Dear Rita,

With the USEF Festival fast approaching, horses have already started to arrive at the USET in Gladstone. This year’s Pan American Games Selection Trials bring elements of excitement and suspense to the competition and the participation of Steffen Peters with Ravel and Tina Konyot with Calecto in the Grand Prix Championships will also boost spectator appeal.

Dear Rita,

It’s that time of year again when the Collecting Gaits Farms/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions takes place in Gladstone, N.J., at the USET headquarters.

Dear Rita,

Greetings from Gladstone! I arrived with both my best horses on the East Coast of America just in time to experience our first hurricane. But as I sit here waiting for the last drizzles of Hurricane Irene to subside, I realize that I have seen the likes of her all over the world even though she is normally referred to as a rainstorm with some wind. A bit anti-climatical, this hurricane thing. Lets be thankful for that!

Dear Rita,

The warning cry of Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride in 1775, although historically dubious, will resonate with credibility in contemporary times at the European Dressage Championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, next weekend. The Germans and the Dutch will feel the full power of that cry.

Dear Rita,

Life is a whirlwind! My groom, Anna Pettersson, and myself drove to Hickstead (England) at the end of July to fit in one more horse show before leaving for the United States.

We drove to Calais, parked the horse van on the ferry, crossed the English Channel to Dover, and then made the short drive to Hickstead in the south of England.

Hickstead is a fabulous show with impeccable organization. The footing is superb, the spectators are educated and appreciative, and I always have a feeling that I am in a country that exudes good horsemanship.