Dressage judge Betsy Berrey was the featured speaker at this month's Shop Talk. Michelle Hundt and Betsy Rebar-Sell, co-owners of Sho Clothes, hosted the third in a series of monthly discussions at the Sho Room in Wellington, FL. The Gold Coast Dressage Association (GCDA) co-sponsors the event with Sho Clothes to provide local equestrians the opportunity to learn from top professionals in the area. Betsy Berrey is a well-respected "S" judge who often officiates at dressage shows on the winter...

Lexington, KY— In a unanimous decision by the judges, Brooke Jacobs defeated four talented riders in the 2008 United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Saddle Seat Adult Amateur Medal Final. Despite the heat, Jacobs completed the rail and pattern work to outshine the competition at the Lexington Junior League Horse Show at the famous The Red Mile racetrack. Jacobs, of Georgetown, KY, claimed the title aboard CH My Southern Charm, a bay Saddlebred gelding owned by Werk Way Stables and trained...

Ravel and Steffen Peters (Amy McCool) San Juan Capistrano, CA – Overnight leader Steffen Peters returned to the Oaks Blenheim ring with Ravel in the USEF National Grand Prix Dressage Championship and the USEF Selection Trial for Dressage, and made it quite clear that he was not going to relinquish his lead. Owned by Akiko Yamazaki, Ravel, a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding took some of the much more experienced horses to task and never looked in danger of making a mistake. The elegant...

Young Horse Finals were featured on the closing day of the 12-week CN Winter Equestrian Festival, presented by Zimmerman Advertising, at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. As she had done throughout the circuit, Laura Chapot of Neshanic Station, NJ, continued to dominate the young jumper division. The $20,000 Seven- and Eight-Year-Old Young Jumper Final was the featured class in the International Arena on Sunday, April 6, attracting a total of 48 entries. From the original starting...

29 April 2008 Dear Members of the Equestrian Community, This past weekend at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day, Laine Ashker suffered a serious fall during the cross-country stage of the competition. She is currently in critical condition at the University of Kentucky hospital in Lexington. Laine’s horse and another involved in a separate accident had to be euthanized. These accidents come just a month after Darren Chiacchia, an Olympic rider, had a serious fall at an event in Tallahassee, Florida....

Ocala, FL ­– Two USEF National Driving Championships are up for grabs at the CAI-A Ocala running March 27-30, 2008. Known as the Live Oak Plantation Combined Driving Event presented by Budweiser, the showcase of the country's best drivers and horses is taking place at Chester Weber's Live Oak Plantation in Ocala, FL. The competition also serves as the second USEF Selection Trial for two of the World Driving Championships. The USEF Single Horse Championship got the day started and dressage was...

With three Americans competing at "Porsche Dressage Trophy," a German national indoor dressage tournament held in Paderborn, Germany, on November 2-4, Todd Flettrich of Coatesville, PA, and Wellington, FL, rode Amadeus to third place in the grand prix special, earning the distinction of being the highest-placed American in the FEI classes at the show. "Amadeus did everything I asked. He was very good," said Flettrich of his grand prix special ride, which held the lead for most of the class. "I...

(Lexington, KY) – Maria Partlow, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communication has announced that she will retire effective October 1st, 2007. She has been with the USEF since March of 2004. “This is a life decision and one I have thought a great deal about,” she said. “My mother died very unexpectedly earlier this year, and her passing made me reflect on how fleeting life is and about how I want to spend the future. Although I love working at the USEF, I want to get up every morning,...

From a Press Release by Daniel Rieffer , Communications Manager, American Saddlebred Horse Association Louisville, Kentucky - Jen Raynes’ heart of gold led her to Louisville. She ran into a parent of an ASHA junior member at a horse show in Scottsdale, Arizona, who convinced her to donate her time and talent to create a painting for the AHSA Annual Auction. She’s known as “Mad Dog” Jen, and she’s experienced absolute madness since leaving California Tuesday morning to get to the World’s...

Thirty-five horses from 13 nations were presented for the dressage Horse Inspection on Friday July 13 officially getting the fifteenth Pan American Games underway. Beginning at 8am, the horse inspection ensures that all the horses in the competition are fit to compete. The horse inspection was done in alphabetical order by nation with the horses from the United States being presented last. All four horses looked super, led off by the diminutive Brilliant Too ridden by Katherine Poulin-Neff....