Category Archives: FEI

British-based Riders Hit HSBC FEI World Cup Trail

12 May 2010 – British-based riders have their first chance to earn points in the valuable HSBC FEI World Cup Eventing series at Chatsworth (GBR) this weekend (May 15-16), and five nations are represented in the entry of 33.

Paul Tapner (AUS), fresh from his thrilling Badminton success, is two-handed with Kilfinnie ll and Tiger Flynne, and is joined by fellow Australians Bill Levett with Sea Oro and Sam Griffiths, having his first major international competition this year with Happy Times, third at Badminton and Burghley last year.

The Chatsworth CIC***-W has often proved a pointer to future international success, and Clayton Fredericks (AUS), who won this class in 2006 on Ben Along Time, is riding his smart new acquisition Bendigo lll, a German-bred horse proven in Grand Prix Dressage and Jumping which has been taking the national season by storm.

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The United States Para-Equestrian Association Hosts First Ever Para-Webathon for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games

Susan Treabass is the co-host of the 2010 Para-Equestrian Webathon on June 8, 2010. Photo © 2010 Scott Stanley.

Thousand Oaks, CA – May 10, 2010 – The United States Para-Equestrian Association (USPEA) would like to invite everyone to the First Ever Para-Webathon.  The event is scheduled for June 8, 2010, from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM.  The First Ever Para-Webathon will be broadcasted from the studios of Alltech and will be hosted by the 2010 Radio Show announcers Glenn the Geek, Samantha Clark, and Para-Equestrian Susan Treabass.  The 2010 Radio show is the unofficial podcast about the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. The purpose of the Webathon is to reach out to all equestrian enthusiasts and the entire nation to help raise capital for the United States Para-Dressage team, which will be competing at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

Presented by The Horse Radio Network, the 2010 Radio Show, Alltech, and the USPEA, the live Webathon will bring the Para-Equestrian discipline to the forefront of everyone’s minds.  During the Webathon, many of the inspirational athlete’s stories will be highlighted.  This exciting event will assist the Para-Equestrian Athletes in raising awareness and funds for this intriguing discipline.  In the past, costs have ranged around $20,000 per competitor, and this Webathon will be an important asset to the Para-Equestrians.

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Stacy Westfall to Perform in 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Opening Ceremonies

May 10, 2010 – LEXINGTON, KY – Champion rider and equine competitor Stacy Westfall will entertain audiences as she performs without a saddle or bridle on her champion horse, Roxy, in the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

Westfall, who has appeared on Ellen and is a YouTube sensation, will bring her champion reining horse, Whizards Baby Doll (“Roxy”), out of retirement to participate in the Opening Ceremonies for the world’s most prestigious equestrian competition.

Tickets to the 2010 Games Opening Ceremonies, held on the evening of September 25, are still available and can be purchased at www.alltechfeigames.com/tickets.

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U.S. Dressage Chef D’Equipe Anne Gribbons Praises Todd Flettrich on Preparation for the 2010 World Equestrian Games

Todd Flettrich and Otto. Photo by: Susan J. Stickle

Wellington, FL – May 10, 2010 – Based in Coatesville, PA, and Wellington, FL, Todd Flettrich has had a successful dressage career and is well on his way to qualifying for this year’s Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG).  Anne Gribbons, a renowned rider and trainer who has known Flettrich since the start of his career, has watched Flettrich as a young rider, has competed with him and against him, and has judged him in competition for years. Now the United States Dressage Team Chef D’Equipe, Gribbons watched Flettrich and his Grand Prix mount Otto very closely this season and thinks that it looks promising for the talented duo to qualify for the U.S. Team that will compete at the WEG in the fall.

Cherry Knoll Farm purchased Otto, a 13-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding (Rambo X Rampal), in 2009 and he and Flettrich have since formed an excellent partnership and have earned several top placings throughout the country.  Gribbons watched Flettrich and Otto ride in educational clinics put on by the United States Equestrian Federation in the fall and has followed every qualifier for the WEG that the pair has shown in. “I must say that Todd is blessed with a confident and experienced horse that is very ambitious and can do all of the movements very well,” Gribbons noted. “We have lovely horses coming along, but some of them at this point are still green and that is not Todd’s horse, his horse is very competent and confident, so that is great.”

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Edwina Alexander – Rolex Diary

Edwina Alexander is writing a diary for horsesinthesouth.com as she prepares for the 2010 Global Champions Tour (GCT) and the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG). Here is Edwina’s second entry.

The last month

The last month has been a real rollercoaster with quite a few shows and then the Rolex FEI World Cup Final. Overall, I’m feeling pretty good in myself and I’m trying to get as much rest as possible, but not doing too much isn’t the easiest thing in the world at the moment! I was up at 4am last Wednesday morning to go to Copenhagen for a photo shoot and got back home at about 1am the following morning. I was then up very early to jump five horses ahead of the four-day show in Mannheim, so I haven’t had as much rest as I would have hoped for!

