Bonifatius (Shannon Brinkman/USEF) Greenwich, UK - The four American horses presented before the Para-Equestrian Dressage Ground Jury in the main arena at the 2012 Olympic Games were deemed sound and fit to compete at Wednesday's Horse Inspection. The U.S. will be represented by two veteran riders and two rising stars, when competition begins Thursday with the Team Tests. A total of 15 teams and 19 individuals will be representing their countries. At the Horse Inspection 77 horses were...

With just 24 hours to go to the London 2012 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony, excitement and great expectations are building up in the Olympic venues dotted around the city whilst record ticket sales – over 2.2 million tickets sold – are already hailing this edition as the greatest ever. This will be the fifth time Para-Equestrian Dressage is on the programme but it is the first time it is held in a country with such a strong Para-Equestrian culture, so strong that since it became...

Lexington, KY - Many of the top reiners in the United States are headed to Tulsa, Oklahoma this week to take part in the Adequan/USEF National Open Reining Championship on August 31. The Championship class will be run as a CRI3* and held in conjunction with a CRI2* and CRI*, all held during the Ariat Tulsa Reining Classic. The Championship will feature a rematch between Shawn Flarida and Tom McCutcheon, who finished first and second respectively in April's Ariat Kentucky Cup CRI5*. The two...

Bridgehampton, NY - I nternational veteran Jeffery Welles of Pound Ridge, N.Y., ruled the Grand Prix Ring on Tuesday at the 37th Annual Hampton Classic. Welles won both the afternoon’s American Eurocopter $7,500 1.45m Open Jumper class and the fist section of the morning’s Newsday $7,500 1.40m Open Jumper class. Welles, 50, won the more difficult afternoon class on Merlin in a time of 61.80 seconds, defeating Darragh Kerins on S&L Farms’ S&L Zeppelin (62.06) and Shane...

Shane Sweetnam took the lead in the 2012 Hagyard Challenge Series during the $10,000 Hagyard Welcome Stake at the KHJA Horse Show. (Shawn McMillen Photography) Lexington, KY - It was a thrilling Welcome Stake for the final week of the Kentucky Summer Series, during the KHJA Horse Show. It was Shane Sweetnam who rode to the top of the standings for the 2012 Hagyard Challenge Series. Sweetnam's first place finish knocked Kaitlin Campbell into the second place position, with Reed Kessler...

Today was all about familarization. For me I had my second day in London and a second day navigating around. It was much more successful; I got to and from the venue with no wrong turns. That’s not to say that there weren’t delays and extended pauses where I questioned my next move but I never actually went the wrong way. Sometimes it’s all about the small victories! Once at the venue, I was greeted by extremely nice and helpful volunteers and military officials. Not enough...

Lexington, KY - The best young hunters in the country will meet on both coasts in the coming days to compete for the National Hunter Breeding Championship and regional titles at the 2012 Sallie B. Wheeler/US National Hunter Breeding Championships. Young horses on the West Coast will make their way to the Showpark All Seasons Summer Tournament in Del Mar, California on August 29 to compete against each other for the title of best in the West. Last year the winner from the West, Ooh Ah, was named...

Felix Vogg (FEI/Jean Morel) Switzerland’s Felix Vogg has won the FEI World Cup™ Eventing 2012 title. The 22-year-old finished the World Cup season on 86 points, level with Belgium’s Karin Donckers, but under the series rules, in the event of equality, the rider with the highest placing is declared the winner and Vogg’s second place finish in Strzegom (POL) has secured him the title and the winner’s cheque of €9,000. Felix Vogg competed at three World Cup...

Bridgehampton, NY - The Hampton Classic hosted the championship finals for the Long Island Horse Show Series for Riders with Disabilities on Monday, with riders in three divisions competing for year-end titles. In the advanced independent division, Todd Pritscher, 30, of Yaphank, N.Y., riding Robin Hood, won the championship over Joe Penzel, 19, of Huntington, N.Y., riding Diamond. In the beginner independent division, Tiffany Kahles, 18, of East Meadow, N.Y., riding Gryffindor, won the...

The tenth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder The development of Western Dressage as a discipline is very exciting to riders, trainers, breeders and exhibitors alike. North American Western Dressage is dedicated to finding common ground between the two disciplines, educating riders from all backgrounds, and to making dressage concepts accessible to western riders without minimizing the importance of the training pyramid nor sacrificing the principles that are fundamental to...