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...

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...

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...

Molly Mcadow and Barina captured the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby victory at Equifest I (Kendall Bierer/PMG) Wayne, IL - It was a day to remember for Molly Mcadow as she laid down the winning rounds during the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby. The Lamplight Equestrian Center was packed with exhibitors and spectators for the third day of Equifest I, and although the skies were gray and torrents of rain poured down from above, the derby contenders were not deterred. Mcadow led the victory...

Centurion B and Lisa Goldman Traverse City, MI - Lisa Goldman took a chance. When she came around the corner to the last line in the jump-off of the $10,000 Positive Step Open Jumper Welcome Prix, she had a choice to make: pull or kick. Her split-second decision to kick made all the difference. She and Centurion B earned their second consecutive blue ribbon at Horse Shows by the Bay Series IV, by a margin of just .06 seconds. Charles Jacobs, of Boston, MA, who challenged Goldman eight horses...