Category Archives: FEI

After Cross Country at Boekelo, Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team Remains in Eighth Place

Boekelo, The Netherlands – They had some adverse conditions to deal with Saturday, but the members of the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team were able to maintain their place in the standings after navigating a soggy cross country course at the Military Boekelo CCIO3*. Leading the Nations Cup team were Jennie Brannigan and Nina Gardner’s Cambalda. The pair jumped clean over the course while adding 10 time faults and rising in the standings to 52nd overall.

“It was quite muddy and heavy by the time I went,” said Brannigan of her ride, and though it was good day for her, she says it was better than it looked. “The scoreboard does not reflect it, but [Cambalda] was super and had a lovely ride. I’m very excited about both of our futures and appreciate the funding to be here.”

All four U.S. team members are competing at Boekelo as part of the Land Rover Competition and Training Grants program. The experience that they, and their horses, are gaining through the program is invaluable.

Continue reading After Cross Country at Boekelo, Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team Remains in Eighth Place

Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team in Eighth at Military Boekelo CCIO3* Following Dressage

Boekelo, The Netherlands – The Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team stands eighth in FEI Nations Cup competition as they head into Saturday’s cross country at the Military Boekelo CCIO3*. The final two members of the Nations Cup team, Jennie Brannigan and Jon Holling, performed their dressage today in front of the Ground Jury of Sue Stewart, Eric Lieby, and Helen Christie.

All riders on Friday had to contend with heavy rain throughout the day but the weather didn’t deter Holling (Ocala, FL) from producing a solid test with Constance Ann Holling’s Downtown Harrison. Holling and his winning partner from the 2012 Volvo Bromont CCI3* Three Day Event scored 49.6 for their effort.

“I was really happy with him. To be honest it was his best test in terms of the quality of the work. He scored better at Bromont but the quality here was better, much more uphill.”

Continue reading Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team in Eighth at Military Boekelo CCIO3* Following Dressage

Land Rover Competition and Training Grant Recipients Ready for FEI Nations Cup Eventing Competition at Military Boekelo-Enschede CCIO3*

Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda (Picsofyou.com)

Lexington, KY – A strong contingent of U.S. horses and riders are set to compete in FEI Nations Cup Eventing competition this weekend at the Military Boekelo-Enschede CCIO3*, October 11-14. The team of Jennie Brannigan, Phillip Dutton, Jon Holling and Clark Montgomery are competing at the premiere Dutch competition as part of the Land Rover Competition and Training Grants program.

Boekelo, the sixth and final competition in the inaugural FEI Nations Cup Eventing series, will host teams from 12 nations, with the U.S. drawing fifth in the order. Additionally, all competitors are vying for top Individual honors in the field of 112.

Brannigan (West Grove, PA) is a well-known competitor on the U.S. scene having collected top placings on both the East and West Coasts. She will ride Nina Gardner’s 10-year-old Thoroughbred cross gelding, Cambalda, in the Nations Cup competition. The pair won the CCI3* at the Galway Downs International Three Event in 2010. They prepared for Boekelo by placing second in the Advanced division at the 2012 Richland Park Horse Trials in August prior to finishing 11th in CIC3* competition at the Plantation Field International Horse Trials during the third weekend in September.

Continue reading Land Rover Competition and Training Grant Recipients Ready for FEI Nations Cup Eventing Competition at Military Boekelo-Enschede CCIO3*

New Season of Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Just Around the Corner

At the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Final 2011/2012 in 's-Hertogenbosch, L to R: runner-up, Switzerland's Steve Guerdat; winner, USA's Rich Fellers; third-placed Pius Schwizer from Switzerland. Photo: FEI/Kit Houghton

Lausanne (SUI), 9 October 2012 – Just a few days ahead of the opening of the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping 2012/2013 Western European League series, horses are prepared, lorries are en route, and riders, owners, trainers and spectators are looking forward to another new beginning.

The Telenor Arena in Oslo, Norway hosts the first leg of the new season next Sunday, and the excitement is building by the day. This, after all, is the first step on the road to the 35th annual Final of a series that has quality written all over it. The taking of the prestigious Rolex FEI World Cup crown has been a defining moment in the careers of so many of the greatest horse-and-rider combinations in the history of the sport of international Jumping. It’s the one they all want to win.

And there is always something special about a season that concludes at Gothenburg in Sweden, because it is was here that the very first champion was crowned, when, back in 1979, the then-36-year-old Hugo Simon from Austria paved the way for many more to come as he galloped to victory with the big, bold Gladstone.

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Dobrev Claims Gold for Bulgaria

Bulgaria’s Ivan Dobrev and Nikita tackle the water complex on Pierre Michelet’s Cross Country course en route to individual gold.

Eskisehir (TUR), 4 October 2012 – Bulgaria’s Ivan Dobrev claimed individual gold at the FEI Balkan Eventing Championships 2012 staged at Eskisehir, Turkey from 21-23 September. The city of Eskisehir lies in the heart of the Anatolian region, and over 200 miles to the south-east of Turkish capital city of Istanbul. Competitors from three nations – Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey – battled it out for the honours, and each country took home a medal.

Silver went to the host nation’s Simge Ozaltindere and bronze was claimed by Romania’s Calin Nemes, while Bulgaria’s Todor Korov and Miroslav Iliev finished just outside the medal placings.

