HorseShow.com and the Western Dressage Association of America Join Forces

HorseShow.com, the innovative online horse show site, announces its partnership with the Western Dressage Association of America (WDAA), marking the first official joint venture between HorseShow.com and an existing equestrian organization. Western Dressage is the brainchild of trainers Eitan Beth-Halachmy and Jack Brainard, who both had visions to combine their love of the western discipline with the training techniques of classic dressage, all while developing good horsemanship for the benefit of both horse and rider.  The two accomplished equestrians met and joined forces to teach Western Dressage across the country as well as being the inspiration to the creation of the Western Dressage Association of America, which was founded in 2010. The mission of the WDAA is to build a community that combines the Western traditions of horse and rider with classical dressage: honor the horse, value the partnership between the horse and rider, and celebrate the legacy of the American West. The WDAA invites all breeds and experience levels of horses and riders to participate, and inaugural events (including during the 2011 Grand National and Morgan Championship Horse Show) are proving popular with competitors.

With this new partnership between WDAA and HorseShow.com, Western Dressage enthusiasts from all over the world will have the ability to form an on-line community that will enable them to learn from voice-over clinics, share best practices, and communicate with fellow Western Dressage riders. For its inaugural online clinic, WDAA is offering its members a unique opportunity to be coached by renowned Western Dressage trainer and clinician, Barbara Long. Riders can submit a video of themselves riding test movements and exercises at their home training facility, and Long will provide feedback via an audio commentary about their performance.

“It is a pleasure to work with Horseshow.com on this unique educational project," explains Ellen DiBella, WDAA President.  "The online clinic concept provides Western Dressage enthusiasts an opportunity to learn from expert teachers without regard to physical distance, and will expand and strengthen our community of equestrians.  We are tremendously excited about this partnership with HorseShow.com and the opportunities it presents for our members."
 
"Western Dressage is poised to be the fastest growing  discipline in the equestrian world: its systematic approach to the gymnastic development of the horse and its applicability to all breeds of horses makes it attractive to western riders throughout the word," notes Gil Merrick, Chief Operating Officer of HorseShow.com. "Our online platform and video technology provide the ideal environment for the global community to get together and enjoy this exciting new discipline of riding."
 
To learn more about HorseShow.com, please visit www.horseshow.com or e-mail indiawatson@comcast.net. For more information about the Western Dressage Association of America, visit www.westerndressageassociation.org.