The USDF Breeders Championship Series program is designed to promote breeders and showcase quality sport horses. Each series consists of two qualifying events in designated geographical areas of the United States, which lead to a final event in each series. Here, meet the sponsors of these competitions and learn about them.
Presenting Sponsors
2 White Feet
Briefly describe sponsor – 2 White Feet, Inc. is a horse show/event management company founded by Heather Petersen and Veronica Holt in 2004. The company works with several very knowledgeable managers and secretaries throughout the US and strives to provide excellent customer service and smooth competition experiences. We enjoy helping our shows and our competitors achieve their goals.
Why is sponsoring the Breeders Championship Series with USDF important to you? 2 White Feet, Inc. has run quite a few Sport Horse competitions over the years, including the USDFBC Rocky Mountain Series Final, and we love to support our local breeders and local competitors with young horses or breeding stock. Nationwide, the program is integral in helping our US Breeders gain recognition for their talented youngsters and helps to match breeders with riders who can help take our talented youngsters up the ladder in our sport of dressage.
What connections does your product/mission/company have to the sport of dressage? 2 White Feet, Inc. runs many dressage competitions and events.
Quote from sponsor – “I think the Sport Horse Program can be compared, in many ways, to our USDF Youth Programs – both the National and FEI Youth Programs. These programs give us great stepping stones for bringing young people and young horses up and nurture them in the sport of dressage.”
What is one thing you want USDF members to know (that they may not) about your products/services? We enjoy helping and are always here to answer any questions folks may have on competition management in the sport of dressage, from schooling shows to CDIs and sport horse competitions. Mentorship is key to success and our industry needs more good show managers and secretaries.
Applicable links
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057263237339
Horses Unlimited
Briefly describe the sponsor – Horses Unlimited is one of the premier sport horse breeding and training facilities in the United States. Headquartered in the heart of the Southwest in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Horses Unlimited’s mission is to produce modern sport horses with great temperaments, athletic ability, superior movement, and jumping ability. In addition to the eight or more international stallions available for breeding, Horses Unlimited regularly has 20 or more horses for sale, from weanlings to horses with show records.
What connections does your product/mission/company have to the sport of dressage? Horses Unlimited-bred horses have won USDF Horse of the Year and Adequan®/USDF All-Breeds Horse of the Year awards, as well as classes at Dressage at Devon. The farm partners with top international riders for clinics, shows, and training of future international stars. These riders include Olympic Gold Medalist Joe Fargis, International Grand Prix Show Jumper Henrik Gundersen, and International Dressage Rider Mikala Gundersen.
Applicable links
http://horsesunlimited.us/Home.asp
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063504132886
Hilltop Farm Inc.
Briefly describe the sponsor – Hilltop Farm is an internationally-recognized dressage breeding and training center. Our comprehensive stallion line-up includes over 25 stallions with a particular emphasis in our breeding program on proven sport records. Mare management and young horse raising services are offered in addition to dressage training from young horses through Grand Prix.
Why is sponsoring the Breeders Championship Series with USDF important to you? The USDF Breeders Championship Series highlights some of the best US-bred young horses and gives the breeders and owners an outstanding venue to gain valuable show exposure. Over many years we’ve watched a lot of these Champion young horses mature into very successful dressage horses, including international Grand Prix horses. This competition series is really the very start of the pipeline we feel is essential in the ongoing breeding and development for our future team horses.
What connections does your product/mission/company have to the sport of dressage? Hilltop’s own horses are currently competing from USDF sport horse shows through international CDI competitions. Through our breeding stallions, we’re also connected with breeders and owners all around the country who are active competitors at all levels.
What is one thing you want USDF members to know (that they may not) about your products/services? One of our favorite things is developing young, US-bred stallions, and many of those we’ve worked with have come from the USDF sport horse competitions, through the FEI Young Horse divisions, and then onto the FEI levels, including horses like Qredit Hilltop, Selten HW, Doctor Wendell MF, and Sternlicht Hilltop.
Applicable links
https://www.facebook.com/HilltopFarmInc
https://www.instagram.com/hilltopfarminc/
https://www.tiktok.com/@hilltopfarminc
https://www.youtube.com/c/HilltopFarm
KWPN North America
Briefly describe the sponsor – The registry for Dutch Warmblood horses in North America is dedicated to spreading awareness of the breeding, selling, and competing of the Dutch Warmblood in the United States and Canada.