Firm Grip

The Bulgarians took a firm grip on the lead when filling the top three places after the Dressage phase. Dobrev’s score of 53.44 with Nikita left him just ahead of Nemes and Zambo, who earned a mark of 55, while Iliev was next best with 58.44 partnering Rustic de Santana.

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Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage Title Sponsorship Extended to 2016

Adelinde Cornelissen (NED) and Jerich Parzival, winners of the of the Reem Acra FEI World Cup 2012. © Kit Houghton/FEI

Lausanne (SUI), 3 October 2012 – The FEI is delighted to announce that Reem Acra, the internationally renowned fashion designer, has signed a new contract extending her title sponsorship of the FEI World Cup Dressage Western European League and Final for a further three-year cycle until 2016.

The New York based designer, who has dressed some of Hollywood’s top stars in her classic couture, including Madonna, Angelina Jolie, Taylor Swift and Eva Longoria, became title sponsor of the FEI World Cup Dressage Western European League and of the FEI World Cup Final at the start of the 2010/2011 World Cup season.

The current contract with Ms Acra runs until the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Final 2013, which will be held in Gothenburg (SWE), and the new agreement will then run through to the end of the 2015/2016 series, including the Final.

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Holsteiner, Belgian Warmblood and Oldenburg Studbooks Clinch Gold at Lanaken

The Holsteiner mare Con Cara, with Germany’s Toni Hassmann in the saddle, on her way to victory in the Five-Year-Old division. Photo: FEI/Dirk Caremans.

Lanaken (BEL), 30 September 2012 – Horses from the Holsteiner, Belgian Warmblood and Oldenburg Studbooks claimed gold at the FEI World Jumping Championships for Young Horses 2012 which drew to a close at Domein Zangersheide in Lanaken, near Maastricht, Belgium today.

Open to Five, Six and Seven Year Olds, this event has established itself as a milestone in the careers of many champions, and an important conclusion to the breeding season for stud-owners and horse-producers from all around the globe. It has developed into a hugely popular star-spotting occasion at which not just the winning horses, their breeders and riders gain status with a prestigious world title, but the best breeding lines of the present, and the future, are also identified.

Entry is free to the public, and huge numbers attend this annual celebration of the horse where they get the opportunity to compare the merit of the up-and-coming generation of equine stars.  Today they enjoyed warm and pleasant weather conditions as the best of the best battled it out for the medals in each of the three categories.

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World Class Drivers in 2012-2013 FEI World Cup Driving

Lausanne (SUI), 25 September 2012 – Following an exciting outdoor season with the FEI World four-in-hand Driving Championships in Riesenbeck (GER) as the highlight, the Driving world can expect more thrilling competition as the sport moves indoors for the 12th season of the FEI World Cup Driving.

Ten top class drivers will battle for the Driving World Cup title and nine of them will be trying to beat four-time FEI World Cup Champion Boyd Exell (AUS), who has been unbeatable at the past four Finals.

The qualification season consisted of 14 competitions throughout Europe and 10 top drivers have qualified for the 2012-2013 season, with the list headed by the man from Australia, Boyd Exell.

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FEI Nations Cup Eventing: Spain Triumphant with First Win

(Left to right): Dr. Mark Lucey (Team Vet), Carlos Diaz Fernandez, Marti Sala Bayes, Albert Farras Hermoso and Maria Pinedo. Photo: Bruno de Lorenzo/FEI.

Lausanne (SUI), 24 September 2012 – Spain, who have really embraced the concept of this inaugural FEI Nations Cup Eventing, have now moved up into second place in the overall rankings after an emphatic win at Montelibretti (ITA), the fifth leg of the series.

The Spanish team riders dominated the final placings in second, fifth, sixth and eighth from a total of 11 out of the 30 starters that completed the competition.

Three nations fielded teams for Montelibretti, which is held at the Centro Militare di Equitazione (Military Equestrian Centre) on the outskirts of Rome and is the southernmost event of the FEI Nations Cup Eventing series.

After the Dressage phase, it was the hosts, Italy, who were in the lead. Stefano Brecciaroli performed a typically beautiful test to head the leaderboard on 30.4 penalties with his Olympic horse, Apollo V/D Wendy Kurt Hoeve, and team mate Marco Biasia was in third place on Tatchou.

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Spanish Win FEI Nations Cup Promotional League Final on Home Turf in Barcelona

(left to right) Chef d’Equipe Marco Fuste, Manuel Anon, Paola Amilibia Puig, Pilar Cordon and Sergio Alvarez Moya. Photo: FEI/Nacho Olano.

Barcelona (ESP), 23 September 2012 – It was sweet success for Marco Fuste’s Spanish side today when they snatched victory from Sweden in the closing moments of the 2012 FEI Nations Cup Promotional League Final on home turf in Barcelona. Just twelve months ago the host nation had to settle for runner-up spot when newly-crowned FEI European Champion, Rolf-Goran Bengtsson, gave Sweden the edge. But today the tables were turned, and it was the Spanish who were celebrating.

Italy finished third ahead of Canada in fourth, Poland in fifth and the Russian Federation in sixth, while the three-member Danish side retired in the second round. It was very much a two-nation affair however as Spain and Sweden were locked in close combat from the outset, leaving the rest to trail in their wake.  And the only double-clear of the competition, produced by pathfinders Pilar Cordon and Nuage Bleu, along with the foot-perfect second round from anchor partnership Sergio Moya and Action-Breaker, helped swing it in Spain’s favour.

Continue reading Spanish Win FEI Nations Cup Promotional League Final on Home Turf in Barcelona