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...

John Pearce and Chianto jump to a win in the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, making it two in a row for Pearce at HITS Saugerties this week (ESI Photography) Saugerties, NY – On the heels of a win in Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix with Son of a Gun, John Pearce of Bermuda Dunes, California jumped his way to another blue on Sunday in the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented, by Zoetis, this time aboard Forest View Farm’s Chianto. Celebration, however, soon...

Team Weber on the marathon course at Caen. (Photo courtesy of Madeleine Augustsson) Ocala, FL – Nine-time U.S. national four-in-hand champion Chester Weber remains undefeated in France following his second win there in the CAI-A4 Caen August 23-25, against a field of 12 drivers and 60 horses representing seven nations. Team Weber’s win at the CAI-A4 Caen is especially significant as the competition was the test event for the 2014 World Equestrian Games. In early June, Weber had the...

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...

Lexington, KY - The future of U.S. Dressage will be on display this week at the Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, Illinois, as 59 of the most exciting rising stars go to task in the 2013 Markel/USEF Young & Developing Horse Dressage National Championships presented by HorseShow.com . National Titles will be up for grabs in four-, five-, and six-year-old divisions as well as at the Prix St. Georges and Grand Prix levels. The 2013 Markel/USEF Young & Developing Horse Dressage National...

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...

Todd Minikus and Quality Girl on their way to a win in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, at HITS Saugerties (ESI Photography) Saugerties, NY - Quality Girl’s feet were lightning fast and her turns were tight as she carried Todd Minikus of Loxahatchee, Florida to a win in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, Friday at HITS Saugerties. Besting a field of 47, Minikus added another grand prix to a long list of top finishes with his own Quality Girl during...

Jumping at CSIO5* Hickstead started up Thursday with U.S. horses and riders faring well. In the opening speed class, the Royal International Vase, "Master of Faster" Richard Spooner and Oscany Inc's Let's Dance 46 sped to a 2nd place finish with a clear round in 65.58s. Hot on their heels were Reed Kessler and her own Ligist. They also keep the rails in the cups and finished their round in 66.18s. Neither was fast enough to beat the scorching 63.97s effort from Great Britain's own...

Laura Linback rode to the top of the Open Jumper leader board for the opening day of Equifest II, taking the 1.40m Open Jumper victory with Whittaker MVNZ (Kendall Bierer/PMG) Wayne, IL - The top horses and riders from across the country returned to the Lamplight Equestrian Center for Equifest II. The first day of competition commenced with the Open Jumper divisions in the Grand Prix Ring. Local resident Laura Linback led the way to the $5,000 1.40m Open Jumper class, as well as the $500 1.25m...

As you know I occasionally receive a story from a Western Dressage rider and this week I would like to share with you the story behind a beautiful magazine cover photo that appeared recently in Paint Horse Journal and which featured coverage of Western Dressage. The photo was of Katrina Sanders and her Paint horse Pirate. Here is what Katrina shares with western dressage enthusiasts this week: “Thank you so much for offering to feature my photo in your blog! I am honored and so grateful...