Category Archives: FEI

Championships, Competitions, Events, FEI, USEF, Vaulting

Competition Is Underway at the FEI World Vaulting Championship

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Le Mans, France – The U.S. vaulters are off to a solid start at the FEI World Vaulting Championship. The U.S. representatives in the Individual Male and Female divisions started off the competition performing the first round of Compulsories on Thursday.

In the Individual Male Championship division, Gabe Aniello (Redwood City, CA) currently sits in 11th place, leading the U.S. male vaulters. Vaulting on Forrest Cump and lunged by Agnes Forst, Aniello scored a 6.928 in his first round Compulsories. Kristian Roberts (Moss Beach, CA), also paired with Forrest Cump and lunger Forst, is close behind in 12th place with a score of 6.899. Patrick Stevens (Martinez, CA) currently sits in 14th place with a score of 6.705, vaulting on Maxwell and lunged by Anouk Dory.

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Championships, Competitions, Dressage, Driving, Events, FEI, USEF

US Off to Strong Start as Weber Gains the Early Lead at 2012 FEI Four-in-Hand World Driving Championships

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Reisenbeck, Germany – The U.S. produced the strong start they were looking to make on Thursday at the FEI Four-in-Hand World Driving Championships, with two of the three American entries performing their dressage tests. Chester Weber led the charge for the U.S. driving a spectacular test scoring 33.41 to hold the lead after day one.

Weber (Ocala, FL) has long been known for his ability to produce a winning dressage test and did not disappoint today in Germany. Driving his own Para and Boy W as well as Jane Clark’s Splash and Uniek, Weber received 10s across the board for Presentation as well as four 9s for his driving. The ultimate competitor, Weber produced his best on the world stage.

“I’m extremely pleased with Chester’s test; he drove very, very well and his horses went beautifully,” said U.S. Chef d’Equipe Ed Young.

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Competitions, Events, FEI, FEI, Show Jumping

France to the Fore at Final Leg in Dublin

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FEI Jumping Director, John Roche, pictured with Pat Hanley, Show Director for Dublin Horse Show during the draw for the last leg of the FEI Nations Cup 2012 series in Dublin (IRL) today. Photo: FEI/Tony Parkes.

Dublin (IRL), 16 August 2012 – The French will be first to go as the final leg of the FEI Nations Cup 2012 gets underway at the Royal Dublin Society showgrounds in Dublin, Ireland tomorrow afternoon.  Monsoon-like weather conditions descended on the Irish capital city yesterday making conditions very difficult for competitors on the opening-day. But the sun returned this morning, and all is set for an exciting conclusion to the eight-leg, eight-nation annual series.

The draw was conducted by FEI Jumping Director, John Roche, and Dublin Horse Show Show Director Pat Hanley. And there was a big smile on the face of Irish Chef d’Equipe, Robert Splaine, when his side got the coveted last-to-go spot.  “The time-allowed is likely to be tight and the course will be technical, so it’s always helpful to be drawn last. Running late gives us time to assess things,” the Irishman pointed out.

The order-of-go for tomorrow’s competition is: 1, France; 2, Sweden; 3, Belgium; 4, Great Britain; 5, The Netherlands; 6, Switzerland; 7, Germany; 8, Ireland.

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Championships, Competitions, Endurance Riding, Events, FEI, FEI

Double Gold for Bahrain, While France Takes All Silver and Bronze

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Winner of the Eight Year Old title, Jaffer Mirza riding Uszko D’Hotelhoge, which also took the Best Condition Award in his category. Photo: Antal Baranyai.

