Category Archives: Dressage

The Discipline of Riding Dressage

Diana de Rosa, Dressage, Equestrian Assistance, Products/Services

Healthy Horse Boutique Supports Haddad Staller in Her Olympic Quest

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A Portion of All August and September Purchases from Healthy Horse Boutique to Benefit World Class Dressage Rider

Carbondale, CO — July 21, 2011 — “My goal when starting Healthy Horse Boutique was to create a company that could ultimately support equestrians who are in need of help,” explained Marian Nilsen, owner of both Healthy Horse Boutique and Cookies with a Clue. With this goal in mind Nilsen is ready to kick off her Healthy Horse Boutique Rider Crusade with a campaign supporting 2006 and 2010 World Equestrian Games U.S. Team Dressage alternate and 2007 and 2010 World Cup Finalist, Catherine Haddad Staller.

Catherine is an American dressage rider presently stationed in Vechta, Germany.  She represents the United States in competitions throughout Europe at both national and international levels. With her Grand Prix horses — Maximus JSS, Cadillac and Winyamaro — she has accumulated over 80 top ten placings and wins at Grand Prix level. Since 1995, she has run a successful training and sales facility in Germany.

Catherine will travel to the United States at the beginning of August with her two Olympic contenders — Cadillac and Winyamaro — to spend two months training and showing on American soil.  “This is a preparation tour for me and my horses.  I hope to pick up some good qualifying scores at the CDI-Ws for both the World Cup and our Olympic Selection Trials,” explained Catherine, who plans to compete in the two Saugerties CDI-Ws and at Devon where she won the World Cup qualifier last year with Winyamaro.

Continue reading Healthy Horse Boutique Supports Haddad Staller in Her Olympic Quest →

Dressage, Events, JRPR, Products/Services

A One-Stop Dressage Specialist Shop – The Horse of Course Supports the Sport, of Course!

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The Horse of Course, Inc. tack store is highly regarded as a one-stop dressage specialist shop. Here Beth Haist presents the trophy to Arlene Page with the Raleigh Show staff. (Photo courtesy of WNCPhoto.com)

Claremore, OK (July 21, 2011) – In keeping with their tradition of paying it forward, The Horse of Course, Inc., one of the nation’s premier tack shops specializing in dressage tack, clothing and supplies, is increasing their sponsorship and support of dressage shows and events throughout the country.

Following an active season in Florida, The Horse of Course headed north with a stop at the Raleigh CDI where the store supported the CDI as a Bronze Sponsor. From North Carolina, Horse of Course continued on to the Kentucky Dressage Association CDI hosted at the Kentucky Horse Park.  The Kentucky Horse Park is also home to the United States Dressage Federation (USDF), another organization that Horse of Course has supported for many years and plans are in the works to expand their participation with USDF in 2012.

Fall will find the Horse of Course continuing the northern trek with plans to attend the USEF National Dressage Championships at Gladstone, The Dressage at Devon CDI, Saugerties, and New England Dressage Association’s show just to name a few.  This will be Horse of Course’s first year at Devon and they are coming on board as Bronze Sponsors.  Horse of Course is also jumping in as a new sponsor at Saugerties.

“I love the tradition and the fashion statement of the jog, so The Horse of Course will be sponsoring the jog at Saugerties and at Dressage at Devon,” said Beth Haist, CEO of The Horse of Course. “We will have our mobile show trailer at all of the shows except for Devon, where we will be set up in booth 52.”

Continue reading A One-Stop Dressage Specialist Shop – The Horse of Course Supports the Sport, of Course! →

Competitions, Dressage, Driving, Events, FEI, JRPR

Top American Four-In-Hand Driver Chester Weber Puts In Brilliant Performance at 2011 CHIO Aachen and Ties for First in FEI World Cup Standings

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Chester Weber, with the new additions of Uniek and Splash owned by Jane Clark, put in a brilliant performance at the 2011 World Equestrian Festival CHIO at Aachen. (Photo courtesy of Franz Steindl)

Aachen, Germany (June 20, 2011) – American Four-In-Hand Combined Driver Chester Weber put in a brilliant performance at the 2011 World Equestrian Festival CHIO Aachen, earning the highest results of his career at Aachen with a win in Dressage and finishing in the third place in the individual standings. Weber, the eight-time USEF National Four-In-Hand Combined Driving Champion, is now tied for first place in the standings for the FEI World Cup qualifications after 9 of 14 competitions.

