Hosted by Hilltop Farm in Colora, Maryland, November 8-9, 2025
Meet other breeders, judges, owners, and dressage sport horse enthusiasts, and learn how the experts evaluate dressage prospects and breeding stock!
Are you looking to buy or breed your own dressage prospect? Are you curious to see how judges evaluate conformation and movement in modern day sport horses? Would you like to explore the possibility of becoming a Dressage Sport Horse Breed Judge?
Join us at the USDF Sport Horse for answers to these questions and more. The Seminar will feature three highly esteemed Registered Dressage Sport Horse Breeding Judges as your instructors DSHB ‘R’ and USEF ‘S’ Dressage Judges Sue Mandas and Gwen Ka’awaloa, with FEI Dressage Judge and DSHB ‘R’ Judge Kristi Wysocki.
The weekend will include both classroom presentations and live evaluations of top quality, purpose bred, Dressage Sport Horses.
Five reasons you should register now!
- Form to Function, angles and ratios are important! Study the ideal geometry of conformation of the dressage horse and how it relates to the movement of the horse. Learn how dressage sport horse judges quickly evaluate horses of all types, from leggy foals to powerful performance horses. Learn to recognize conformation faults. Determine which faults are likely to affect soundness, movement, and/or performance of dressage horses, versus faults that are considered merely blemishes.
- Are you thinking of breeding your special mare? How can you evaluate her potential as a broodmare and find a stallion to complement her? Do you think you should keep your young colt a stallion, but aren’t sure what makes a good stallion? Are you interested in buying a dressage prospect and bringing it up the levels; how can you recognize a quality young horse? The seminar will offer considerable insight into how to evaluate both dressage prospects and dressage breeding stock.
- Are you curious about USDF Dressage Sport Horse Breed shows? They are a marvelous way to introduce young horses to the show environment. Showing young horses is also a great way to network with other breeders and show case your breeding program. Benefits of participating in the USDF Breeder Series competitions will be discussed at the seminar along with discussions of the overall USDF Breeder Series Program. Judging methodology to evaluate both conformation and movement are discussed in detail.
- If you are interested in competing at USDF Dressage Sport Horse shows, or possibly becoming a Dressage Sport Horse Breed Judge, you need to know the rules for the program. The seminar will touch on the basic rules and introduce the various classes offered and the scoresheets that are used and is an eligibility requirement to become a DSHB Judge.
- Put all your learning to use! After a morning of classroom work and a catered lunch, you will head out to look at some of Hilltop Farm’s live horses. You will see mares and foals, yearlings, two and three-year-old youngsters, and stallions. The live horse sessions will include both evaluations in-hand and under saddle (Materiale). The instructors will get you started, and then you will have the opportunity to try it your self and start training or improving your own eye.
Register HERE October 24, 2025 – $350 per person
For more information contact:
Bonnie Barr-Briggs bbriggs@usdf.org (859) 971-7360
