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Here you can find our archive of stories from Equestrian Weekly, our once-a-week look at affiliate news, international competition, amateur profiles, horse care tips, and more. You’ll also find stories from the USEF Insider, a twice-monthly email newsletter packed with features about USEF people and programs, including our drugs and medications program, regulations, and competitions departments.

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Warrior Horses Raise Spirits and Funds to Treat Pediatric Cancer

by Glenye Cain Oakford | December 25, 2018

Ryan Melendez knows a lot about the comfort and strength people derive from their connection with horses. Ryan Melendez (right) with a Warrior Kid meeting her Warrior Horse (Courtesy of Warrior Horses) Ryan, the son of judge and trainer Bill Melendez and rider Kristal Raiger, grew up riding and showing Arabian horses . After he was diagnosed with Very High Risk Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in 2015 at age 17, the younger Melendez found that the equestrians and horses in his life supported him

Double the Joy: Caudill Finds Success in both Dressage and Western Dressage

by Glenye Cain Oakford | December 18, 2018

For Andrea Caudill, the road to better horsemanship so far has wound through four disciplines. Caudill, who grew up in Rochester, Minn., started riding in an English saddle at age seven. By age 14, after she got her first horse and joined 4-H, she had switched to Western tack and later competed in reining . Since moving to Amarillo, Texas, where she works as an editor for the American Quarter Horse Association’s AQHA Media, Caudill has shown to a high level in both dressage and Western

All Ears: Caring for Your Horse’s Ears

by Margaret Buranen | December 4, 2018

Mother Nature designed horses’ ears to be pretty much self-cleaning. She worked on the principle of preventing a problem, rather than correcting it. “In most situations, the normal amount of hair a horse has in its ears keeps debris out and the ears stay clean,” explained Dr. Nimet Browne of Hagyard Equine Medical Institute , in Lexington, Ky. Photo: AdobeStock/Mark But if you do clean your horse’s ears, Browne recommends doing it “not more often than once a week.

Maggie Hill: Multi-Disciplinary Approach Paying Off

by Glenye Cain Oakford | November 20, 2018

Maggie Hill on O'Ryan at the 2018 Devon Horse Show and Country Fair. Photo: Brenda Carpenter Photography Maggie Hill is only 16, but she’s already got a wealth of experience with several different disciplines. Hill recently took the reserve championship in the Pennsylvania National Horse Show’s large junior hunter, 15 and under, section aboard Stella Styslinger’s Cassanto. Her other successes this year also included a championship in the Devon Horse Show and Country

Integrating a New Horse into a Herd

by Margaret Buranen | November 13, 2018

Good biosecurity protocols are key when a new horse arrives. Photo: AdobeStock/Rita Kochmarjova When a new horse joins your barn, he also joins your herd of horses. As he finds a place in your heart, he also finds his place in the herd. Your new horse’s connection with the other horses begins before he steps out of the trailer at his new home. Thinking of that relationship focuses your attention where it should be first: on the health of all of the horses. “Be sure the new horse is

Horseshoe Greetings Lives the Equestrian Life

by Glenye Cain Oakford | October 30, 2018

When the staff at Horseshoe Greetings need inspiration for the company’s equestrian line of greeting cards, all they have to do is step outside the office. Horseshoe Greetings, the equestrian branch of the corporate greeting company Wall Street Greetings, is based at a historic farm in Versailles, Ky., that company founders Laura and Tim Members of the Horseshoe Greetings staff, with Jefferson the Welsh pony and Brussels the retired hunter. Photo: Moon Ko Voss own. Among the

A Passion for Dressage

by Glenye Cain Oakford | October 23, 2018

Jenaya Olsen, a 14-year-old dressage rider from Naples, Fla., is one of the youngest equestrians to earn a United States Dressage Federation gold medal by achieving four scores of 60% or higher—two at Intermediate and two at Grand Prix level—at USEF-licensed/USDF-recognized competitions, achieved when she was 13. She credits her mom—dressage rider and coach Nicole Olsen—and coach Franziska Seidl in Ocala, Fla., with helping her achieve her gold medal. We caught up with

Newest US Equestrian Heritage Competition: The Capital Challenge Horse Show

by US Equestrian Communications Department | October 16, 2018

The Capital Challenge Horse Show (CCHS) is the newest US Equestrian Heritage Competition. On October 5, the heritage competition designation was bestowed upon the CCHS. In 1994, Billy Glass and Oliver Kennedy began the CCHS at Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, Md., and it has grown significantly in the last 25 years. Now, it is an established event that has made substantial contribution toward the development and promotion of the sport, which is one of the key points to

From Arabian Horse Life: The Arabian Prince

by Yiskah Wedekind Lopez | October 2, 2018

I call him “The Arabian Prince” formally and “Al-Ashab” casually, yet my snowy white, Arabian gelding has the Yiskah Wedekind Lopez and her Arabian gelding, PH El Sosure. Photo: Courtesy of Yiskah Wedekind Lopez registered name of PH El Sosure. No matter his name, though, he deserves to be known as one of the best blessings upon this earth. He saved my life, and that alone is more deserving than any name that I can think of for him. Al-Ashab was the first horse I ever

Get the Best Body-Clip for Your Horse

by Glenye Cain Oakford | September 25, 2018

When Jack Frost first nips at your nose and your horse or pony’s coat starts getting fuzzy, it’s time to make your winter clipping plan. Before you pull out the clippers, consider several questions. How much work will your horse or pony be doing this winter? What kind of shelter do they have from winter weather? How old are they? Will they be showing? An Irish clip Photo: Courtesy of Shannon O'Hatnick Particularly in the case of older horses and ponies, it’s also worth

“Horses Really Do Help”

by Glenye Cain Oakford | September 18, 2018

Lilian Schaffer and Special in January. Photo: Alison Schaffer Things were looking good for 17-year-old equestrian Lilian Schaffer in the summer of 2017. Just three years into her showing career, she already had achieved some promising results and, more importantly, she’d discovered a deep and fulfilling connection with horses and the equestrian community. Lilian, who lives in Denver, Colo., had joined her barn’s Interscholastic Equestrian Association team in 2014. She went with

Come See Us at Tryon!

by US Equestrian Communications Department | September 11, 2018

The US Equestrian joy tour stops at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018 this month—come join us! The games will take place from Sept. 11-23 at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, N.C. Our booth, located in the middle of the World Equine Expo area, will open on Sept. 12 at 8 a.m. Photo: Shannon Brinkman Stop by every day for free fan memberships, giveaways, the new official US Equestrian Team Ariat merchandise, and opportunities to learn more about