Following his victory at the prestigious CHIO Aachen, Weber, the 2008 World Champion silver medalist, wrote on his Facebook page to thank and update his many fans in the United States. “Thanks to everyone for the support. We had our best results at Aachen ever. One first, two seconds, one fifth and one seventh place finish. In the combination we ended third!”

Weber, who competed as an individual for the United States, made headlines across the globe during his second dressage test, when he piloted Para, Senate and Jane Clark’s Splash and Uniek to a first place victory with a total score of 34.69. Exell earned a 37.12 in the second dressage test to place second. While Weber had two canter mistakes in the dressage test, he kept his cool and persevered to win. “When I made the mistakes I said to myself ‘bring them back and just go again’ and it went well from there,” he said.

During his winning dressage test, Weber scored an impressive 193, 203, 194, 196 and 193 from the judges. His dressage score helped him win the Prize of Martello Immobilienmanagement GmbH & Co. KG. “This was the first time I scored under 40 penalty points with my two new leader horses and I am very pleased with that,” Weber said. Ed Young, the United States Driving Chef d’Equipe, said Weber drove a wonderful test and described it as “beautiful.”

Continue reading Top American Four-In-Hand Driver Chester Weber Puts In Brilliant Performance at 2011 CHIO Aachen and Ties for First in FEI World Cup Standings →

Competitions, Dressage, Events, FEI, FEI

FEI Balkan Dressage Championships 2011, Istanbul (TUR)

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DOUBLE-GOLD FOR GREECE AND TURKEY, BUT ROMANIA’S ALEXANDRESCU SECURES SENIOR TITLE by Louise Parkes

Alexandra Alexopoulou from Greece claimed Young Rider Individual Gold at the FEI Balkan Dressage Championships 2011 in Istanbul (TUR) riding Marco Polo.

Lausanne (SUI), 20 JULY 2011 – Turkish riders claimed team and individual gold in the Children’s division while Greece dominated both the Junior and Young Rider Individual finals at the recent FEI Balkan Dressage Championships, Romania took the Senior title when Selina Alexandrescu and Merkur Siker Casino reigned supreme.

This year the fixture returned to Istanbul in Turkey where the very first Balkan Championships took place in 1968.  The 2011 venue was the Istanbul Equestrian Club at Maslak, and riders from four countries – Greece, Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria – participated at the event.

TWO-WAY CONTEST
Only one team championship took place, and it was the Turkish foursome of Lina Uzunhasan (Sjonnie), Ekin Karahan (Adamo), Ella Irene Gurso (Zinnia) and Karla Yona Nahmias (Ubaldi) who clinched the gold in a two-way contest with their neighbours from Greece.  It was a close-fought affair however, with just over three marks separating the two sides at the end of the competition in which the test produced by Turkey’s Nahmias and Ubaldi proved pivotal. The scores from judges Alla Soubbotina, Irmeli Summanen, Bo Jena, Maja Stukelj and Victoire Mandl gave Nahmias a mark of 71.483 which tipped the odds in favour of the Turkish side.

Nahmias had to settle for runner-up spot in the Preliminary Competition in which team-mate Lina Uzunhasan and Sjonnie came out on top.  But in the Individual Final the situation was reversed, with Uzunhasan taking silver with a score of 67.321 while Nahmias, now really into her stride, registered 72.036 to top the medal podium.  Bronze went to Kyveli Tzortzaki (Ombox Yamma Yamma Man), who, together with Vasiliki Valtairou (Chiron), Konstantina Katsiti (Gelo Notturon) and Isabella-Nina Ravini (Guinness) was a member of the silver-medal-winning Greek team.

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Disciplines, Dressage, Jane Savoie, Training/Clinics

Motivation from Moshi 71, by Jane Savoie

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Winning. What does that feel like to you? For me, I’ve “won” when I feel that flow through my body and everything comes together. I find it easy to feel flow when I’m cantering. I have a “winning” canter. It’s my favorite gait. When Jane was first teaching me tempi changes, I lost that sense of flow until I had the muscle memory of changing leads whenever she asked. Once I got that muscle memory, the changes became easy and flow returned. I felt like I’d “won.”