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2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Receives Entries from 60 Countries

May 7, 2010 – LEXINGTON, KY – The World Games 2010 Foundation is pleased to announce that 60 National Federations have submitted entries in principle for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. They are:

Argentina                                France                                     Norway
Australia                                 Germany                                 Paraguay
Austria                                                Great Britain                          Poland
Belgium                                   Greece                                    Portugal
Bermuda                                 Guatemala                              Qatar
Brazil                                       Hungary                                  Russia
Bahrain                                   India                                        Saudi Arabia
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HSBC FEI World Cup Eventing Goes Worldwide

6 May 2010 – HSBC FEI World Cup Eventing takes place at opposite ends of the globe this weekend (7-9 May), with the third and fourth events in the 2010 series taking place at Sydney (AUS) and Marbach (GER).

A new reciprocal arrangement between the organisers of last month’s Kihikihi CIC***-W (NZL) and Sydney has meant that Australian and New Zealand riders have received funding to travel across the Tasman Sea to compete in these events.

As a result, two New Zealanders, Clarke Johnstone, currently lying equal fifth in the HSBC FEI World Cup Eventing standings, and Jenna Mahoney, ninth, will be contesting Sydney. Blair Richardson, the third Kiwi entered, already lives in Australia.

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The United States Para-Equestrian Association Joins Phelps Media Group, Inc.

Logo of the United States Para-Equestrian Association. Photo © 2010 Logo created by Deb Phillips at MagnumCreative.com.

Thousand Oaks, California – May 4, 2010 – Phelps Media Group, Inc. International (PMG), a leading public relations firm specializing in the equestrian industry, is pleased to announce that the United States Para-Equestrian Association (USPEA) has joined the expanding list of clients. The USPEA includes every equestrian discipline that is practiced by athletes with physical disabilities specifically dressage.  Each rider or driver competes under the eighth discipline, the Para-Equestrian discipline, of the United States Equestrian Federation.  This year at the 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games the Para-Equestrian discipline will make history.  The USEF High Performance Para-Equestrian Dressage team will compete as an FEI sport for the first time at the 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games held in Lexington, KY.

The USPEA provides programs, clinics, and competition opportunities for athletes with physical disabilities.  Riders compete under the USEF rules during their competitions and many of the athletes compete at the highest level of their sport.

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Australian Paul Tapner Takes Over Lead at Badminton

Paul Tapner (AUS) and Inonothing galloped into the lead at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials, the second leg of the HSBC FEI Classics, after picking up just 0.4 of a penalty in the Cross-Country (Photograph: Kate Houghton).

2 May 2010 – Paul Tapner (AUS) was clearly overjoyed as he came through the finish line at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials (GBR) on his second ride, Inonothing. His celebrations were more than justified as, after an enthralling and dramatic Cross Country day, he found himself in the lead at a 4-star event for the first time.

The track at Badminton, the second leg of the HSBC FEI Classics, proved as enigmatic as ever, taking its fair share of high-profile scalps, including all the top five riders after Dressage.

“I was aware that there were quite a lot faults occurring,” said British-based Tapner, 34, who was equal 11th after Dressage. “But after I’d ridden my first horse (Stormhill Michael, 12th) I had a roast lunch and then a sleep in the lorry and tried to forget about it. Inonothing is a unique horse to ride across country; he’s so small and nippy.”

If Tapner wins tomorrow, he will be the third Australian rider to do so in the last four years, following Andrew Hoy (2006) and Lucinda Fredericks (2007).

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Kai Rüder Is Prince of Badminton

Badminton first-timers Kai Rüder (GER) and Le Prince Des Bois lead after the dressage at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials, the second leg of the HSBC FEI Classics (Photograph: Kit Houghton).

1 May 2010 – Kai Rüder (GER) and his powerful stallion Le Prince des Bois held an appropriately regal lead at the close of Dressage at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials (GBR), the second leg of the HSBC FEI Classics.

Rüder, 39 and making his Badminton debut after a 20-year quest, has a 5.8-penalty lead over first day leader Ruth Edge (GBR) on Two Thyme ahead of what is predicted to be an influential Cross Country day due to the forecast heavy rain.

The leading duo finished 10th at Burghley (GBR) last year – when Rüder won the HSBC Training Bursary for the best 4-star debut – and have spent the last month based in England with German team trainer Christopher Bartle (GBR).

Le Prince des Bois, who performs a reliably expressive Dressage test, is by Yarlands Summer Song, the stallion ridden with such panache at Badminton in the 1990s by France’s Marie-Christine Duroy.

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