekelo, Elizabeth Halliday-Sharp and Fernhill by Night, performed its test on...

Elizabeth Halliday-Sharp and Fernhill By Night (Libby Law Photography) Lexington, Ky. - The first U.S. horse-and-rider combination performed their dressage test Thursday for the FEI Nations Cup competition at the Military Boekelo CCIO3*. Elizabeth Halliday-Sharp and Fernhill By Night took to the dressage arena in front of the judging panel of David Lee (IRL), Andrew Bennie (NZL), and Ciska Van Meggelen-Peek (NED) at the historic venue in Boekelo, The Netherlands. Halliday-Sharp (East Sussex,...

Andrew Ramsey and Woitcek (Flying Horse Photography) Sacramento, CA - This year's Sacramento International Horse Show saw bigger crowds and greater competitor numbers than ever before. Show Managers Dale Harvey and Rudy Leone put on a smoothly-run, top-notch event from the time the first horse entered the in-gate during Welcome Week until the last fence was jumped Sunday at the close of World Cup Week. Looking back over the last two weeks, here are some of the highlights: World Cup Week saw...