Texans are tough. As Hurricane Harvey’s floodwaters receded, the Houston Dressage Society (HDS) knew the show must go on and handily hosted the 2017 Great American Insurance Group/USDF Regional 9 Championships at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center in Katy, Texas, just weeks after the storm left a path of destruction. Competitors passed around stories of survival just…
Checking out the competition and settling in were the order of the day at Haras dos Cavaleiros as horses and riders prepared for the start of the Third Annual Haras Cup in Magnolia, Texas. The Haras Cup is the premier Working Equitation competition in North America and, with about $100,000 in prizes at stake,…
Pulling a horse through colic surgery is difficult enough, but when a 26-year-old gelding with Cushing’s Disease is the patient, it takes a talented surgeon and a dedicated nursing staff to have him back home 10 days later. The patient, Aladdin, and his best buddy, Whiskey, were left in the care of family while…
Any dressage rider would be nervous going down centerline with a new horse and Charlotte Merle-Smith is no exception. She’s owned her 10-year-old Westphalian gelding Firewalker (Fidermark-Weinbotin, Weinberg) since November 1, but each day during the Jan. 22-24 show held at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival showgrounds in Wellington, Florida, her scores improved as she…
It’s hot. Really hot. It’s Mississippi in August hot. I lived in Dallas where summer temps easily break the 100 degree mark, but the humidity there doesn’t rival Mississippi’s. Emails, TV and radio remind me to stay indoors, wear light-colored clothing (if I must go outside) and to stay hydrated. But, I just can’t help…
JJ Tate must be one of the hardest working people in dressage. The Grand Prix rider based out of her own farm in Landrum, South Carolina, in the summer and Yellowbird Farm in Wellington, Florida, in the winter is a whirlwind of energy. She has trained 14 horses to the FEI-level, gone down centerline in…