LDM Dramatik and Amy Smith (Anne Gittins Photography) Wellington, FL - Amy Smith and her newly acquired mount, LDM Dramatik, topped the Low Adult 2'6" Hunter Section A division during week eight of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF). Smith and her fourteen-year-old Westphalian mare were fifth and fourth over fences on day one of competition for the division. The pair was second, fourth and first over fences on day two. Reserve championship honors went to Elizabeth Reed...

Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation was honored as the Equestrian Social Media Awards (ESMA) World Award winner of Friday morning. The World Award was the final award given out over the week long awards ceremony, which featured awards presented every day via YouTube video (see them all here: www.youtube.com/esmatv ). Winners of all “Best of” Regional categories were eligible for the award, and the winner was chosen by FEI Director of Corporate...

Carento and Louise Serio (Anne Gittins Photography) Wellington, FL - Louise Serio and Carento made their debut in the Equine Tack and Nutritionals First Year Green Working Hunters to much success during week eight of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF), sponsored by G&C Farm. Serio piloted the seven-year-old Holsteiner gelding, owned by Sherri Crawford, to a division championship after placing sixth under saddle and jumping to third and first places over fences on day...

Tiffany Sullivan scored her first big win after moving up to 1.50-1.60m competition this weekend at HITS Thermal. She and Tristan topped the $54,500 Purina Animal Nutrition CSI-W2* Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis (Flying Horse Photography) Thermal, CA - A grand prix victory is always impressive, but when it’s your first, and it’s in a 1.60m class, that bumps it into the realm of stunning, and stun the crowd is exactly what Tiffany Sullivan did Saturday night, riding Tristan to the...

Victoria Colvin and Ovation (Anne Gittins Photography) Wellington, FL - Week seven of the 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF), sponsored by Hermès , continued on Saturday with the $50,000 USHJA World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) Peter Wetherill Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular. Fifteen-year-old Victoria Colvin of Loxahatchee, FL, took home her second win in a row in the prestigious class, this year riding Dr. Betsee Parker's Ovation to victory. Previous winners...

Tracy Fenney and MTM Timon soar to a win in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, to kick off Week VI of grand prix competition at HITS Ocala (ESI Photography) Ocala, FL – Tracy Fenney of Flower Mound, Texas rode to a HITS Ocala hat trick with MTM Farm’s MTM Timon today, picking up her third grand prix win of the winter circuit. She and the13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding that carried her to three top-twenty finishes in the 2010, 2011 and 2012 Pfizer $1 Million...

Lori Sawyer-Lyons and Senna M (Anne Gittins Photography) Wellington, FL - Lori Sawyer-Lyons edged out the competition to win the Ariat National Adult Medal class during week five of competition for the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF). Sawyer-Lyons, of Fort Lauderdale, FL, rode Jimmy Torano's Senna M to first place. Sawyer-Lyons had a narrow margin of victory in a competitive class with the top three finishing only one tenth of a point apart. Sawyer-Lyons and Senna M...

Sonia Zugel and Ungaro. (SusanJStickle.com) Wellington, FL - The Wellington Dressage CDI-W presented by The Dutta Corp. at the 2013 Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) drew to a close today. The featured class was the FEI Intermediare Freestyle. First place in the $6,000 FEI Intermediare Freestyle went to Sonia Zugel (IRL) riding her mount Ungaro (Weltmeyer II x Wendekreis). The pair were successful in yesterday's $5,000 FEI Intermediare I and Friday's $3,000 FEI Prix St. George....

Andres Rodriguez and Caballito wore a target on their backs throughout the Ridge at Wellington 1.40m Invitational Grand Prix IV at Mida Farm, riding to the victory with a speedy double-clear effort. (Emily Riden/Phelps Media Group) Wellington, FL - Andres Rodriquez and Caballito soared through the jump-off in Friday's class in The Ridge at Wellington's $175,000 1.40m Invitational Grand Prix series in a blazing time of 31.475 seconds. The first to go clean around the immaculate Top's...

The Western Dressage world is abuzz with dressage talk. The hot topic of the moment seems to be progressive training, especially as it has to do with pyramids and scales. Pyramids are extremely stable structures that rely on strong, broad foundations and which rise to a point, a pinnacle if you will that represents a point of focus. Without the foundation, the pyramid loses strength. The intrinsic nature of the structure itself necessitates culmination in a point. The pyramid is the perfect...