Steffen Peters and "Legolas" will look to continue their winning ways at Festival of the Horse CDI 3*/Y/J Presented by HorseShow.com (Terri Miller)

Burbank, CA – For California riders set to compete in this weekend's Festival of the Horse CDI 3*/Y/J Presented by HorseShow.com, their Olympic dreams are beginning to take shape as they prepare to contest the third official qualifying competition on the West Coast for the 2012 Olympic Games Dressage Team Selection Trials. For these hopeful athletes, they will have the added bonus of competing in a setting reminiscent of past Olympic Trials, as this competition will be held March 29 - April 1, 2012 at the beautiful Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park in San Juan Capistrano, site of the 2004 and 2008 U.S. Dressage Selection Trials for the Olympic Games.

The CDI Grand Prix division is headlined by American dressage superstar and Olympian Steffen Peters with his exciting new partner, "Legolas," who are fresh off of spectacular performances during the Mid-Winter Dressage Fair CDI-W in Burbank and the Dressage Affaire CDI-W in Del Mar. Peters will be joined by an impressive field of horses and riders, including fellow Olympic veteran Guenter Seidel, as well as High Performance riders David Wightman, Kathleen Raine, Susan Blinks, and David Blake. All will compete in front of a ground jury consisting of 2012 Olympic Games judge, Gary Rockwell (5*USA), joined by Mary Seefried (5* AUS), Jane Weatherwax (4* USA), Lorraine MacDonald (4* CAN), and Gabriel Armando (3* ARG). For additional excitement, the Festival of the Horse CDI will be held in conjunction with the Blenheim Spring Classic Hunter/Jumper show, featuring the $40,000 Grand Prix Jumping Event.

In an exciting development, Cornerstone Event Management announces the addition of HorseShow.com, the revolutionary online horse show network, as Presenting Sponsor of the Festival of the Horse CDI 3*/Y/J. HorseShow.com will also provide support to present featured competition rides on the Cornerstone YouTube channel, a feature which was debuted at the Mid-Winter Dressage Fair and became an immediate internet sensation. "We are thrilled to have HorseShow.com joining us as Presenting Sponsor of this show," said Glenda McElroy, competition manager. "Their support has helps to provide a wonderful competition for our riders, but also welcome a worldwide audience to this competition via our YouTube channel. I see this as a tremendous opportunity for bigger and better events, more excitement for competitors and spectators, and exposure to a new audience. It should be very positive for the sport.”

HorseShow.com offers a revolutionary way to assess a horse and rider's readiness for competition and receive expert feedback without the expense of actually traveling to a live show. HorseShow.com's online dressage competitions offer classes for a variety of tests which are judged by renowned USEF and FEI officials. For dressage enthusiasts, HorseShow.com currently offers the "Farewell to Winter Dressage Challenge" competition, as well as a new online clinic with FEI judge Natalie Lamping, who will provide voice-over feedback for all submitted videos. For more information, visit the HorseShow.com website, www.horseshow.com.

General admission to the Festival of the Horse is free. Grand Prix Dressage will be held on Friday at 3:00pm until 5:00pm, with the Olympic Grand Prix Special on Saturday from 3:00pm to 5:00pm. All Freestyles are on Sunday 10:00am to 1:00pm. For a complete time schedule, results, and press releases for each day of competition, visit www.cornerstonedressage.com. Video highlights sponsored by HorseShow.com may also be seen daily on Cornerstone's designated YouTube channel available at this link: http://www.youtube.com/user/DressageCornerstone/videos.