The Perfect Step to Success in the Show Ring:

Wellington, Florida (March 16, 2015)– Germany’s Kevin Kohmann is a Grand Prix dressage rider working his way up the ladder to success. A co-trainer at Diamante Farms, Kohmann always has the basics of dressage in mind, whether training or competing. At the Adequan Global Dressage Festival CDI-W, Kohmann came out on top in the Intermediaire I and earned a 70.658 percent aboard Suzanne Mott Dansby’s Perfect Step, a fourteen-year-old Hanoverian gelding (Peridot-Quintilla, Quick Star XX), in the Prix St. Georges. He also competed in Third Level Test 3 on Faron CR, Melanie Pai’s seven-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Flavigny-Samantha, Salvanto). Because of Kohmann’s effective use of the aids and quiet hands, Neue Schule is proud to name him the recipient of the Neue Schule Best Hands Award.

Kohmann was pleased with the award and the recognition for his steady, consistent, and sympathetic contact.

“This is one of the most important steps in the training scale: the connection between the rider’s hand and the horse’s mouth,” he said. “It allows the horse to swing over the back.”

Mette Larsen, founder and president of Metlar Premium Performance Saddlery, the North American distributor of Neue Schule Bits, said she is looking for effective communication along with a comfortable connection between horse and rider when she searches for award recipients during the 12-week Global Dressage Festival series.

“Horses deserve the very best we have to offer them,” Larsen said. “They deserve to feel good, and they want to perform and be happy in their work. Neue Schule works every day to find the kindest, most effective communication tools we can. This is how we give horses the very best we have to offer.”

Kohmann and Perfect Step, known as “Percy”, have been together part-time for the past three months. He and the gelding’s owner share him by each riding him three days a week. This was the first time Kohmann and Perfect Step competed together, and the first time the gelding has gone down centerline in awhile.

“He was excellent,” Kohmann said as he accepted his prize of a pair of new reins from Metlar. “I couldn’t ask for much more. It was a good clean test. He is an elegant looking horse and he makes me look good!”

Dansby said that she and Kohmann share a basic philosophy of dressage, and their strengths complement each other.

“He can really put the horse together, and I mostly work on the little, basic details,” Dansby said. “He has the acumen for getting right on and immediately connecting with the horses he rides. Kevin has amazing talent and he is well educated in dressage. He is effective in his seat and legs, and has sensitivity and “feel” in his hands, which are essentials for proper riding.”

Great feel and sympathetic aids along with an excellent, comfortable bit connected to good hands are the hallmark of a good rider— and Kohmann certainly fits the bill. Metlar will continue to present the Neue Schule Best Hands Award to riders who demonstrate soft, effective hands during competition at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival. Steffen and Shannon Peters, Laura Graves, David Marcus, Karen Pavicic, Mikala Munter Gundersen, Kim Severson, Candice King, and Todd Minikus are just some of the riders who attest to the connection benefits of using Neue Schule bits.

The bits are ergonomically designed based on equine anatomy in order to make the horse as comfortable as possible so it can focus on what the rider is asking. Each bit is made from a sweet, warm metal that’s palatable for horses, allowing acceptance of the bit and better communication. Riders love their horses, so placing bits in horses’ mouths that are truly comfortable as well as effective is vitally important for both members of the equestrian team.

To learn more about Neue Schule Bits, contact Metlar Premium Performance Saddlery by visiting www.NeueSchuleBitsUS.com or call 631-252-5574.

Photo: Kevin Kohmann, on Perfect Step, wins the Neue Schule Best Hands Award at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival. From left to right: Kevin Kohmann on Perfect Step, Chase Hickok, and fellow Diamante Farms trainer

Lexington, KY (March
18, 2015) – The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) is pleased to announce
and congratulate i …

Wellington, FL (March 15, 2015)— The Adequan Global Dressage Festival is in its final weeks, and many ribbons have been awarded as riders celebrate their victories. Even after nine weeks of competition, the Piaffe Performance Farm team is still going strong. Its members have much to celebrate after the past weeks of competition, especially at the Palm Beach Dressage Derby. Cesar Parra, owner of Piaffe Performance, and his students- Barbara (Bebe) Davis, Eduardo Munoz, Roberto Brasil, and Kathryn Mills— secured multiple top placings for Team Piaffe Performance.

Parra, who is the founder of Piaffe Performance, couldn’t have been more proud. “The Palm Beach Derby was another great show for us,” he said. “It is wonderful to see the improvement in all the horses and riders throughout the season. And we had some exciting results.” Parra’s team receives top training and opportunities through Piaffe Performance, based in both Jupiter, Florida and Whitehouse Station, New Jersey. Parra, who is a former Olympian, has the goal of developing the talent of both riders and horses.

Parra rode Van the Man, a 2002 Dutch Warmblood sired by Obelisk and owned by Michael Davis, in the FEI Grand Prix test during the Palm Beach Derby and won with a 71.7 percent against Tracey Amaral Olsen and Lamborghini. He also debuted Davis’s 7-year-old 16.2-hand Oldenburg mare Fiderhit OLD (by Fidertanz out of a Sandro Hit mare) at the Developing Prix St. George level and won with an impressive 74.118 percent against top competitors, such as Dorie Addy-Crow, Michelle Folden, Lauren Knopp, Catherine Haddad-Staller, and others. It was Fiderhit OLD’s first Prix St. George class. The pair also scored over 70 percent in Sunday’s class.

Barbara (Bebe) Davis won the FEI Junior/Young Rider Prix St. George with over 73 percent on the Hanoverian gelding Feivel Mousekewitz (Federweisser x Saninni, by Singular Joter) during the week. Just a few hours after the win, the 17-year-old finished second with Rotano (Rotspon x Bona Dea, by Brentano II), with over 72 percent riding the Junior Team test in a competitive open FEI Test of Choice class. “Mouse,” who was bred by Gabriele Bontemps, and Rotano are both 14 years old and are owned by Bebe’s proud father, Michael Davis.