Winning doesn’t have to be about blue ribbons. If you’ve been away from riding for a while, you may feel like you’ve won if you simply get out to the barn and get on your horse for ten minutes. Walking around may be as far as you want to go today. If you’re a serious competitor, you may have that sense of a w in by perfecting that challenging movement. If you’re a teacher, you may feel like you’ve “won” when your student ends the lesson with a smile.

There are many ways to find that sense of a Win. The key is simply to look for it. And when you do, remind yourself to pay attention to how it feels. Then you can consciously create it again and again. It’s being in that positive space that creates even more success.

What could you do today that would make you feel like a success? I’m going to perform perfect pirouettes today, both directions. That gives me a terrific successful feeling!

Continue reading Motivation from Moshi 71, by Jane Savoie →

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Dressage, Eventing/H.T., Events, FEI, FEI

Tseliapushkina in the Driving Seat, but Faminou Moves to Third in FEI World Cup Rankings

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Alena Tseliapushkina (BLR) on her 2008 Beijing Olympic horse, Passat, puts her stamp on the fifth leg of FEI World Cup Eventing 2011 in Minsk.

Lausanne (SUI), 18 July 2011 – Alena Tseliapushkina (BLR) led from the start to put her stamp on the fifth leg of the FEI World Cup Eventing held on her home ground at Minsk (BLR).

Riding her 2008 Beijing Olympic horse, Passat, she scored the only sub-50 Dressage mark and added just 1.6 time penalties across the country to finish ahead of Russian rider Mykhailo Nastenko on Coolroy Pit.

In what Technical Delegate Andy Griffiths (GBR) described as a first-class event, attended by the Belarusian Minister for Sport, there was an impressive 30 starters from Russia and Belarus. A total of 23 finished the Cross Country, with 15 of those clear over the fences and three also inside the time. Twenty-three horses completed the competition, which was televised.

Runner-up Nastenko also gained useful extra points with an eighth place, but it was Aliaksandr Faminou (BLR) who made the biggest impact on the FEI World Cup Eventing rankings by shooting into third in the standings when scooping fourth, sixth and seventh placings.

New Zealander Clarke Johnstone is still way out in front in the rankings, having won the first two events of the season. He is now based in Britain, from where he can easily compete at the next leg in Malmö (SWE) on 05-07 August 2011 and the final event at Haras du Pin (FRA) on 18-21 August to secure his pole position.

Continue reading Tseliapushkina in the Driving Seat, but Faminou Moves to Third in FEI World Cup Rankings →

Competitions, Dressage, Driving, Events, Jennifer Wood, Show Jumping, USEF

Peters and Ravel Take Second in Grand Prix Freestyle; Ward and Rothchild Win Yageo Prize at Aachen CHIO

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Steffen Peters and Ravel Sunday at CHIO Aachen. Photo: Ken Braddick/ dressage-news.com.

Aachen, Germany – Team USA wrapped up the 2011 World Equestrian Festival CHIO in Aachen, Germany, with more strong performances, including a second-place finish for Steffen Peters and Ravel in the Grand Prix Freestyle CDIO and a win for show jumper McLain Ward on Rothchild.

Peters and Ravel, owned by Akiko Yamazki and Four Winds Farm, stepped up their game today and gave the best dressage horse in the world a run for his money in the Grand Prix Freestyle CDIO for the Deutsche Bank Prize.

The judges gave Ravel and Peters technical scores of 77.25, 77.00, 80.50, 80.50, and 76.75, along with artistic scores of 86.00, 83.00, 83.00, 89.00, and 87.00 for an overall 82.000% – just .825% off the winning score set by Matthias Rath of Germany and Totilas.

According to Dressage-news.com, Peters said, “It felt fantastic. I’m still searching for words to describe it. The icing on the cake was the reaction of the crowd. That was a huge honor. I finished fifth in the Grand Prix and the Special, so to come within fractions of Totilas and Parzival in the freestyle is amazing.”

