Dressage News Notes - Brought to you by Mary Phelps, a Markel Equine Insurance Specialist

The historic Dressage at Devon show will kick off today in Devon, PA with 3 days of breed show competition. The performance division will begin Thursday (Sept 27). Steffen Peters and Scott Hassler are set to be the featured speakers at the Succeed/USDF FEI-level Trainer's Conference in January. Following the Trainer's conference will be the return of the World Dressage Masters CDI5* Palm Beach at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in Loxahatchee! New German team coach was asked her opinion about Matthias Rath and Totilas heading to Holland to train and of course she was pure class. Carl Hester is on top of the dressage ladder and helped solidify this by winning his 59th National Title!

Dressage at Devon is underway! The "World's Foremost Breeding and Performance Show" opened September 25, 2012 and will run through September 30, 2012 at the historic Devon Show Grounds in West Chester, PA. The breeds show runs through Thursday when the performance division takes over! Other action across the land, we have the Pinehurst Fall Dressage in Pinehurst, NC, the Pumpkin Patch Dressage in Camden, SC, the Silverwood Dressage October in Camp Lake, WI, the Dressage at Hossmoor in Briones, CA and Texas has the Texas Rose Dressage Classic in Tyler and the Dressage at the Palace III and IV in San Antonio.

Dressage at Devon is without a doubt the highlight show of the week! The historic show that is held at the Devon Horse Show grounds in Devon, Pennsylvania wil take place from September 25-30, 2012. Over 700 horses will compete over the next 6 days with 35,000 spectators anticipated. The show kicked off yesterday with the 3 day breed division which runs September 25-27 with more than 30 breeds represented! Breed show highlights include The USDF Breeders Championships East Coast Series Finals, the Born in the USA Breeders Awards and for the first time ever - the 1st Foal Championship to be held in the USA! The performance division will start on Thursday and take place over 4 days. The show is also know for its fabulous shopping, food and fun! Check out the Dressage at Devon website for details on the show!

Olympian Steffen Peters and USEF National Young Dressage Horse Coach Scott Hassler will be the featured speakers at the Succeed/USDF FEI-Level Trainers’ Conference to be held January 21-22, 2013 at Mary Anne McPhail's High Meadow Farm in Loxahatchee, FL. The conference will be a peer-to-peer format where qualified participants will go over topics that include - identifying horse's strengths and weaknesses so that trainers can make better decisions when training. Steffen Peters will be working with FEI-level horses and will be coaching as well as spending time in the saddle! Check out full story for more info on the conference!

Reiterjournal, a German publication, recently interviewed the new German Team coach Monica Theodorescu and asked about Matthias Rath and Totilas working with Dutch dressage trainer Sjef Janssen. Theodorescu responded with  - "Every rider can choose his own home trainer. Sjef Janssen is a very successful trainer, one of the most successful in the world. I don't have a problem with him,". Read the rest of the story at Eurodressage.com...

The World Dressage Masters CDI5* West Palm Beach will return to the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center January 23-27, 2013! The highly acclaimed CDI5* will run in conjunction with the Wellington Dressage Classic Sunshine Challenge CDI3*. In 2012, 10,000 spectators and competitors came throughout the competition making it the crown jewel of the Wellington Dressage circuit. A total of €100,000 ($130,000) prize money is offered at each WDM competition with an unprecedented €425,000 in prize money (over $550,000 US) offered for the entire series. No wonder it has drawn such superstars as Charlotte Dujardin, Steffen Peters and Carl Hester! Check it out here!

Carl Hester has reached a milestone at the National Dressage Championships in Stoneleigh when he claimed his 59th National Title in the Prix St Georges riding Aram Gregory's Dances with Wolves. Carl took over the ride on Dances with Wolves when Aram's wife (who represented Great Britain in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Olympics) died tragically at 51 of a heart attack. Read more of the story here and see more winners from Stoneleigh.

DressageDaily's Mary Phelps (mary@horsesdaily.com) is a Markel Equine Insurance Specialist and CSR Tracey Scharf (tracey@horsesdaily.com) provide the personal attention needed to help make the lives of their clients smooth and easy when it comes to the process of insuring your Farm, business and equine mortality needs. While Mary travels to the shows and barns, you can count on Tracey in the office to be available to answer questions and manage the details with ease. 1-800-572-3286.