Atkinson is an accomplished horseman who started riding at a very early age and has competed in many hunter/jumper classes. More recently he has taken up eventing and has just completed his first event with his eighteen-old Warmblood, Finnigan.

Atkinson has owned a successful hunter/jumper barn and has worked for several luxury retailers. His experience enables him to provide the high standard of customer service expected of a Dover Saddlery store.

Atkinson and his staff look forward to welcoming you at the Crofton retail store, located at 1041 Route 3 North, Gambrills, in Maryland. For assistance, hours and directions call 410-451-2174 or email Crofton@DoverSaddlery.com.

Equestrians will discover a sparkling new store beautifully merchandized and brimming with the finest brands of riding apparel, tack and horse care supplies. There will be Grand Opening Specials throughout the store and a free drawing to win a $500 Dover Saddlery shopping spree. Riders can be measured for custom boots and coats or arrange to take home a new saddle for a test ride. Representatives from leading equestrian brands, including Ariat, Charles Owen, Der Dau, Henri de Rivel, SSG Gloves, Tad Coffin, Tuff Rider, as well as Dover Saddlery Product Advisors, will be on hand to answer questions and provide advice.

Store hours during the Grand Opening weekend are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. The store is located in the Stop and Shop Plaza at 1340 Ten Rod Road, North Kingstown. For directions please visit www.DoverSaddlery.com/NorthKingstown.

The Schockemohle Sports line includes the sophisticated Stockholm Dressage bridle and the Malmo P double bridle (both with browbands adorned with Swarovski crystals and well padded crown and nosebands. The premium saddle pad, with moisture wicking layer, has a luxurious finish - the anthracite and orange combination with double piping is particularly eye-catching. The dress sheet in caffe latte/dark brown and champagne, as the colors suggest, is one of the most elegant dress sheets available – and in a fabric that will keep its quality for years.

The Schockemohle Sports line is available from Dover Saddlery (www.DoverSaddlery.com) through mail order, online at DoverSaddlery.com and in select retail stores. To order a free Dover Saddlery Catalog call 1-800-989-1500 or visit DoverSaddlery.com.

Perfectly balanced, Stackhouse saddles enable a rider to maintain the correct position in the saddle, whether performing a dressage test or jumping cross-country or stadium fences. “ My Stackhouse saddle makes staying centered over the fences easy, I could not recommend it more highly.” says Denny Emerson, international eventer.

Stackhouse saddles are individually crafted using the finest beechwood spring trees and full grain leather from Buffalo and French calf hides. These saddles made with meticulous attention to detail never need restuffing, and will last for years. Dover Saddlery is offering the Karin O’Connor and David O’Connor Dressage saddles, the Stackhouse DL jumping saddle as well as semicustom and fully custom options.

To order a Stackhouse saddle for a test ride call 1 -800 9891500, visit DoverSaddlery.com or your local Dover Saddlery retail store.

The festivities began Thursday evening with a VIP reception that welcomed more guests than at any previous Grand Opening reception. Beezie Madden, Olympic Gold medalist was the guest speaker and the line to receive an autographed poster was almost out the door!

During the Grand Opening weekend customers had the opportunity to meet with manufacturers’ representatives, learn about new products, receive free samples and giveaways and enter to win a $500 Dover Saddlery shopping spree.

Stephen L. Day, president and CEO of Dover Saddlery, commented, “It was clear to me that equestrians who live in the Atlanta area, are delighted that they can now shop in a Dover store. Store sales were extremely strong throughout the weekend, with several customers returning everyday! The Grand Opening was a great success especially considering the current retailing climate. In fact the sales for the weekend were at an all-time record for this store category.”

The Dover Saddlery store in Alpharetta offers a very wide selection of fine equestrian products from all the leading brands. In addition, customers can be measured for custom boots and coats and can order personalized and monogrammed horse clothing. Dover offers its 100% customer satisfaction guarantee on all items sold in the store – just as for all items sold by mail order or online.

The new Dover store will offer the finest array of quality English riding apparel and tack, beautifully merchandised over 12,000 square feet, with additional services such as custom coat and boot fittings and a saddle test ride program.

“We pride ourselves on having the broadest selection and best in-stock position in the industry as well as the highest level of customer service, and we are looking forward to offering equestrians in New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area a new standard in equestrian retailing,” said Stephen L. Day, president and CEO of Dover Saddlery.

During the Grand Opening celebrations, equestrians will find Grand Opening Specials throughout the store and can enter to win a $1,000 Dover Saddlery shopping spree.

During the Grand Opening celebrations, equestrians will find Grand Opening Specials throughout the store and can enter to win a $1,000 Dover Saddlery shopping spree. All the leading brands will be represented, including Ariat, Bates, Charles Owen, Devon-Aire, Equine Couture, Essex, Goode Rider, GPA, Grand Prix, Henri De Rivel, Hermes, Herm Sprenger, Hug, Jaguar, Joules, Mikmar, Mountain Horse, Passier, Pessoa, Pikeur, Rambo, Rhino, Stubben, Tad Coffin, Taka and Tailored Sportsman and TuffRider.

