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Equestrian Weekly

The all new Equestrian Weekly newsletter showcases the best of US Equestrian, including new Learning Center videos, the USEF Network schedule, and original articles. Equestrian Weekly keeps members informed about affiliate news, international competitions, information on rule changes, membership updates, special member offers, and more.

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What is a Dressage Test Ride? Why Does it Matter?

by Ashley Swift | Apr 25, 2018, 6:00 PM EST

The first day of competition at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 26, with the dressage phase at Rolex Stadium. Before the dressage tests can get underway, an essential step in preparing the Ground Jury for two days of dressage judging is the dressage test ride, sponsored this year by Hylofit. Photo by RedBayStock.com The dressage test ride is an FEI standard for all CCI events. The horse-and-rider combination that performs the test...

Five Things to Know About the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event

by Glenye Cain Oakford | Apr 24, 2018, 3:00 PM EST

The Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event (LRK3DE), which also hosts the Land Rover/USEF CCI4* Eventing National Championship, kicks off this week. This iconic American sporting event, which takes place April 26-29, annually draws top international horses and riders to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky., for world-class eventing competition. We’ll be streaming all three phases—dressage, cross-country, and show jumping—live on USEF Network , so be sure to check out the...

Collegiate Equestrian Programs See Growth During Spring Championship Season

by Glenye Cain Oakford | Apr 24, 2018, 3:00 PM EST

There’s plenty of good news about intercollegiate equestrian programs, with new teams getting involved and national championship season now underway. The SCAD equestrian team’s (left to right) Hannah Hlopak, assistant coach Abbie Gibson (standing), Sarah Gordon, Adam Edgar, head coach Ashley Henry (standing), and Madelyn Keck celebrate the team’s fourth ANRC National Intercollegiate Equitation Championship. Photo credit: Giana Terranova Photography In California, UC Davis...

“The People’s Pony”: Honoring Theodore O’Connor at LRK3DE

by Ashley Swift | Apr 24, 2018, 12:32 PM EST

Famed eventer Theodore O’Connor might have been small of stature, but the 14.1-hand Thoroughbred/ Arabian / Shetland -cross eventing pony certainly had an outsized impact. Bred by Wynn Norman and owned by the Theodore O’Connor Syndicate, “Teddy” was an unexpected star who set the eventing world on fire with multi-time Olympic, Pan American, and World Equestrian Games veteran, Karen O’Connor. She began riding him in 2005 after young rider Christan Trainor competed...

From US Equestrian Magazine: Preparing for Disaster

by Glenye Cain Oakford | Mar 27, 2018, 3:00 PM EST

Tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, and wildfires—these natural disasters are some of horse owners’ worst nightmares, and we’ve seen them play out to devastating effect in recent years. Horsemen are powerless to control the weather, of course, but having a good disaster-preparedness plan can help horse owners and managers respond faster and more effectively if such a disaster does occur. Having a good emergency plan and readying supplies in case of disaster can make a crucial...

Ten Things You’ll Love About the Longines Masters of New York

by Longines Masters Of New York | Mar 20, 2018, 3:00 PM EST

The Longines Masters of New York , which takes place in New York for the first time this year at the newly renovated NYCB LIVE, Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, from April 26-29, is part of an innovative three-event series of competitions staged in three of the world’s most glamorous cities—New York, Paris, and Hong Kong. The show jumping events offers first-class equestrian sport and more, including live music, one-of-a-kind artwork, and delectable cuisine. The...

TJ O'Mara Talks: Mixing Horses and College

by Glenye Cain Oakford | Mar 6, 2018, 3:00 PM EST

TJ O’Mara, a 19-year-old Rumson, N.J., native, found much success in the equitation championships during his junior years. In 2016, O’Mara won the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals – East and the US Hunter Seat Medal Final and finished third in the ASPCA Alfred B. Maclay National Championship. He is now a sophomore at the University of Kentucky, where he is an Agricultural Economics major. In addition to his studies, O’Mara also is maintaining a...

The Triplets: A Love Story

by Glenye Cain Oakford | Feb 13, 2018, 3:00 PM EST

When the yearlings Epona Elleison, Elle Vitorina, and Big Man in Town make their show-ring debut this spring in the halter division, they will mark an important milestone for owner/breeder Lisa Gaudio—and for equine reproductive science. Lisa Gaudio and her husband Jim Kazanjian with (left to right) Elle Vitorina, Epona Elleison, and Big Man in Town. Photo: Javan Schaller The trio are full siblings, by the Arabian stallion Vitorio TO and out of Gaudio’s beloved mare, Kyrie Elleison....

Combined Driving Gives Eventer a Different View

by Glenye Cain Oakford | Feb 6, 2018, 9:37 AM EST

Trying a different discipline, even temporarily, can open your eyes to new possibilities. That’s what 17-year-old eventer Heather Kottwitz is finding since she started taking combined driving lessons in addition to her dressage, stadium, and cross-country riding. Kottwitz, from Ashland, Mo., isn’t planning to hang up her saddle; she competes her Morgan gelding Sidney at Training level and loves it. But her recent foray into combined driving has helped her learn a different language...

WEG Talk: Dressage and Para-Dressage

by FEI World Equestrian Games Tryon 2018 | Jan 30, 2018, 3:00 PM EST

Dressage is the ultimate expression of communication and elegance between a horse and athlete and has rapidly grown in popularity each year around the world. This Olympic equestrian discipline is often compared to ballet, with a scoring system similar to that of figure skating. The harmonious connection between the human and equine athletes allows each pair to perform an intricate pattern of movements for which they receive scores from a seven-member judging panel. The rider’s cues are...