Category Archives: Dressage

The Discipline of Riding Dressage

Awards, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Dressage, Eventing/H.T., Events, Kentucky Three-Day, Phelps Media Group, Show Jumping

USET Foundation Presents Pinnacle Cup to Sinead Halpin

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Sinead Halpin was awarded the USET Foundation's Pinnacle Cup Trophy as the highest placed American rider at the 2011 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI****. Photo © 2011 Amy Dragoo.

Lexington, KY – May 19, 2011 – The USET Foundation is pleased to announce that this year’s recipient of the Pinnacle Cup Trophy at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI**** is Sinead Halpin of Gladstone, NJ. Halpin rode Manoir de Carneville to a third place finish at the top event and was the highest placed American rider, which earned her the trophy.

Manoir de Carneville is owned by Carrig, LLC. This was his first CCI****, and the 11-year-old Selle Francais gelding showcased his skills in all three phases. They finished the difficult competition with a score of 53.1 after incurring just 4.4 time faults in the cross-country phase.

This was also Halpin’s first time competing at a CCI**** and she was thrilled with her mount’s performance. “He’s very good in all three phases, which is rare,” she explained. “I don’t think there is one that he excels at more than the others, he’s great across the page. He has an unusual jumping style, but he’s got the heart and the brains, and he’s very physically athletic. At Rolex he felt great; it didn’t feel like it was a push for him.”

Continue reading USET Foundation Presents Pinnacle Cup to Sinead Halpin →

Championships, Competitions, Dressage, Events, FEI, FEI, USEF

2011 Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Selection Trials Set to Get Underway in Illinois

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Lexington, KY – The prestigious Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Program kicks off this Friday at Dressage at Lamplight in Wayne, IL, with the first of three regional Selection Trials aimed at selecting the U.S. representatives for the 2011 FEI World Breeding Championships held in Verden, Germany, August 3-7, 2011.

The three selection trials include Dressage at Lamplight in Wayne, IL, May 20-22; Dressage at Flintridge in La Canada-Flintridge, CA, May 26-29; and VADA/NOVA Summer Dressage in Leesburg, VA, June 3-5.

In order to qualify for the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Short List, horses must have earned an overall score of 8.2 or better at one of the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Selection Trials or via international competitions.

The 2010 winners included: Central Champion Six-Year-Old GP Super Crusador, owned by Grand Prix Equestrian and ridden by Kassandra Barteau; Central Champion Five-Year-Old WakeUp, owned and ridden by Emily Wagner; Western Champion Six-Year-Old Selten HW, owned and ridden by Elizabeth Ball; Western Champion Five-Year-Old Bellino, owned and ridden by Mark Carter; Eastern Champion Six-Year-Old De Facto, owned by Martha Singh and ridden by Christopher Schruefer; Eastern Champion Five-Year-Old Suntreader, owned by Pamela Erdman and ridden by Inga Janke.

For more information about the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Program, please visit http://www.usef.org/_IFrames/breedsdisciplines/discipline/alldressage/NatlYHProgram.aspx or contact Jeannie Blancq, USEF National Director of Dressage at jblancq@usef.org.

Disciplines, Dressage, Jane Savoie, Training/Clinics

Motivation from Moshi 62, by Jane Savoie

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Today is the day! Right now, this moment, is the point where you can change everything you’d like to change. Right now! You have the ability, you have the power, you just have to make the decision.

What would you like to do/be/experience? Are you ready to commit? If so, now is the time! You can do it! Just set the goal and then plan the steps you need to take to get there. If you don’t know the steps, find a mentor who can help you. Find someone who’s where you want to be, and ask them to help you make a plan. Then, one step at a time, follow the plan.

Horses live in the moment. We don’t really plan ahead. Living NOW gives us an advantage in that we don’t carry a lot of grudges or baggage. Sure, we can get programmed to respond with fear at something that’s hurt or scared us in the past, but we don’t wallow in the memory. We just react. Because of this, we can be re-programmed to react in a different way. Humans can do this too! But, with people it takes a conscious decision to let go of the past and move on to a new way of being.

You can’t move forward if you cling to the past. It’s like the old saying, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.” You have to let go of where you are, to get where you’d rather be.

Continue reading Motivation from Moshi 62, by Jane Savoie →

Competitions, Dressage, Events, Pan American Games, USEF

USEF Announces Dates and Location for 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions

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Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has announced the dates and location for the 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions which will also serve as the USEF Selection Trials for the US Dressage Team for the 2011 Pan American Games.

The competition will be held over four days, September 8-11, 2011, at the USET Foundation Headquarters in Gladstone, NJ.

The best horse/rider combinations in the following divisions will vie for national dressage championships: Grand Prix, Intermediaire I, Young Adult ‘Brentina Cup,’ Young Rider and Junior. For the first time in 2011, a National Pony Dressage Championship will also be run.

The Intermediaire I National Championship will also serve as the USEF Selection Trial for the US Dressage Team for the 2011 Pan American Games.

The Pan American Games will run in Guadalajara, Mexico in October, the U.S. Dressage Team will be looking to repeat their Gold medal effort from 2007.

Continue reading USEF Announces Dates and Location for 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions →

Community/Charity, Dressage, JRPR, Products/Services, Publications/Media, USDF

Premier Equestrian and the United States Dressage Federation Now Offering “On the Levels” DVD for New Tests

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FEI “O” judge Gary Rockwell gives the judge’s perspective, scoring each movement of each test and giving a final score, on the new “On the Levels” DVD series produced by Premier Equestrian and the USDF. (Photo courtesy of Premier Equestrian)

Sandy, UT (May 17, 2011) – Dressage riders seeking to learn and study the 2011 USDF dressage tests can now do so with a new and updated DVD edition of “On the Levels.” Produced by Premier Equestrian, a leading supplier of dressage arenas, horse jumps, arena footing and stable accessories, and the USDF, the new versions of the tests became effective December 1, 2010.

