Walking up the steps from the mixed zone to the athlete seating takes 20 seconds. I have done it 29 times, after each ride. 29 times without a medal. Each time - the climb becomes more painful. We are trying, we are working, we are willing - we just aren’t winning. It is immensely frustrating. Our horses look great, our riders are well-coached, you can feel and hear their frustration when they make mistakes. My heart breaks for them when they don’t make mistakes and their best still...

The Kentucky Horse Park Welcomes Pint-sized Mounts to a Fierce Competition Tomorrow begins the Green Pony Hunters Over Fences, Medium Ponies Compete in the Under Saddle Phase Lexington, KY – August 7, 2012 – The Walnut Ring was alive with families and friends supporting young competitors and their pony mounts, as the 2012 US Pony Finals and the US Hunter Pony Championships presented by Sallee Horse Vans got underway with its first day at the Kentucky Horse Park. Today, the top...

Steffen Peters and Ravel (Shannon Brinkman) Greenwich, UK - It was an historic day at Greenwich Park. Less than 24 hours after the British Show Jumping Team won it's first Olympic Team Gold medal in 60 years, the British Dressage Team won it's first Olympic medal ever, and it was Gold. They finished on a score of 79.979 to win Gold over Germany. The Netherlands won Bronze.The U.S. Dressage Team made a valiant run at a Team medal at Greenwich Park with some strong performances, but it...

Lexington, KY - More than 500 of the very best ponies in the U.S. are in Lexington, Kentucky right now to compete at the 2012 US Pony Finals. Starting Tuesday they will be ridden into competition at the Kentucky Horse Park by youth riders from around the country. Over the next six days riders will take aim at the US Hunter Pony Championships presented by Sallee Horse Vans in Small, Medium, and Large Regular Hunter and Green Hunter sections and at an overall Regular and Green Hunter championship....

The eighth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder Western Dressage is a big up and coming equestrian discipline right now. I believe this is the right time for the sport to emerge as a reality and the interest level proves that the idea has been around for a long time. When I started talking to everyone about it, I was surprised! In our area, a Western Dressage Facebook page was started and we had 130 members within about 2 days! That was so important because it showed how much...

The Dressage Foundation's Continuing Education for Dressage Instructors Fund, established by Maryal Barnett, has awarded grants to five individuals to attend the United States Dressage Federation's Instructor Certification Program. Kalli Bowles (CA), Megan Dischler (WI), Heather McCullough (NC), Colleen Reid (CA) and Alejandro Salazar (CA) each received a $1,250 grant to further their education as instructors. "The Grant Selection Committee felt that these applicants were well...

Greenwich, UK - Hard luck continued for the U.S. Olympic Show Jumping Team as they rallied for a sixth place finish in the Team Championship at Greenwich Park. American anchor rider Rich Fellers said "Clear rounds win medals" and today that proved true as Great Britain won Team Gold for the first time since 1952. They did it in classic style in front of a home crowd of 20,000 fans, jumping off with Holland for the Gold medal. It was a masterful effort by the home team. Saudi Arabia won Bronze....

Mary McCormick, winner of the Gold Individual Female Championships (Lynne Owens/VaultingPhotos.com) Lexington, KY - Top vaulters from throughout the U.S. flocked to the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park to stake their claim on 2012 USEF/AVA National Vaulting Championship honors, August 2-5, 2012. A total of 10 national titles were on the line, as Gold, Silver and Bronze sections were held in Individual Female and Male Championships. Additionally, National Championship competition was...

Verden, Germany - Competition came to a close at the FEI World Dressage Championships for Young Horses in Verden, Germany with the final championship tests. The lone entry to compete for the United States on Sunday was Jennifer Hoffman and Florentinus V, competing in the six-year-old championship. In Sunday's International Final, the Prize of Privatbrauerei Wittingen, the pair finished a valiant 13th after a long week of competition. In Friday's Prize of Mrs. Madeleine Winter-Schulze, a...

Leigh Cofer and Breaking News made headlines with their NAL/WIHS Adult Hunter Classic victory at the Kentucky Summer Classic. (Ashley N. Williams/PMG) Lexington, KY - August 5, 2012 -It was the championship day for the Adult Amateur Divisions at the Kentucky Summer Classic. Riders and their top mounts approached the Stonelea Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park for the final day of the show, examining the courses as they prepared. The Adult Amateurs did not disappoint as they vied for the top...