“Eduardo Munoz (COL) showed his horse, Benji, for the first time this Florida season at Fourth Level and won all three days,” beamed Parra. Munoz and Benji (Baroncelli x Sherly, by Sherwood), an eight-year-old bay Hanoverian gelding imported from Germany, raked in the blue ribbons and earned a 69.459 percent on Friday in the USEF Fourth Level Test 1 test.

“Katt Mills, who flies into Florida only to show and then has to go back to Pennsylvania to run her farm, had another great weekend with over 70 percent at Third Level,” added Parra. Mills rode Fabiano (Florencio I x Estocha, by Ehrentusch), her German-bred Westphalian bay gelding bred by Sigrid Farwick.

Parra and his Piaffe Performance Farm Team are consistently in the ribbons, and Parra is open to new dressage riders becoming a part of his winning team. To learn more about Piaffe Performance training, lessons, and sales services, visit www.piaffe-performance.com.

Photo: Cesar Parra of Piaffe Performance wins the Grand Prix on Van the Man at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival (Photo courtesy of Susan J Stickle)

Devon, PA – Preparations for Dressage at Devon 2015 are under way! Reserved tickets will be available on April 1^st for the 40^th celebration show. Dressage at Devon will take place September 29 – October 4, 2015 at the Devon Horse Show and County Fair Grounds in Devon, PA.

This six-day event features the largest open breed show in the country including three days of expert performances. Measuring nearly 18 acres, the facility includes two lighted outdoor arenas and five covered grandstands with individual and box seating for more than 3,000 spectators. The site also provides warm-up areas with permanent barns capable of stabling approximately 900 horses.

A tree-lined path hosts a wide variety of products for the horse, the rider, and the spectator. At the Festival Area Shops at Dressage at Devon you’ll find everything from riding apparel to tack and fine art, jewelry, antiques, pottery, and Dressage at Devon souvenirs.

To reserve seating on or after April 1^st, please visit the online box office at www.dressageatdevon.org and click on spectators.

About Dressage at Devon

Dressage at Devon (www.dressageatdevon.org) has been the premier North American Equestrian event since it’s founding by the Delaware Valley Combined Training Association in 1975, and became a separate organization in 2006. It combines world-class dressage competition and the world’s largest open breed show with the international Fall Festival show and special activities for the entire family. The six-day event attracts hundreds of horses from around the world and thousands of spectators. Dressage at Devon is a 501(c) (3) PA non-profit organization, benefiting equine education.

Lausanne (SUI), 16 March 2015

By Rob Howell

Para-Equestrian sport will take centre stage this weekend (21-22 March), when experts and athletes from 22 countries will descend on Essen in Germany for the FEI’s first Para-Equestrian Forum.

The two-day event will put the spotlight on Para-Equestrian Dressage, a mainstay of the Paralympic Movement since the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta (USA), and Para-Equestrian Reining.

The Forum will be opened by FEI Secretary General Sabrina Zeender, Ulf Wilken, Chair of the FEI Para-Equestrian Committee and Dr Jan Holger Holtschmit, chairman of the German National Equestrian Federation Para-Equestrian Committee.

All about the sport

The International Paralympic Committee’s Director of Media & Communications Craig Spence will discuss the promotion of para-equestrian sport, while Amanda Bond, former British Dressage Chief Executive, will update delegates on the latest developments heading into the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in her role as FEI Technical Delegate.

The journey

The London 2012 Paralympic Games marked a historical chapter for Ireland, which qualified its first team and was rewarded with a bronze medal. Damian McDonald, Secretary General of the Irish National Equestrian Federation, will take the stand with Austria’s reigning European champion and London 2012 gold and bronze medallist Pepo Puch, to explain the journey that athletes and their closest supporters experience on their way to the top.

“I think the forum demonstrates how much our sport has developed. I’m looking forward to being part of it and seeing what happens”, Puch said.

The future

The FEI became one of the first international sports governing bodies to govern and regulate global para sport alongside its seven able-bodied disciplines when Para-Equestrian Dressage joined its ranks in 2006. The FEI now governs all international competitions for Para-Equestrian Dressage and Para-Driving, and will be giving a demonstration of Para-Equestrian Reining at this dynamic Forum.

“We have created the FEI’s first Para-Equestrian Forum to open up discussions for everyone involved in the sport with vested interests in seeing it develop,” explained Trond Asmyr, FEI Director, Dressage and Para-Equestrian Dressage.

“Para-Equestrian sport is now extremely popular in many countries around the world and at many different levels. Testament to the growth at the top echelons of the sport was last year’s record-breaking 33 nations and 100 riders and horses who competed for Para-Equestrian Dressage medals at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014.

“This Forum will bring everyone in the sport together, and will give us all a valuable opportunity to share ideas and experiences to ensure our sport continues to grow and flourish.”

The full programme for the FEI Para-Equestrian Forum, which is being supported by the German Equestrian Federation and Equitana, Germany’s biggest equestrian sports fair, can be viewed here: http://fei.org/fei/disc/dressage/about-para-equestrian.

News from the Forum will be released on Monday, 23 March 2015.

Photo caption: Inspiring Para-Equestrians: Austria’s Pepo Puch, pictured here at the London 2012 Paralympic Games where he scored a gold and bronze medal in Grade 1b, is the reigning European Para-Equestrian Dressage champion, and scored double bronze at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014. He will address delegates at the FEI’s first Para-Equestrian Forum on 21-22 March in Essen, Germany. (FEI/Lizz Gregg)