Continue reading Peters and Ravel Take Second in Grand Prix Freestyle; Ward and Rothchild Win Yageo Prize at Aachen CHIO →

Competitions, Dressage, Driving, Events, Jennifer Wood, Show Jumping, USEF

Laura Kraut Victorious in Sparkassen-Youngsters Cup, Steffen Peters Continues to Win, and Chester Weber Drives to Third Overall at CHIO Aachen

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Laura Kraut on Teirra during the Warsteiner jumping competition at 2011 CHIO Aachen. Photo by Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images.

Aachen, Germany – Another American victory came Saturday at the World Equestrian Festival CHIO in Aachen, Germany. Show jumper Laura Kraut rode Woodstock O, owned by Joan Kalman and The Freedom Group, to the win in the Sparkassen-Youngsters Cup. They were also awarded with the overall special prize for the best rider/horse of the three Youngsters Cup competitions.

Kraut and Woodstock O have consistently been in the ribbons this week in the Youngsters Cup, with clear rounds in the previous two speed classes. “I don’t think he rubbed a fence the whole time. I didn’t go fast the first two days, even though they were speed classes, because it doesn’t really matter. The goal is to qualify for the final and save yourself for the last class,” Kraut explained.

They did just that, as Woodstock O, an 8-year-old KWPN gelding, was clear through two rounds today and the fastest in the jump-off to take home the top prize over Philipp Weishaupt (GER) on Urmel 86 and Lars Nieberg (GER) with Coco Mademoiselle.

Kraut said, “We jumped the first round at 9:15 this morning and we didn’t have the jump-off until 2:15 in the afternoon. This morning he was actually quite fresh and strong. He was sort of a handful to ride around, but he jumped brilliantly. By the afternoon, he settled down and he was so good in the jump-off. It was his type of course with a lot of galloping. Even though he’s small, his stride is very big. He did everything he was supposed to do.”

Continue reading Laura Kraut Victorious in Sparkassen-Youngsters Cup, Steffen Peters Continues to Win, and Chester Weber Drives to Third Overall at CHIO Aachen →

Competitions, Dressage, Driving, Events, Jennifer Wood, Show Jumping, USEF

Chester Weber and Four-In-Hand Team Capture First Place in Driving Phase at Aachen CHIO

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Aachen, Germany – Team USA notched another win today at the World Equestrian Festival CHIO in Aachen, Germany. Chester Weber and his four-in-hand team won the second dressage test in driving.

Weber handled the reins of Jane Clark’s team – Para, Senate, Splash, and Uniek – in the dressage test, which was a rating competition for team classification. Weber competed as an individual for the United States, and he was given scores of 193, 203, 194, 196, and 193 from the judges. He and his team received a total score of 34.69 for victory and the Prize of Martello Immobilienmanagement GmbH & Co. KG.

“It was spectacular,” said Ed Young, U.S. Driving Chef d’Equipe. “He drove a wonderful test. It really was flawless, and it went beautifully.”

Weber will compete tomorrow in the obstacles phase.

Continue reading Chester Weber and Four-In-Hand Team Capture First Place in Driving Phase at Aachen CHIO →

Competitions, Dressage, Events

It’s Full Speed Ahead at Dressage at Devon

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Devon, PA (July 15, 2011) – The year-long planning is coming together for Dressage at Devon (www.dressageatdevon.com) taking place September 27 – October 2, 2011 at the Devon Horse Show grounds (http://www.thedevonhorseshow.org/).

The prize list is now available at http://dressageatdevon.org/cms/2011pdf/2011DADPrizeList.pdf.  The closing date is August 18.  A list of local accommodations is also available on the site.

For riders (and their horses) new footing has been added to the Gold Ring, matching it to the high standards set last year in the Dixon Oval.

And this year, Dressage with the Experts, a favorite among exhibitors and spectators alike will include commentary from Sara Schmitt, Kem Barbosa, Natalie Lamping, Kathy Connelly, and Johanna Gwinn as well as interviews with dressage professionals.  This list promises to grow between now and the show dates.  This is, of course, in addition to the educational forums that have always been a mainstay of the show.

Continue reading It’s Full Speed Ahead at Dressage at Devon →