Part of the joy of Saddleseat is the tradition, and there are few finals where that’s as true as in the NHS “Good Hands” Finals, held annually at the MidAmerica Mane Event Horse Show. The “Good Hands” Final began in 1883 in Madison Square Garden, billed as ‘ America’s Oldest Indoor Horse Show ’. In the 131 years since, a lot has changed. When that first final took place, football still didn’t have a forward pass and basketball didn’t...

Temecula, Calif. - Nicci Guzetta, on Queen of Spades, and Tamra Smith, on Irish Blend, won divisions of the Training Level Three-Day Event at the Galway Downs International Three-Day Event. Smith, of Murrieta, Calif., and Irish Blend added nothing to their dressage score of 38.3 to win division A, over Kristen Schalk on Comet’s Flight (38.6) and Max Gerdes on Rhythm Royale (40.4). Guzetta, of San Jose, Calif., stood third after two days, but a faultless show jumping round vaulted her to...

Washington, D.C. - The $20,000 International Jumper Gambler’s Choice Costume Class, sponsored by Equestrian Sport Productions, was held on Thursday evening during the Washington International Horse Show's always popular Barn Night, presented by Dover Saddlery. Local young riders and horse enthusiasts attended in groups and had the chance to enter contests, win big prizes, and enjoy a fun, horse-filled evening that included the WIHS Shetland Pony Steeplechase Championship races...

Washington, D.C. - The 2014 Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) continued on Thursday with the first day of classes for the Junior Hunters and several International Jumper and Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper classes at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The show continues through Sunday, October 26, with much more exciting action throughout the weekend, including Friday night’s $25,000 Puissance, presented by The Boeing Company, and Saturday night’s $125,000 President’s Cup...

Lexington, Ky. - The Washington International Horse Show, an iconic horse show in the heart of the nation’s capital since 1958, has been honored with the United States Equestrian Federation’s designation as a USEF Heritage Competition. The Heritage Competition title is the highest honor currently held by any Federation horse show. The designation of a USEF Heritage Competition is reserved for those competitions that have been in existence for a quarter-century or more, promoted and...

It’s been four years since the first Western Dressage organizations were formed and began the process of formalizing a discipline that was no secret to great horsemen! We’ve come a long ways and, although Western Dressage is still inventing itself, there are plenty of opportunities to participate! Western Dressage is all about classical horsemanship as a foundation for any discipline and is designed to help western riders learn to use the training scale to provide a step-by-step...

Lexington, Ky. – This weekend the West coast dressage community will descend upon Epona Farms as it hosts the second USEF/USET Foundation Dressage Pipeline Clinic. This clinic, which is made possible through a gift from USET Foundation Trustee, Betsy Juliano and Havensafe Farm, will be held October 11-12, hosted by Michael Fowler's Epona Farm in Thousand Oaks, Calif. The clinic will showcase the U.S. dressage pipeline of athletes and horses with the USEF Dressage Coaches, including...

Misdee Wrigley Miller (Picsofyou.com) Lexington, Ky. - The last USEF National Combined Driving Champions of 2014 were crowned during the final day at the Kentucky Classic CDE as drivers guided their horses and ponies through Richard Nicoll's 20-obstacle cones course at the Kentucky Horse Park. USEF National Pairs Championship Misdee Wrigley Miller (Lakewood Ranch, Fla.) earned her second USEF National Pairs Championship title. Maneuvering her pair through the course with a single ball down...

Jan Ebeling and Santo Domingo (Jennifer M. Keeler) Burbank, Calif. - After four days, six rings, and nearly 1500 rides scheduled to come down centerline, final championship titles were awarded Sunday and the competition officially entered the record books as the largest edition in the 47-year history of the Annual California Dressage Society (CDS) Championship Show, held in conjunction with the Great American Insurance Group/USDF Region 7 Dressage Championships, September 25 - 28, 2014 in...

Amy Miller & U.S.-bred Encore won the CDS Young Horse Futurity for Five-Year-Olds (Jennifer M. Keeler) Burbank, Calif. - As the third day of championship dressage competition concluded at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, Cal., a new crop of champions proudly wore new tricolor sashes while a "grand dame" of the international Grand Prix arena was honored during evening festivities at the 47th Annual California Dressage Society Championship Show, held in conjunction with the Great...