Why is sponsoring the Breeders Championship Series with USDF important to you? Many Dutch horses compete in the Breeders Championship Series yearly, normally with great results. This program is essential to the development of our young sport horses, and is enjoyed by our breeders.
What connections does your product/mission/company have to the sport of dressage? KWPN horses are some of the top competitors at every level of the sport. From Training Level to the Olympics, you will usually find a KWPN horse there due to their elegance, precision, and heart.
What is one thing you want USDF members to know (that they may not) about your products/services? The KWPN is one of the most versatile breeds of warmbloods you can find. Whatever your passion, a Dutch horse can take you there.
What about dressage makes your company a good partnership? As previously stated, since the KWPN horse is found at every level of the sport, it is essential to have a good working relationship with USDF. Without the support of USDF, the sport of dressage would not be nearly as successful in North America, and we are directly invested in that success with the breeding, training, and competing of our horses.
Applicable links
https://www.facebook.com/kwpn.na
Supporting Sponsors
American Hanoverian Society
Briefly describe the sponsor –The American Hanoverian Society’s mission is to promote and support breeders, riders, owners, and enthusiasts/fans of the Hanoverian and Rhineland horse in the U.S. We provide guidance, education, registration, and awards for our members. The American Hanoverian Society administers the corporate and breeding rules for both the Hanoverian and Rhineland Studbooks.
Why is sponsoring the Breeders Championship Series with USDF important to you? We are proud to recognize the successes of our breeders, and the USDF Breeders Series competitions are often the first show experiences for these young horses. It’s a program built upon recognition of US breeders and compliments well our inspections and futurity programs that we also run. We’ve seen many beautiful and talented Hanoverian and Rhineland horses move from this series, and up the levels in dressage over the years.
What connections does your product/mission/company have to the sport of dressage? While the American Hanoverian Society’s breeding program encompasses all the Olympic Equestrian disciplines, we do have a strong group of dressage-focused breeders, and our membership includes large numbers of amateur, youth, and professional riders that are competing their Hanoverian and Rhineland horses from Materiale to Grand Prix levels.
Quote from sponsor – “The American Hanoverian Society wishes the best of luck to all the breeders, owners, and competitors at the USDF Breeders Championship Series. We are excited to see the best young horses of your breeding programs at these shows.”
What is one thing you want USDF members to know (that they may not) about your products/services? Even though breeding Hanoverian and Rhineland sport horses is at the core of our mission, the majority of our members are not breeders, but are owners and riders of these talented horses, and we have a number of awards and education programs developed specifically for our non-breeder members too.
Applicable links
https://www.facebook.com/hanoverian/
https://www.instagram.com/american_hanoverian_society/
Aspen Leaf Farm
Briefly describe the sponsor – Aspen Leaf Farm produces international quality dressage and breeding horses, primarily in the Hanoverian and Oldenburg registries. Marne Martin-Tucker and Michael Tucker have been focused on this for twenty years, living both in the US and Europe. Marne, alongside her professional career, also enjoyed training up the young horses and competing at Grand Prix, now having trained multiple horses from young horses to Grand Prix, with a very high strike rate of horses in the Aspen Leaf Farm program getting to FEI, especially of those we have bred.
Why is sponsoring the Breeders Championship Series with USDF important to you? Breeders are the lifeblood of our sport. I started breeding warmbloods for dressage because I come from a background where breeding enabled one to develop the quality and the pedigrees that led to conformation and sport success. Specifically why I sponsor, is that breeders are the lifeblood of our sport and this is my way to give to breeders the platform to showcase their offspring.
What connections does your product/mission/company have to the sport of dressage? Aspen Leaf Farm works to deliver top quality offspring, whether warmbloods or Giant Schnauzers, who are well raised, presented, trained, and where finding the right match is very important.
Quote from sponsor – “Every Olympic horse or prized companion starts with a breeder having a mating in mind. The Breeders Championship Series encourages breeding of quality horses and provides recognition to breeders in what is often a journey of joys, and at times sadness too.”
