Cabana Boy and Grandioso are 2007 Markel/USEF National Young Horse Dressage Champions

Cabana Boy and Grandioso are 2007 Markel/USEF National Young Horse Dressage Champions
Hilltop Farm’s Cabana Boy, with Christopher Hickey aboard, and Grandioso, owned and ridden by Jason Canton, are this year’s Five-Year-Old and Six-Year-Old National Young Horse Dressage champions. Cabana Boy earned the Five-Year-Old championship title and Grandioso the Six-Year-Old title following Sunday’s finale class at the 2007 Markel/USEF National Young Horse Dressage Championships held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.
Hickey came with high expectations for the young Hanoverian gelding under his tutelage that had just returned from the 2007 World Championships for Young Dressage Horses in Verden, Germany. Canton came with no expectations. “I came here expecting nothing and just hoping for the best. My plan was to ride the horse as best I could,” Canton said. “I’ve always had a feeling he’s a very special horse and he proved it today.”
- copyright Lynndee Kemmet/Dressagedaily.com -

Find out more about horses for sale at Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German FN Certified Dressage and Jumping Coach (Reitlehrer - Trainer A)

Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050

thread - what to wear to dressage schooling show?

thread - what to wear to dressage schooling show?
We are considering going to a dressage schooling show in October.
It's supposedly a "BIG" schooling show, as in big deal. I wouldn't
know big from small. At least we have an English saddle... I don't
think they'd let us ride in our western saddles. ;-) We don't have
an English bridle though - do we need a cavesson? We already use
snaffle bits but on western headstalls.
The show premium says they go by USA Equestrian rules. It says polos
or boots are OK so I guess that means not required?
What if I don't want to cut, pull or braid manes? For a schooling
show does it matter?
Now for the humans... It says "English attire, formal or casual,
helmet and boots required". I don't care at all about being
fashionable, I just don't want to be disqualified. :-) So, can we
wear Ariat Terrains or are those not English enough? I assume we need
breeches - is tan OK or does it matter? Can we wear a tee shirt type
top? I mean, what actually constitutes casual English attire? ...

- copyright newsgroups.derkeiler.com -

Order your tack from Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German FN Certified Dressage and Jumping Coach (Reitlehrer - Trainer A)

Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050

Judging under scrutiny at Global Dressage Forum

Judging under scrutiny at Global Dressage Forum
Selected tests from the European Dressage Championships will be studied at the World Dressage Forum. Dressage tests from the recent European Championships will come under scrutiny at next month's Global Dressage Forum in The Netherlands, when FEI 'O' judge Stephen Clarke (GBR) leads an evaluation sesssion to explain the scores.
The Global Dressage Forum takes place from October 29-30 at Academy Bartels.Together with colleague Vincenzo Truppa (ITA) and Wim Ernes (NED), Clarke will explain the scores, and points of view will be discussed with the public present, among them top riders and trainers.The goal of this evaluation is to make the judges's score more transparent. The times that judges and riders did not discuss how exercises should be performed are over. The trend to explain the judges's views in public, which was also was promoted through the evaluations during the Global Dressage Forum, have contributed positively to this transparency...
- copyright Horsetalk -

Find out more about Ulla's qualifications. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German FN Certified Dressage and Jumping Coach (Reitlehrer - Trainer A)

Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050

How to Survive Your First Dressage Show

How to Survive Your First Dressage Show
How to Survive (and even enjoy!) Your First Dressage Show Drew Pilton

Even if you are the most confident, well-prepared of riders, your first dressage show can reduce you to nothing but a bundle of nerves. There is so much to remember, and we're not talking about just the test! Well, relax, we've got everything covered. By the end of this article, you'll be on your way to realizing your dressage goals in a relaxed, enjoyable manner.

A month before the show:

* Be mentally and physically prepared. Sounds obvious, but too often riders enter their first dressage show without asking themselves the following questions: Do I understand the objectives—rhythm, relaxation, and suppleness—of dressage? Can we ride the required movements in a controlled, accurate manner, and do we consistently do so at home? Does the horse have the ability to stay on task, and is he well-behaved?

* Don't focus on your nerves. If you wait to compete until you aren't nervous about it, you'll never compete. Even top-level dressage riders get nervous. Instead, realize that a healthy case of nerves can keep you focused on the task at hand.

* Read the AHSA rule book. Read it twice! Many riders are eliminated because they haven't taken the time to read the rule book and inadvertently break a rule. You've worked way too hard to let that happen!

* Begin to memorize the test. Know it front and back, inside and out. Walk the test on your own two feet, ride the test on your horse often, draw a diagram and trace it with your finger, and think about it in your head when you are driving and falling asleep. Know it in your sleep, because if you get in the ring and are nervous, it will be the first thing you forget.

* Arrange for someone to read for you. If you suffer from the type of nerves that empties your brain of everything you've learned since birth including, unfortunately, the dressage test you've memorized, then find a friend or family member who will read it to you.

* Get a good coach. Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. Ride with your instructor as often as you can afford to. Your coach will be able to gauge your position and your ability to use your aids correctly, which will have a direct and very important impact on your horse's progress...

- copyright pets-soul -

WORRIED ABOUT AN UPCOMING SHOW?LET ULLA HELP YOU. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German FN Certified Dressage and Jumping Coach (Reitlehrer - Trainer A)

Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050

Partnership; in dressage, horse and rider judged together as one unit

Partnership; in dressage, horse and rider judged together as one unit
It's all about the harmony. Pelham dressage rider Jennifer Horr hopes to reach the highest level in the sport. The young rider is aiming for the Grand Prix and the Canadian national team, and her success to a large extent depends on the harmony the 15-year-old has with Solero, a nine-year-old warmblood horse .... Each test is a seven-minute series of movement by horse and rider within a standard arena. Dressage judges record scores of zero to 10 on each movement. Horr says "they judge everything, including the rider's formal dress and horse's appearance as well as the movements they make together." But she says it doesn't make her nervous. "I guess I'm used to it."
- copyright WAYNE CAMPBELL /OSPREY -

Find out more about Ulla's recommended riding bra at Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center. If you have questions you can email Ulla Hudson, our German FN Certified Dressage and Jumping Coach (Reitlehrer - Trainer A)

Windsong Dressage and Equestrian Center
#733, Route 344, Cedar Grove, Edgewood, NM, 87015, USA
505-615-5050