Rancho Murieta, CA (April 14, 2014) – At his first show of the year, dressage rider and trainer Willy Arts and his young horses caught the attention of Custom Saddlery representatives.

Arts was awarded the Custom Saddlery Most Valuable Rider (MVR) Award for his exceptional performances at Golden State Festival CPEDI3* and CDI3* YJ U-25 on April 3- April 6, 2014 in Rancho Murieta, California.

Willy Arts, originally from Holland, grew up working with horses and now provides top-quality dressage training at D.G. Bar Ranch in Hanford, California. He successfully trains horses through FEI level, and proved his mettle with impressive scores.

At the Golden State Festival CPEDI3* and CDI3* YJ U-25, Arts rode four horses in the open division. He showed Dalina DG in Third Level for the KWPN mare’s first time. Last year, the mare qualified for the Verden World Championships, so it was no surprise that she continued to rise to the occasion this year by performing well in her first Third Level test. The six-year-old Dalina DG (Jazz x Contango) received scores of 68% and 67%. Arts was also proud of his ride on Biementa, an eight-year-old Keur Elite mare (Painted Black x Nourejev). He showed the 16.2 hand bay in Fourth Level and scored 67% and 64%.

Custom Saddlery looks for teamwork between a horse and rider, outstanding performances, and excellent horsemanship to find a rider deserving of the Custom Saddlery Most Valuable Rider Award. The company found this in Arts at the recent Golden State CDI. Arts commented, “I think the reason for me to be chosen for the award is for the consistency of producing nice young horses that go on to be very good FEI horses.”

Custom Saddlery, based in Aiken, South Carolina, offers beautiful saddles for both dressage and jumping. The company provides countless ways to customize a saddle specifically for an individual horse and rider’s needs and preferences. Saddle fitting services and accessories are also available. For more information about Custom Saddlery, visit www.mysaddle.com or call 1-800-235-3865.