Arizen Acres LLC

10/21/2026

Final results are in for the 2026 United States Dressage Federation All-Breed Awards! Vaccaro (JC: Mixmaker) earned Champion Second Level Open for The Jockey Club! 🥇🐎

10/20/2026

Next year’s show season starts with this winter’s homework.

I’m booking traveling dressage lessons for November!

Competing Thoroughbreds has taught me how much thoughtful test riding matters. When movement alone isn’t your horse’s biggest advantage, accuracy, preparation, and attention to detail can make a real difference in your scores.

Winter is a great time to work on those details and build the skills behind them, so you head down centerline next season with a clearer plan.

Based in Paris, KY, with traveling lessons available in the surrounding area.

Message me with your location and what you’re working toward for next season!

10/01/2026

New dressage tests are up!

Drum roll, please 🥁 The 2027 US Dressage Test score sheets are now available online!

These tests will take effect December 1, 2026, and will be utilized through November 30, 2030. Start learning and reviewing the new tests at the link below!

🔗 https://www.usdf.org/downloads/forms/index.asp?TypePass=2027Tests

If your show season hasn't quite concluded yet, don't worry - the 2023 tests will remain on the website until the rollover. Happy dancing!

P.S. Test products, such as the USDF Test Booklet and On The Levels program, will be made available at a later date. Stay tuned!

09/20/2026

Current USDF All Breeds Award preliminary stats have Vaccaro (JC: Mixmaker) ranked #1 at Second Level Open! Excited to see where we end up when results are finalized.

09/04/2026

SILVER SPUR
Experienced jumper / eventing prospect / all-around gelding
2018 TB gelding | 17.1h
Anchor Down / Red Brunette / Exclusive Quality
Location: Paris, KY
🥕 Low 5s

“Sterling” is an experienced, well-rounded gelding who would be a great fit for someone looking for a horse they can enjoy both over fences and on the flat.

While well educated on the flat, Sterling particularly enjoys having a job over fences. He is currently confidently showing in the 0.70m–0.75m jumpers and has near-auto changes over fences. With more mileage, he could continue developing in the jumper ring, make a lovely hunter, or be a really fun lower-level eventing partner. He has combined-test and cross-country experience and is comfortable with water and riding in different environments.

Sterling has shown through First Level dressage and is schooling much of the Second Level work at home. He also finished 8th out of 82 horses in Dressage at the 2023 Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover.

He has experience as a lesson horse in an advanced hunter/jumper program and has been a favorite ride for my 13-year-old niece. He will hack alone or in small groups (likes to be in front in larger groups), has been ridden on trails, crosses water, and is generally very good away from home.

Sterling loads and travels well, clips, cross ties, bathes, and stands for grooming and the farrier. He loves attention, and a good curry may be one of his favorite things!

He is best suited to a confident adult amateur riding in a program. He is not a beginner horse, but he does not require a professional rider. He is generally well behaved on the ground but is a big horse and does best with someone comfortable handling his size and maintaining appropriate boundaries.

Sterling is a mild cribber in his stall and is easily managed with a collar. He currently wears front glue-on shoes and steel hinds.

🎥 Full details, photos & videos: arizenacres.com/silver-spur

Serious inquiries welcome. Happy to answer questions and discuss whether Sterling might be a good fit.

08/03/2026

🏆 KDA Summer Classic | Lexington, KY 🏆

Sometimes the best way to measure progress is by revisiting the foundation.

After spending the past year developing our Third Level work, I made the intentional decision to bring Vaccaro back to Second Level to evaluate whether the work we’d been doing was showing up in the quality of the basics.

Some of the weekend’s highlights included:

🏅 Second Level Open Champion

🏅 Completing my USDF Bronze Medal with Distinction requirements at Second Level with another qualifying score above 67%.

🏅 An 8 for our collected trot, a movement we’ve spent years developing.

More meaningful than the ribbons were the recurring themes in the judges’ comments: engagement, elasticity, swing, suppleness, and power.

Those comments confirmed that the work we’ve put into strengthening the fundamentals is translating into better quality work and giving us a stronger foundation as we continue developing toward Third Level.

Thank you to Lisa Michelle Dean Photography for capturing these moments from a memorable weekend.

If you’re looking to improve your horse’s confidence, balance, and rideability through correct dressage fundamentals, I’d love to help.

📍 Based in Paris, Kentucky
🐎 Traveling dressage instruction • Show coaching • Thoroughbred specialty (all breeds welcome)

Message me for lesson availability!

07/05/2026

Reserve Champion Open Division and Kai’s first score above 70% at First Level at MSEDA Dressage at the Park. 🎉

Results are always exciting, but what I’m most proud of is the development behind them.

Kai is a Thoroughbred who continues to remind me that correct training isn’t about quick fixes. It’s about building understanding, confidence, and rideability one ride at a time.

This weekend wasn’t perfect. We had moments that felt challenging and moments where the pieces started to come together. That’s exactly what the training process looks like.

Every horse is an individual. The goal is never to force a horse into a program. The goal is to develop the horse in front of you.

Weekends like this are a reminder of why I love helping Thoroughbreds discover what they’re capable of in the dressage arena.

📸: Lisa Michelle Dean Photography

06/23/2026

I had the opportunity to ride with clinician and judge Lilo Fore this weekend with Vaccaro (JC: Mixmaker).

Our focus was on the quality of the work and maintaining an honest connection through the movements. It’s easy to get caught up in the movements themselves, but the real improvement comes from developing better balance, suppleness, and communication within the work.

One of the things I appreciate most about riding with top clinicians is the reminder that progress is often found in refining the fundamentals. The small details matter, and they add up over time.

Looking forward to continuing to build on what we learned this weekend.

06/15/2026

Kai had a great first show of the season at the KDA Spring Warm Up, earning scores up to 69.259% at First Level.

Despite a rainy weekend, he stayed focused and well-behaved throughout the show and put together some solid rides.

After having most of the harsh winter off, much of our work this spring has focused on rebuilding strength, improving consistency, and developing a more relaxed connection. It’s rewarding to see those pieces starting to come together in the show ring.

Looking forward to continuing the process and seeing what the rest of the season brings.

📸 : Lisa Dean

05/12/2026

Proud to celebrate Thoroughbreds in dressage with this USDF YourDressage feature! 🏇

A Fast Break Into a New Career 🆕

"It is a bit nerve-wracking to take a horse sight-unseen off only pictures and videos, but I trusted Morgan’s judgment, and based on my experience working for the program, I knew that the New Vocations trainers had an excellent reputation for matching horses and riders. I also knew that New Vocations stands behind its horses and is committed to making thoughtful, appropriate matches. That gave me the confidence to trust the process. So, I finalized the adoption and had him shipped to me."

The ! 🏇 Throughout the month of May, we are featuring Thoroughbreds and Thoroughbred crosses. Here, a USDF Region 2 rider shares how her life revolves around the breed – from living in Thoroughbred horse country, a career at a racehorse adoption facility, to her own Thoroughbred dressage partner!

Click the link below to keep reading:
🔗 https://wp.me/padgUY-q6G

📸 Lisa Michelle Dean Photography