What is one thing you want USDF members to know (that they may not) about your products/services? US-bred horses are at, or exceeding, the quality of many bred in Europe now, with the quality of the stock we have imported and bred. Most broodmares in Europe aren’t ridden, whereas at Aspen Leaf Farm, we focus on breeding mares that have competitive success and Grand Prix horses in their pedigree.
What about dressage makes your company a good partnership? I grew up loving STEM classes, and of course made my career in technology (now in software), with my love of horses found back to when I was a child growing up on our ranches in Oregon, Montana, and Wyoming. Dressage is a wonderful sport, requiring a beautiful and lasting partnership with our horses, a great deal of body awareness and feel to ride well, willing and eager horses, plus, test scoring is ultimately a game of math – how each score adds up to a total.
Applicable links
Iron Spring Farm
Briefly describe the sponsor -For more than 45 years, Iron Spring Farm has made top KWPN and Friesian bloodlines available to North American breeders. By providing proven bloodlines, along with exceptional service, transparency, and impeccable veterinary care, the ISF team helps riders and breeders achieve their goals. The Iron Spring Farm stallions have sired WEG medalists, Olympic horses, an FEI Dressage World Cup Final winner, Paralympic horses, and numerous US Dressage Finals Champions.
Why is sponsoring the Breeders Championship Series with USDF important to you? North American breeders produce world-class horses. The USDF Breeders Championship Series showcases American breeding programs and helps breeders gain recognition for their efforts.
What connections does your product/mission/company have to the sport of dressage? Dressage is at the heart of Iron Spring Farm. We’ve been competing in dressage since the 1970s and love watching the sport grow and evolve.
Quote from sponsor – “Every horse in a show is the result of a breeder’s hard work and dedication to producing a wonderful horse,” said Mary Alice Malone, owner of Iron Spring Farm. “Good luck to all the breeders at this year’s championships.”
What is one thing you want USDF members to know (that they may not) about your products/services? Before we add a stallion to the Iron Spring Farm program, he goes through an extensive evaluation. We look at his movement, performance record, pedigree, and any offspring he’s produced. Our pre-purchase exam goes beyond the standard health, lameness, and reproductive elements. Our veterinarian shoots an extensive range of radiographs, including films of the back and neck. We try to learn everything we can about the stallion’s personality and temperament to make sure he’s a nice horse to be around at the show ring and at home. We have to fall in love with each stallion and know that their genetics can make a positive contribution to North American breeders.
What about dressage makes your company a good partnership? Dressage is about the connection of horse and rider. When done well, dressage is an incredible expression of sport and harmony. We’re riders first and foremost, so our breeding program is built on producing athletic dressage horses who are a joy to own and ride.
Applicable links
Contributing Sponsors
U.S. Sport Horse Breeders Association
Briefly describe the sponsor – Our motto is “Education, recognition, outreach. A voice for breeders, and a resource available to all.” We strive to be an organization where US sporthorse breeders and buyers can come together, and we aim to support the community in any way possible.
Why is sponsoring the Breeders Championship Series with USDF important to you? Supporting our US sporthorse breeders, across all disciplines, is paramount for USSHBA. Sponsoring the USDF Breeders Championship Series is a valuable way we can recognize breeders in the dressage world.
What connections does your product/mission/company have to the sport of dressage? US Dressage breeding is an integral part of our member base, even within our board. USSHBA cares that US-bred horses are highlighted in the dressage ring and in hand at the younger ages.
Quote from sponsor – “We feel that breeders will find their voice and strength in numbers. Whether it’s hunter breeding, young horse showing, or dressage breed shows, USSHBA is committed to supporting the programs available to breeders. Our organization strives to provide a platform to recognize the successes of American sporthorse breeders and young horse owners, and to insure voices are heard when it comes to important decisions in our industry.”
What is one thing you want USDF members to know (that they may not) about your products/services? We have an in-person event scheduled at Spy Coast in Lexington, KY November 19-20. It will highlight how to market a horse, and we will have multiple professionals to discuss topics including jump chute training, in-hand work, and sales through video and photography. Year round we offer online education events, a yearly breeders grant, and multiple awards programs.
Applicable links
To learn more about the USDF Breeders Championship Series, visit the USDF website.
