Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation and Georgetown College are excited to announce a long term strategic partnership that will combine the academic and facility resources available at Georgetown College with the membership of the largest multi-breed and discipline organization in the United States. To kick off the partnership, Georgetown College will offer USEF members, employees and their children an opportunity to receive a $10,000 annual scholarship upon admittance as a...

Misdee Wrigley Miller and Grande (Brooke Jacobs with Jacobs Photography_ Lexington, KY - The audience cheered as the first American Saddlebreds, since 1999 competed at the 129th Edition of the Alltech National Horse Show at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. The breed, known as "the horse that America made," had been a fixture at the National Horse Show since the late 1800's but after the 1999 the Saddlebred performance classes had disappeared from the show. It is only natural that...

AMHA Youth of the Year Ellery Walker (Howard Schatzberg) Shelburne, VT - The 2012 American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA) Youth of the Year Contest took place at this year's Grand National & World Championship Morgan Horse Show®, held October 6-13 at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma City. It is with great enthusiasm that AMHA honors Ellery Walker of Marshall, Michigan, as its 2012 Youth of the Year winner, and Rebecca Jones of Efland, North Carolina, as the reserve...

54th Annual Washington International Horse Show Hosts Opening Day with Professional and Amateur-Owner Hunters Washington, D.C. – The 54th Annual Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) hosted its opening day on Tuesday, October 23, with a full day of hunter competition at Verizon Center in downtown Washington, D.C. The professional and amateur-owner riders showed throughout the day in the first classes of their divisions and conclude their competition for championship honors on...

The eighteenth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder The latest addition to the Western Dressage information network is a new Facebook page dedicated exclusively to calendar events around the nation. The new page is called, appropriately, “Western Dressage Shows & Events” and is maintained by Vaquero Training Center in Connecticut. The page is designed to keep Western Dressage enthusiasts informed about what is going on all over the country. It is a brand new FB...

Emily Chapman is an 18-year-old from Tucson, Arizona who will be attending the University of Kentucky in the Spring of 2013. She is a member of the three-gaited section of the 2012 U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup Team. There is a misconception that equitation is easy, and that the riders who show in this division simply “sit pretty” on a horse. So people often ask why I chose to compete in the equitation division over other divisions. Well, because one of the primary goals of equitation...

Suzy Stafford at the 2011 FEI World Driving Championships for Combined Ponies. (Marie de Ronde) Lexington, KY - Suzy Stafford (Wilmington, DE) represented the U.S. at the 2011 FEI World Driving Championships for Combined Ponies in Lipica, Slovenia held September 21-25, 2011. She drove her Morgan-Arabian Cross mare Josephine to an impressive finish in the cones phase and was awarded the Bronze medal in the Singles Pony Championship. Stafford has been notified by the FEI that the Swedish single...

Jenny Taylor and the 2012 World Champion Park Saddle, PLS High Pine Picasso (© Stephen Kinney/AMHA) Oklahoma City, OK - David and Cindy Vogels had a lot to celebrate Sunday evening when their homebred AMHF I've Got A Secret won both the World Champion Senior Gelding and World Champion Gelding honors with trainer Robert Kellert. The two-year-old FRF Supreme Judge was the World Champion Junior Gelding with John Hufferd showing for Fire Run Farm. In a switch, the World Champion Junior Mare,...

Boekelo, The Netherlands- The Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team stands eighth in FEI Nations Cup competition as they head into Saturday’s cross country at the Military Boekelo CCIO3*. The final two members of the Nations Cup team, Jennie Brannigan and Jon Holling, performed their dressage today in front of the Ground Jury of Sue Stewart, Eric Lieby, and Helen Christie. All riders on Friday had to contend with heavy rain throughout the day but the weather didn’t deter Holling (Ocala, FL)...

The sixteenth in a series of guest blog posts from Michelle Binder In an attempt to acknowledge the current diversity within the discipline, show organizers have started offering exhibitors the opportunity to ride ANY test they want to ride, from any organization that has published tests. A buffet of western dressage is now available with something for everyone. The show organizers want to meet the needs of the competitors and in so doing really have taken the first step toward acceptance and...