Springtown, Texas - It was a tale of two teams in Texas on Saturday as No.7 Baylor and No.8 Texas Christian met in an early season in-state clash. TCU had the better western team, and Baylor was the dominant hunt seat team. But the TCU reining team was the only squad able to secure an outright, 5-0, sweep. In doing so they made the difference in a hard fought 11-9 win. Baylor won equitation on the flat 3-2 and TCU edged out an equal 3-2 victory in horsemanship. TCU was able to pick up one point...

Leslie Berndl (Pics of You) Lexington, KY – A good crowd turned out at the Kentucky Horse Park Saturday to watch the marathon phase of the Kentucky Classic CDE. When the driving was done and the spectators had left Leslie Berndl had taken a big step into the lead in the single horse division. Berndl (Newcastle, California) started off hot Saturday morning with Dutch Warmblood gelding Umico and her consistent driving over the entire course helped her take the lead in the division. Berndl...

Last week I posted a virtual show entry video from an amazingly brave woman who continues to allow me to use her material for examples in this blog. Her courage and generosity inspire me and I hope that her open heart and willingness to be visible inspire you too. I hope that some of you readers are able to identify with her as a peer, a rider struggling to understand riding and training her stock horse and that you professionals at least respect her courage. Reaction to the video has been...

Lillie Keenan and Pumped Up Kicks jump their way to a win in the $125,000 Purina Animal Nutrition Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, at HITS Saugerties over the weekend (©ESI Photography) Saugerties, NY – Lillie Keenan and Pumped Up Kicks were pumped up just enough Sunday afternoon to win the $125,000 Purina Animal Nutrition Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis. The 15-year-old rider and Chansonette Farm, LLC’s Pumped Up Kicks closed out three weeks of spring shows at HITS-on-the-Hudson...

(Lindsay McCall) Lyman, ME - One term often used in reference to future medal winning U.S. high-performance equestrians, is the word 'development'. By further educating and integrating the athletes, judges, trainers, and supporters from all levels will help develop and evolve each discipline. The 2013 U.S. Para-Equestrian Dressage Symposium created the platform to accomplish this task. At the Carlisle Academy Integrative Equine Therapy & Sports in Lyman, Maine, internationally...

Kaitlin Campbell on Rocky W Devon, PA - This evening's open jumper class was the Idle Dice Open Jumper Stakes class. The class was named after famed jumper horse Idle Dice. Idle Dice was originally bred as a thoroughbred race horse, but he was discovered and retrained by Bernie Traurig who showed him as a hunter. He was later purchased by Harry Gill and shown as a jumper by Rodney Jenkins. Idle Dice won over $400,000 in his career (an amount that would triple if adjusted to the value of...

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...

It's official. NAWD has applied for recognized affiliate status with the USEF. Supporters have until June 11th to let the USEF know that North American Western Dressage is the right choice of organizations to build the future of Western Dressage. NAWD President Jen Johnson states: “Western Dressage is coming. Over the past 3 years we have watched it grow at warp speed from the hint of an idea to not just one but three major organizations with very different ideals. Throughout, NAWD...

Katie Dinan and Nougat du Vallet (The Book LLC) North Salem, NY – Three teenagers and a veteran rounded out the jump-off in the $100,000 Empire State Grand Prix presented by The Kincade Group, and the first to go in was the one to return to the winner's circle. Nineteen-year-old Katie Dinan of New York, NY, and her energetic partner Nougat du Vallet were double clear to win the biggest class of the Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows, which ran May 7-12 and 14-19. Sunday's...

This article was originally published at www.useventing.com . Lynn Symansky and Donner won the Adequan USEA Gold Cup & PRO Tour Series CIC3* division at The Fork with a double-clear cross-country round on the final day of competition (Leslie Threlkeld/USEA Photo) Norwood, NC - An exciting day of cross-country in the final phase of the Adequan USEA Gold Cup and PRO Tour Series CIC3* at The Fork in Norwood, North Carolina ended with a race against the clock. Tremaine Cooper’s...