“The DVD includes the USDF Introductory through USEF Fourth Level Test 3. The three hours of test video features elements of both training and judging and allows the viewer to see and hear how each of the newly designed dressage tests should be ridden,” said Heidi Zorn, President of Premier. “And of course being able to watch and learn from the comfort of your own home is great. Or a group of riders can get together in a clinic setting and watch and learn as a group.”

The “On the Levels” DVD features FEI judges Lilo Fore and Gary Rockwell. Fore is a well-known dressage trainer and FEI “I” judge from California and throughout the DVD Fore comments on each ride and gives a trainer’s perspective on how to successfully ride each test. Rockwell, who lives in Florida and is one of only three U.S. FEI “O” judges, gives the judge’s perspective, scoring each movement of each test and giving a final score.

Continue reading Premier Equestrian and the United States Dressage Federation Now Offering “On the Levels” DVD for New Tests →

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

Baldwin in the Driving Seat in FEI World Cup Eventing at Chatsworth

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Emily Baldwin (GBR) celebrates victory at Chatsworth (GBR), the third leg of FEI World Cup Eventing 2011, with by Michel Asseray (FRA). Photo: FEI/Fiona Scott-Maxwell.

Lausanne (SUI), 16 May 2011 – British riders got their chance to make an impression on the FEI World Cup Eventing 2011 leaderboard when, at the third leg, Emily Baldwin (GBR) spearheaded a one-two-three for the home side at Chatsworth (GBR).

Baldwin and the Dutch-bred Drivetime have a reputation as CIC3* specialists and won the FEI World Cup event at Haras du Pin (FRA) last year, a competition that Baldwin has signalled she will be returning to in August in her quest for further points.

Victory at Chatsworth was compensation for an unfortunate Badminton, when the pair stopped at the lake. As a result, Baldwin was seen riding strongly into Chatsworth’s imposing water fences.

“I’m relieved,” she smiled afterwards. “Drivetime has redeemed himself. He jumped into the second water, which was bigger than Badminton, absolutely fine, and his dressage and jumping were really good, so I’m pleased with him.”

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Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, Media/Radio/TV Sources, Training/Clinics

Dressage Radio Episode 103 – Training Topics with Heather Blitz

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Heather Blitz discusses common training issues with Hannah Michaels and also offers a little known Tip of the Week. Take a listen right here.

Dressage Radio Episode 103 – Show Notes and Links:

_______________________________________________

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Championships, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, Driving, Endurance Riding, Eventing/H.T., Events, FEI, Para-Equestrian, Show Jumping, Vaulting

Elections and Allocation of FEI Championships and Finals

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Lausanne (SUI), 10 May 2011 – Carmen Barrera (ESA) and Roberto Luiz Giugni (BRA) were elected chairs of regional groups V and VI respectively by the FEI Extraordinary General Assembly which was held on 6 May 2011 in Lausanne (SUI).

The following FEI Championships and Finals were allocated by the FEI Bureau during its meeting on 5 May:

2012

JUMPING

FEI European Jumping Championships for Young Riders, Juniors and Children, Ebreichsdorf-Magna Racino (AUT), August (exact dates TBC)

DRESSAGE

FEI European Dressage Championships for Young Riders and Juniors, Bern (SUI), 8-15 July

Continue reading Elections and Allocation of FEI Championships and Finals →

Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, Jane Savoie, Training/Clinics

Motivation from Moshi 61, by Jane Savoie

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“Aha!” I love those moments. Don’t you? When you suddenly GET IT? It’s such a rush when everything comes together and really works for the first time.

How do you create more “Aha Moments”? When Jane is riding me, they come when both sides of my brain kick in, along with the muscle memory of the new movement. And that comes with both intellectual understanding and physical practice. It happens when the left side of my brain, where logic and linear thought resides; meshes with the right side, where emotion and artistry lives, and then shows up in my physical body as the execution of perfect movement. My whole being responds to everything coming together with an exciting and satisfying “Aha!”

Learning to ride well doesn’t take good luck or exceptional talent. As the cowboys say, it just takes wet saddle blankets. In our case, it’s wet dressage pads. I learn something from Jane every time she rides me. And she learns from me too. Sometimes our progress is imperceptible, and sometimes it comes in huge Aha’s. But we only have forward progress when we actually put what we’ve intellectually learned into physical practice. And that takes commitment and work.

Continue reading Motivation from Moshi 61, by Jane Savoie →

Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, Events, USEF

Application of Intent Deadlines for the 2011 Pan American Games Selection Trials/USEF National Intermediaire I Dressage Championships

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Lexington, KY – Dressage riders who want to compete in the 2011 Pan American Games Selection Trials/USEF National Intermediaire I Dressage Championships must submit an Application of Intent and all required attachments to the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) on or before May 13, 2011, along with an application fee of $50 per horse. Applications received on or before June 1, 2011, must be accompanied by an application fee of $300 per horse. No applications will be accepted after June 1, 2011.

The Application of Intent, required attachments and complete Selection Procedures can be found here: http://www.usef.org/_IFrames/breedsdisciplines/discipline/alldressage/2011PanAmGames.aspx.