How do good ideas happen? By great people putting their minds together – and that’s what happened when Frances Carbonnel, Cliff Swanson, and Neide Cooley got together last August to work on the Educational Program for the Western Dressage Association® of Colorado. I had the pleasure of speaking with Frances about how the Train The Trainers clinic came into being. “We decided we needed some videos to help people understand what the gaits are for Western Dressage,”...

Lexington, KY - USA Equestrian Trust has awarded $95,000 in grants to help fund four more equine projects as part of a historic year of grant-giving for the foundation. The awards come on top of nearly $240,000 awarded in May to 11 equine non-profits. The Trust's volunteer leadership approved an expansion of the program earlier this year, offering a second grant application period for the first time in the foundation's history. The organization saw even greater need from interested...

Katie Dinan and Nougat du Vallet (© ManciniPhotos) Wellington, FL - Nineteen-year-old Katie Dinan (USA) and Grant Road Partners' Nougat Du Vallet earned an exciting victory in Saturday night's $50,000 Holiday and Horses FEI World Cup Grand Prix at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, FL. American riders took top four honors in the eleven horse jump-off. Dinan beat Todd Minikus and Macoemba and Margie Engle and Royce, who finished second and third...

Karl Cook (USA) aboard Norories Utopia in the $30,000 EQU Lifestyle Speed Classic Las Vegas, NV - It was a night full of speed and spills as forty-two horse and rider duos broke from the gate in the $30,000 EQU Lifestyle Speed Classic. The evening was dedicated to great causes as Just Word International hosted their infamous horseless horse show and High Jump Finals, as well as the local Air Force Base Honor Guard presented our nation's colors before competition was underway. German course...

Revealed and Julie Holzberger Top Adult Hunter. (Al Cook) Harrisburg, PA - Revealed and Julie Holzberger of Fairfield, OH revealed their championship ways by winning in the $10,000 North American League Adult Hunter Final, presented by Practical Horseman, at the 67th Annual Pennsylvania National Horse Show on Friday. This was the first year Holzberger competed in the Final and her first time at Harrisburg. "I am so thrilled," said Holzberger. "I love competing here and in the NAL. I am so...

The seventeenth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder Last weekend we attended the second Western Dressage classes held here in the Inland Northwest. We rode the NAWD tests through Level 4. The tests are wonderful and the dressage spectators were very interested in how the WD tests are both similar and different from the USEF tests ridden in the USDF shows. The judge was super and even though the day was very long for her, very positive about the work saying "I enjoyed judging...

Dana Scott USEF Champion and KM Whatever RV Dana Scott of Wilton, CT, captured the gold medal riding KM Whatever RV in the $7,500 Randolph College/USEF National Junior Jumper Individual Championship at the 67th Annual Pennsylvania National Horse Show on Saturday evening. The 17- year-old rider was nearly perfect finishing with a score of only two faults. "I got a little lucky," said Scott. "Everyone here has a really fantastic horse, everyone here has a fabulous team behind them and everyone...

Upper Marlboro, MD - The Grand Pony Hunter Championship, sponsored by Lochmoor Stables/Mindy and Greg Darst, went to Hillcrest Blue Halo, owned by Bill Schaub and ridden by 11-year-old Daisy Farish of Versailles, KY. They won three out of four classes in the small pony hunter division and placed second in the remaining class. Daisy Farish and Hillcrest Blue Halo. (Shawn McMillen Photography) They were awarded with the VanderMoore Designs Trophy, donated by VanderMoore Designs. Farish was named...

Jonathan McCrea and Twisther take the 1.45m Speed Stake (Parker/Russell-The Book LLC) North Salem, NY - The spectacular Old Salem Farm was the backdrop for sensational show jumping action on the second day of The American Gold Cup in North Salem, NY. Forty-six riders took to the field in the warm afternoon sun for the Danbury Porsche Audi $10,000 1.45m Speed Stake held in the Grand Prix ring. Jonathan McCrea edged out the competion on Twisther with a time of 66.156. "You know, I think I'm...

Last year's Ariat National Adult Medal Finals winners, Kristi Siam and Krosus Upper Marlboro, MD – The 2012 Capital Challenge Horse Show, presented by The Gochman Family, looks forward to once again welcoming Ariat International, Inc. and the Ariat National Adult Medal Finals during this year’s competition. Held at Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD, the show will begin with its Equitation Weekend presented by BigEq.com on September 29-30 and will continue...