Lausanne (SUI), 16 August 2012 – Bahrain claimed gold in both the seven and eight year old categories at the FEI World Championships for Young Endurance Horses 2012 at Babolna in Hungary at the weekend.  HH Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa topped the seven year old section with Dhab, while Jaffer Mirza brought Uszko D’Hotelhoge home to claim the eight year old title.  And French riders scooped all the remaining medals, with Vincent Dupont (Khandjar du Boulve) and Laurent Mosti (Assiha de Fignols) taking silver and bronze in the younger horse division while Arthur Desprez (Glycin de Suleiman) and Melissa Bisoffi (Nadia El Fee de Boz) did likewise with their older horses.

This year’s FEI World Championships for Young Endurance Horses attracted competitors from 15 countries – Bahrain, France, Poland, Italy, Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Norway, Estonia, Austria, Argentina, Spain and Belgium.

State Stud Farm

The event was staged at the famous Babolna State Stud Farm which, lying halfway between Vienna (AUT) and Budapest (HUN), is one of the oldest breeding stations in Europe.

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Championships, Competitions, Driving, Events, FEI, USEF

US Drivers Set Sights on Top Results at 2012 FEI Four-in-Hand World Driving Championships

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Jimmy Fairclough and Chester Weber aim to stand on the Podium with Joe Yoder in 2012. (Shannon Brinkman Photo)

Lexington, KY – The U.S. Driving Team will be aiming for a place on the podium this week in Reisenbeck, Germany as they square off with the best in the game at the 2012 FEI Four-in-Hand World Driving Championships. A total of 50 competitors from 19 Nations will attempt to stake their claim on Team and Individual world titles, August 16-19, 2012. The championships are off to a strong start for the U.S. as all 15 horses were accepted without incident during Tuesday’s First Horse Inspection.

Two years ago at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games the U.S. stormed to a Team Silver medal on home-turf in Lexington, KY, eight years after claiming Team Silver in Jerez, Spain. Two-thirds of those impressive teams return as Jimmy Fairclough and Chester Weber look to go one better in 2012 and unseat the Dutch as World Champions. The third member of the 2002 and 2010 WEG teams, Tucker Johnson, retired following claiming Team and Individual honors at the 2010 Games. Joe Yoder fills Johnson’s spot in Reisenbeck showcasing the emerging talent the U.S. has produced in the past few years.

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Championships, Competitions, Events, FEI, USEF, Vaulting

Top US Vaulters Set to Compete in France at FEI World Vaulting Championship

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Lexington, KY – The best vaulters from across the U.S. are ready to begin competition at the FEI World Vaulting Championship at the Pole Europeen du Cheval in Le Mans, France from August 16-19, 2012. Vaulters will be vying for World Championship titles in the Individual Female, Individual Male, Pas de Deux, and Team competitions.

The recently crowned Gold Individual Female National Vaulting Champion Mary McCormick (Woodside, CA) hopes to continue her success in France. Having also won the National Championship title in 2007, 2010, and 2011, a World Championship title would only add to her impressive resume. McCormick will vault on Anyway 54, lunged by Lasse Kristensen.

Alicen Divita (Redwood City, CA) has had several strong performances in 2012, with a third place finish in the Chilliwack CVI3* Individual Senior Women division in Canada and a fourth place finish in the Krumke CVI3* in Germany. Divita will partner with Pino del Rio and lunger Elke Schlep-Lensing.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Championships, Competitions, Eventing/H.T., Events, FEI, FEI

2012 European Junior Three-Day Event Championships

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Best Juniors in Europe. Passion. Competition. Emotions.

Strzegom, 14.08.2012 – The best Juniors of Europe will compete for medals in the most comprehensive equestrian event in September. The European Junior Championship is the most important horse riding event on the Continent for the age group 14-18 years.  The right to organise the contest by the LKS Stragona Strzegom club has been granted by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports.

