Dressage News Notes for the Week of February 8, 2010

The Dressage Getaway CDI (www.dressagegetaway.com) kicks off on Thursday in the desert area of Southern California in Thermal. And in Pleasanton, California, Yarra Yarra Dressage (www.yarrayarraranch.com) will be held on Sunday of this coming weekend. And in Florida, Wellington Classic Dressage (www.wellingtonclassicdressage.com) will be hosting a CDI at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center starting on Thursday. On that opening day, the U.S. PRE Association (www.usprea.com) will be hosting a dinner and PRE festival. It will run from 6-8 p.m. and follows USPRE's annual meeting being held earlier in the day. The Sweetheart Cup (www.orlandodressage.com) will be held on Saturday and Sunday in Apopka, Florida. And also this weekend, the Dixie Gulf Open Dressage and Sport Horse Show will be held in Baker, Florida.

A dedicated group of dressage riders in northern Wisconsin is seeking some help from the U.S. dressage community in their effort to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and to provide quality instruction to their members. The Wisconsin Dressage and Combined Training Association, Upper Peninsula Chapter (WDCTA) is a USDF GMO. Because the group is in a rather remote part of the state, Tracee Horn, the Chapter Treasurer, says that "it is difficult for us to have regular quality dressage instruction at a reasonable price." Hence, to subsidize clinic costs, WDCTA is publishing a cookbook. In addition to helping raise funds for clinics, the group is donating $1 of each cookbook sold to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Members of the group are contributing recipes, but they would also like contributions from well-known members of America's equestrian community. You know who you are, so if you're one of the bigger names in American dressage, you can really help out a dedicated group or riders by contributing your favorite recipe. And, everyone else can help by buying the recipe book once it is published. If you are contributing a recipe, WDCTA would also like a brief statement about why this is a special food for you, who gave you the recipe, when you like to eat it or some other comment. The book will list your name and comments with the recipe and your name will also appear in the acknowledgements.
For more information, or to send a recipe or to advertise in the cookbook, contact Karin Steffens at up_ecodoc@yahoo.com or Tracee Horn at tmhorn@chartermi.net.

Horse and Hound reported last week that a second online dressage competition business was recently launched. If you aren't familiar with online dressage, the basic way it works is that you enter a class online and then videotape yourself riding in the test you've entered. The video of your test ride is then judged by a real judge. After a set period of time the "class" ends and you can go online to see where you placed in the class and download your score sheet. Obviously, an advantage is that you can redo your test over and over and send in only the best video. To read more about this click .

This sounds like a fun show for the Valentine's Day weekend. The Casper Journal in Wyoming has a news note that the Fort Casper Pony Club and Greater Wyoming Eventing Association will hold their annual Winter Equestrian Fun Festival this Saturday. The event will include dressage and jumping classes and riders are free to ride in Western saddles for any of the classes. It'll all be held at the Natrona County Fairground heated indoor arena. If you live in the area and want to compete, get entry forms at www.gwc-msea.vcn.com.