"Many manufacturers will be attending the Grand Opening weekend," said Stephen L. Day, president and CEO of Dover Saddlery. "They will be available to discuss their products and provide advice to our customers. We look forward to bringing our unique combination of brand name merchandise, selection and premium customer service to equestrians in the Dallas area.”

The new Dover Saddlery store is located at 7529 Campbell Road in North Dallas. Following the Grand Opening in Dallas, Dover Saddlery will have a total of nine retail stores.

During the Grand Opening celebrations, equestrians will find Grand Opening Specials throughout the store and can enter to win a $1,000 Dover Saddlery shopping spree. All the leading brands will be represented, including Ariat, Bates, Charles Owen, Essex, GPA, Grand Prix, HDR, Hermes, Herm Sprenger, Hug, Jaguar, Joules, Mikmar, Mountain Horse, Passier, Pessoa, Pikeur, Rambo, Rhino, Stubben, Tad Coffin, Taka and Tailored Sportsman. “We believe that previous Dominion Saddlery store customers in the Charlottesville area will be delighted with the new look of the store and the expanded selection of equestrian merchandise we will be offering” said Stephen L. Day, president and CEO of Dover Saddlery. “We are also pleased to be able to offer our Dover Saddlery mail order customers the opportunity to shop in a local Dover Saddlery retail store.”

Following the Grand Openings in Chantilly and Lexington, Charlottesville is the third Dover Saddlery Store to be opened in Virginia. The store is currently open, during remodeling and refurbishing in preparation for the Grand Opening.

“What the Top 50 Retail Web Sites have in common is a willingness to innovate and set the standards for what the rest of the industry should be doing,” says Kurt T. Peters, editor in chief of Internet Retailer. The web site now offers the possibility to shop by riding style as well as by product category, keyword or catalog item number. Customers who are browsing online can have product questions answered via live chat, click to call or e-mail to a product advisor within the Dover Saddlery customer service center. In addition, equestrians can now create a personal wish list within the new Wishlist registry and easily share the items they are interested in with others.

“E-commerce has been a focus of Dover Saddlery for the last five years and we are very pleased to have our web site recognized as one of the Top 50,” said Stephen L. Day president and CEO of Dover Saddlery. “Our customers are increasingly using our website to shop and we strive to offer the very best online shopping experience for equestrians.”

The E-commerce platform and Web hosting for DoverSaddlery.com is provided by DMinSite, which specializes in providing e-commerce services to mail order companies. “The M6 Platform from DMinSite is extremely flexible and effective in allowing us to initiate marketing programs,” says Jeannine Moore, director of e-commerce at Dover Saddlery.

During the Grand Opening celebrations, equestrians will find Grand Opening Specials throughout the store and can enter to win a $1,000 Dover Saddlery shopping spree. All the leading brands will be represented, including Ariat, Bates, Charles Owen, Essex, GPA, Grand Prix, HDR, Hermes, Herm Sprenger, Hug, Jaguar, Joules, Mikmar, Mountain Horse, Passier, Pessoa, Pikeur, Rambo, Rhino, Stubben, Tad Coffin, Taka and Tailored Sportsman The store, at the site of a former Dominion Saddlery store, has been completely remodeled and refurbished to accommodate an extensive Dover Saddlery selection of fine English tack, riding apparel and horse care supplies. “We are looking forward to opening our first store in Virginia,” said Stephen L. Day, president and CEO of Dover Saddlery. “We believe that previous Dominion Saddlery store customers as well as Dover Saddlery mail order customers in the Chantilly area will be delighted with the new store and the equestrian retailing experience we will be offering.”

The Crofton store situated on Route 3, is easily reached from Baltimore, Annapolis or Washington. The store, at the site of a former Dominion Saddlery store, has been expanded by 50 per cent and completely remodeled and refurbished to accommodate an extensive Dover Saddlery selection of English tack, apparel and horse care supplies.

“After the recent opening of our first store north of Baltimore in the Hunt Valley, we now look forward to serving customers in the area south of Baltimore,” said Stephen L Day, president and CEO of Dover Saddlery. “We trust that previous Dominion Saddlery store customers will be delighted with the new and much larger store.” During the Grand Opening celebrations, equestrians will find Grand Opening Specials throughout the store and can enter to win a $1,000 Dover Saddlery shopping spree. All the leading brands will be represented, including Ariat, Bates, Charles Owen, GPA, Grand Prix, Hermes, Herm Springer, Jaguar, Joules, Mountain Horse, Passier, Pessoa, Pikeur, Prestige, Rambo, Tad Coffin, Tailored Sportsman, and Weatherbeeta. Customers attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony will be treated to an appearance of a Knight and Maid of Honor from the Maryland Jousting Association, appropriate as the State Sport of Maryland is jousting.