Lexington, Ky. - Exciting head-to-head dressage competition got underway on Thursday at the US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan® in Lexington, KY, November 6 - 9, 2014. Nearly four hundred Adult Amateur and Open riders from Training Level to Grand Prix have come to the Kentucky Horse Park in their quests for national championship honors, and many of them made their final preparations today by competing in one of the multitude of open and warm-up USDF Dressage in the Bluegrass classes....

The Closer and Havens Schatt (Sportfot) Wellington, Fla. - The first hunter championship of week seven was awarded to Kelley Corrigan's The Closer with Havens Schatt in the irons in the Loddon Stalls Pre-Green Hunter Level One three-foot division. Schatt and The Closer won the first class over fences on Wednesday and then placed first and second over fences on Thursday to earn the division championship. Le Reve Farm, Inc.'s At Ease and Christopher Payne finished in reserve with first...

Western horses jog. English horses trot. Dressage horses trot. Everyone knows that. What does that mean for the western dressage horse? The western jog was a gait that could be ridden for long distances over the range or on the trail that horses could sustain without exhaustion and which could be sat comfortably. The trot is a gait that covers more ground at a reasonable tempo. To deal with the dynamics of the gait and to unload the horses back, some riders learned to post. Western riders bred...

Tori Colvin and Don Juan (The Book Llc.) Devon, PA - Everywhere you looked, riders under the age of 18, known as "juniors," were collecting ribbons Saturday at Devon. The morning kicked off with handy hunter classes. Like all junior hunter classes at Devon the horses in this division were divided into different sections. The first division is by height. Large hunters are 16 hands and over and small hunters are under 16 hands. The second division is by age, with competitors 15 and under in a...

David Oliynyk and Generous swept the first day of the Performance Working Hunters (Phelps Media Group) Halifax, MA - Beautifully set courses greeted hunter exhibitors for the first day of the Fieldstone Spring Festival. The professional hunter divisions kicked off the competition in the two main hunter rings, where David Oliynyk, Thomas Hern, and Kristen Bumpus all rode their mounts to top honors in the Performance Working Hunter and Pre-Green Hunter divisions. Competitors were thrilled to...

The sixteenth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder In an attempt to acknowledge the current diversity within the discipline, show organizers have started offering exhibitors the opportunity to ride ANY test they want to ride, from any organization that has published tests. A buffet of western dressage is now available with something for everyone. The show organizers want to meet the needs of the competitors and in so doing really have taken the first step toward acceptance and...

Ashley Charpentier and Buttercup (Photo by Robyn Keyster/PMG). Traverse City, MI - Another beautiful day greeted riders and their horses on the second day of the multi-series Horse Shows by the Bay equestrian festival in Traverse City, MI. In the Grand Prix Ring at Flintfields Horse Park this afternoon, jumpers excited fans with a series of power and speed classes. Ashley Charpentier rode Buttercup to a first place finish in the High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper class, while Kenzie Donovan...

Ocala, FL - If the weather was a sign of things to come, then the 2011 HITS Ocala Winter Circuit is sure to be another spectacular season. The HITS Ocala Pre-Circuit came to an end on Sunday after two special weeks of exciting show jumping, which now paves the way for the highly anticipated six-week, AA-rated circuit set to start on February 8. Where it all begins again The Road to the Pfizer Million HITS, Inc. made history in 2010 when it produced the richest Grand Prix in the world, the...

Ravel-Horse of the Year in 2009. (Photo by Shannon Brinkman/USEF) Lexington, KY - December 21 - To reach the highest level of excellence in equestrian sport takes talent, perseverance, a tremendous spirit and often, unwavering courage. In 2010, five horses have shown the world those qualities and more. And on January 21, the United States Equestrian Federation will bestow just one of them with the prestigious title of Horse of the Year, the highest honor the USEF awards a horse. The five...

Goosebumps and Cookie Beck earned multiple blue ribbons in Wednesday's Green Conformation Hunter div (Photo © 2010 Lauren Fisher/PMG) Cazenovia, NY - November 3, 2010 - The 2010 Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament featuring the 127th National Horse Show continued with its second day of competition on Wednesday with the start of the professional, amateur-owner, and junior hunter divisions. Horses and riders showed two rounds over fences and went under saddle in the day's competition....