Well fall is under way and I am trying to clear a little writer’s block. The last shows of the year are winding down. We are headed for the last ones in our area the last two weekends of the month. Fall is time to evaluate progress and prepare for next season. Some of us set goals for training, some for clinics, some for next year’s show season. We look at our feeding programs, exercise programs, breeding programs and whatever else we are running. I always find myself thinking ahead...

Caitlin Boyle following her win in the IHJA Junior Medal Finals (Emily Riden) Wayne, IL - The long anticipated Illinois Hunter Jumper Association (IHJA) "A" Medal Finals sponsored by Barrington Saddlery, were the highlight of the Grand Prix Ring today at the Showplace Fall Classic Championship Horse Show at the Lamplight Equestrian Center. An all day slow rain didn't stop competitors since the new GGT footing was perfect in the rain. Popular course designer Skip Bailey of Wellington, FL,...

Welcome to the fifth nstallment 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 challenging...

Jimmy Torano and La Bonita putting on a show in the final round of the Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final (©ESI Photography) Saugerties, NY – Jimmy Torano of SW Ranches, Florida admits that he and Kathryn Haefner, who owns La Bonita, gambled on the Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final, entering the five-year-old German-bred Warmblood mare in the highest stakes hunter class in the world. Lady Luck, however, was on their side at HITS Saugerties this week. Or, perhaps, La Bonita is...

Saugerties, NY - Sunny Drescher of Hinesburg, Vermont put on a dominating performance in the National PHA Junior Medal Final at HITS Saugerties this weekend. Piloting her own Sting, a seven-year-old Westfalen gelding, to the top score of 86 in the first round, Drescher led the class from start to finish, mastering the test and clinching the blue ribbon. The National PHA Junior Medal Final highlighted the Friday of HITS Championship Weekend at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, New York and...

Victoria Press and Mayfair won the $50,000 Hampton Classic Hunter Derby on the opening day of the show (Shawn McMillen photo) Bridgehampton, NY - Victoria Press, of New York, N.Y., rode her horse Mayfair to victory in the $50,000 Hampton Classic Hunter Derby, presented by Meadow View Farms, on the opening day of the Hampton Classic Horse Show. Press-at 14 the youngest rider in the 42-horse starting field-confidently guided Mayfair to the best score of the second round to claim the blue ribbon...

David Oliynyk and Generous rode to the top of the $15,000 NEHJA 3'3" Hunter Derby Finals during the Fieldstone Summer Showcase II (Kendall Bierer/PMG) Halifax, MA - Under sunny skies and beautiful New England conditions the $15,000 NEHJA 3'3" Hunter Derby Finals, presented by GGT Footing, featured the top horse and rider combinations from across the country. Besting a field of 40 competitors during the Fieldstone Summer Showcase II, David Oliynyk and Generous led the field from start to...

Pablo Barrios and Zara Leandra (Phelps Media Group, Inc.) Lexington, KY - Pablo Barrios and Zara Leandra returned to the Rolex Stadium with a vengeance after a close second place finish in Friday's $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic. They edged out Kristen VanderVeen and Bull Run's Eternal by less than .2 seconds in the jump-off to claim the title in today's $40,000 Bluegrass Festival Grand Prix, sponsored by Audi of Lexington. Eight riders from the field of 31 starters advanced to...

Jennifer Tate and Florestan led the first day of Pre-Green Hunters at the Fieldstone Summer Showcase (Kendall Bierer/Phelps Media Group) Halifax, MA - Strikingly set courses greeted hunter riders for the first day of the Fieldstone Summer Showcase I. The professional hunter divisions kicked off the competition in the Main Hunter Ring, where Jennifer Tate rode Florestan to the top of the Pre-Green Hunter division. Competitors were thrilled to return to the Fieldstone Show Park, noting the new...

Colombia’s Mark Bluman and G&C Blue won the $10,000 Theory Welcome Stake, Presented by Manchester Designer Outlets, on August 8 at the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT (David Mullinix Photography) East Dorset, VT - Colombian rider Mark Bluman was in the winner’s circle yet again on Thursday, August 8, after topping the $10,000 Theory Welcome Stake, presented by Manchester Designer Outlets, at the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT. The win marked Bluman’s third...