The Championships will take place at the 14 Pułk Ułanów Jazłowieckich Hippodrome in Morawa over Strzegom from 6th to 9th of September. During four days, young contestants will compete in three events: beautiful and full of harmony dressage test, cross-country requiring endurance and courage, finally show jumping testing precision and fitness. The European Champion award gathers 70 competitors representing 15 nationalities. Since Poland is the host of the event, the number of contestants fielded by the country may be doubled, that is as many as 12 contestants.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Events, FEI, FEI, Show Jumping

New Olympic Medallists Line Out at FEI Nations Cup 2012 Series Finale in Dublin

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Steve Guerdat, pictured with Nino des Buissonnets on his way to taking individual jumping gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games, will be a member of the Swiss team in the last leg of the FEI Nations Cup 2012 series. Photo: FEI/Kit Houghton.

Dublin (IRL), 14 August 2012 – With the roars of the crowd at Greenwich Park still ringing in their ears, five medallists from the London 2012 Olympic Games will be in action as the last leg of the FEI Nations Cup 2012 gets underway at the Royal Dublin Society showgrounds in Dublin (IRL) next Friday afternoon.  And it promises to be a real battle, because just 3.5 points separate the bottom six teams as the premier eight-leg, eight-nation contest draws to a close.

The defending series champions from Germany hold a strong 10-point lead over France at the head of affairs, but Great Britain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ireland and Belgium are all bunched closely together, and none of them want to finish up at the bottom of the pile.

The Swiss side boasts the new Olympic individual jumping champion, Steve Guerdat, while Olympic team gold medallist, Nick Skelton, is included in the British selection.  Team silver medallists, Jur Vrieling and Marc Houtzager, will be lining out for The Netherlands and the Irish crowd will be celebrating the return of Cian O’Connor who clinched individual Olympic bronze.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Eventing/H.T., Events, FEI, FEI

Klimke Triumphs at Third Leg of FEI World Cup Eventing Series

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Germany’s Ingrid Klimke with Trakehner Tabasco 70 win third leg of the FEI World Cup Eventing in Malmö, Sweden. Image: Lotta Gyllensten.

Lausanne (SUI), 13 August 2012 – Less than two weeks after netting Olympic team gold, Germany’s Ingrid Klimke triumphed in the third leg of the FEI World Cup Eventing held in Malmö, Sweden.

Riding the 12-year-old Trakehner Tabasco 70, her winning mount at this year’s Luhmühlen CIC***, Klimke added just one knockdown in the Jumping to her first-phase score of 42.6.

Only Clayton Fredericks (AUS) earned a better Dressage mark from the Ground Jury of Gillian Rolton (AUS), Mercedes Campdera (MEX) and Anne-Marie Taylor (GBR), with Bendigo III recording the sole sub-40 score to lead the first phase. However the Australian’s hopes were dashed when his 13-year-old gelding picked up jumping penalties on Cross Country day.

There was compensation for Fredericks, though, in the shape of fifth and sixth places for Walterstown Don and Brookleigh respectively, while Sara Algotsson-Ostholt (SWE) and Mrs Medicott were best of the host nation in third, less than half a penalty ahead of her husband Frank (GER) and Little Paint.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Eventing/H.T., Events, FEI, FEI

Victory for Germany’s Golden Girls at European Young Riders Eventing Championship

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Pia Münker (GER) won individual gold with Louis M at the European Championship for Young Riders in Malmö. Image: Lotta Gyllensten.

Lausanne (SUI), 13 August 2012 – Germany claimed team and individual gold at this weekend’s European Young Riders Eventing Championship held in the Swedish port city of Malmö. The team, the only one to complete with four riders, won in convincing style having led from day one.

Germany’s leading rider Pia Münker won individual gold with the seven-year-old Louis M. It was a deserved victory for the pair, who topped the leaderboard after Dressage and stayed in front throughout.

Eight teams contested the Championship which, Germany aside, proved a competition of mixed fortunes. Five nations – Germany, Great Britain, France, The Netherlands and Ireland – fielded full teams while Italy, Poland and Switzerland each had three riders. Thanks to a high scoring test from Münker, the last of their four riders, Germany took the lead after Dressage ahead of Great Britain with France in third.

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