DressageDaily News Notes for the Week of January 25

Florida and California are the locations of three dressage shows coming up this week. In California, Los Angeles Winter Dressage kicks off on Saturday and will be held at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank. And in Florida, two shows are being held around the state. The Snowbirds Paradise Show will be held in Orlando. The Wellington Classic Sunshine Challenge will be held in West Palm Beach.
Fields and Fences equestrian center is making it clear, however, that one needn't travel south for winter dressage competition. The Wadsworth, Illinois farm is hosting winter dressage shows and the first one is coming up this weekend. Another will be held in February. And these aren't schooling shows. They are USDF rated. So, if you're in the upper Midwest and looking for a show, check them out at www.fieldsandfences.com.

Well, some British riders came up with a unique way to raise money – a fashion show. But it wasn't just any kind of fashion show. The only thing showing was their underwear. Yep. That's all. The event was a fundraiser to help out event rider Claire Lomas, who was paralyzed in a fall two years ago. Among the dressage riders who stripped down were Laura Bechtolsheimer, Carl Hester, Andrew Gould and Michael and Maria Eilberg. They were joined on the catwalk by a number of Britain's leading show jumping and event riders as well as polo players and jockeys. The truth is, the men showed much more than the women. Check out some of the photos at http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/article.php?aid=294076.

A wrap-up of national news for the past week shows just how tough horses can be. In Southern California, one horse survived a 50-foot drop from a cliff, although it took rescuers nearly three hours to rescue him, and got sucked into mud and needed a rescue by firefighters. In Ohio, a horse was rescued from a frozen pond and returned home safely. In Connecticut, firefighters rescued another horse that had fallen on ice. And in Massachusetts, reports are that a horse shot nearly two weeks ago by a man who also shot his wife and his dog, is recovering. The wife and dog didn't survive.

It's the dream of many riders to spend their entire day riding horses. But how many could really do it 24-hours straight? Ohio resident Stephanie England-Grey came up with the idea of a "ride-a-thon" to raise money for the Haiti relief effort by riding for 24 hours – from 5 a.m. to 5 a.m. this past weekend. Her strategy was to line up enough horses to do 30 minutes on each and take as few bathroom breaks as possible. The fundraiser brought in several thousand dollars for the relief effort. http://communitypress.cincinnati.com/article/20100122/NEWS/1220358/1001/NEWS/Horse+owner+rides+for+Haiti