Category Archives: Contributors/Press

Blog writers, press releases and contributors

*Featured/Spotlights, Championships, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Phelps Media Group

Red Panda and Hayley Barnhill Named 2010 USEF Junior Hunter Finals-East Coast Grand Champion

Leave a comment

Hayley Barnhill and Red Panda won the 2010 USEF Junior Hunter Finals-East Coast Grand Championship. Photo By: Alyson Sanderford/PMG.

Lexington, KY – August 4, 2010 – High temperatures made for an intense final day of competition for the USEF Junior Hunter Finals at the Kentucky Horse Park. Today’s classic round determined both Reserve Champion and Champion for each division, as well as overall High Point Mare, Reserve Grand Champion and Grand Champion.  Today’s course was designed by Bobby Murphy and involved multiple bending lines, rollback combinations, a triple combination down the diagonal towards the in-gate, and finally a strong gallop to an oxer.

Small 15 & Under Junior Hunters were first in the order of go and it was 15-year-old Caitlin Ziegler aboard Safari making a comeback from the Handy Round to receive scores 87-86-86 for a total of 259 and the blue ribbon in the Classic Round. Ziegler and Safari, an eight-year-old Hanoverian, earned an overall score 634.5 points, which was good enough to claim division championship. Shawn Casady and Scout, owned by Mattie Warsham, came out of the Classic Round in fourth and received the reserve championship prize with 629.5 points. Hanging on for third in the division was Meg O’Mara and Fernwalk, owned by Don Stewart, finishing with 622.5 points.

Continue reading Red Panda and Hayley Barnhill Named 2010 USEF Junior Hunter Finals-East Coast Grand Champion →

Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, Jane Savoie, Training/Clinics

Motivation from Moshi no. 30, by Jane Savoie

1 Comment

One of the hardest things I’ve ever learned to do is the one-tempi changes. It’s like a whole new gait I didn’t know I could do. I was confused and a little bit frustrated when Jane started teaching me to do them. There was a point when felt exasperated, and I wanted to give up. But I know that life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you. They’re supposed to help teach you what you’re really made of. These challenges help you discover who you really are.

I’m an athlete. I know that. I made the decision that I wasn’t going to accept failure. So after a deep breath, I calmed my mind and really concentrated on what Jane was asking. Suddenly I was doing multiple one-tempis down the long side of the arena! Jane was so thrilled; she stopped, jumped out of the saddle, and hugged me around the neck! I knew I’d finally done it!

Today the one-tempis are easy for me. But it’s taken a lot of practice to get to this point. The key has been that we never even considered giving up. We accepted the challenge, took it one day at a time, and spent a lot of time visualizing, breathing, and practicing each piece of the puzzle. And now I’m showing at Grand Prix!

Continue reading Motivation from Moshi no. 30, by Jane Savoie →

Championships, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, Eventing/H.T., Events, FEI, Show Jumping

FEI European Eventing Championships for Young Riders

1 Comment

The victorious British team after winning gold at the 2010 FEI European Eventing Championships for Young Riders at Pardubice last weekend.

EXTRA: The 2010 European Vaulting Championships begin at Stadl Paura, Austria on Thursday 6 August.  The event will be broadcast live in Web TV under the link www.cvi-austria.org.

BRITISH WHITE-WASH AT PARDUBICE

3 August 2010 – British riders proved invincible when taking their sixth consecutive team gold as well as the individual title at the 2010 FEI European Eventing Championships for Young Riders which was staged at the world-famous Pardubice Racecourse in the Czech Republic from 30 July to 1 August.

It was a close-fought affair in each case. However, the winning team heading a powerful challenge from Germany by just 0.10 penalties while Emily Parker had just an 0.8 point advantage over Sweden’s Hannes Melin to take the individual honours.  The Swedish team came third while Germany’s Sonja Buck claimed individual bronze.

Continue reading FEI European Eventing Championships for Young Riders →

*Featured/Spotlights, Championships, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, Eventing/H.T., Events, FEI, Show Jumping, Western/Reining

FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships 2010

Leave a comment

The Area 3 Young Rider Eventing team of Missy Miller, Emily Renfoe, Danielle Dichting and Devon Brown celebrate their gold medal winning performance at the 2010 FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championship in Lexington last weekend. Photo: Anthony Trollope.

US RIDERS HAUL IN THE GOLD

3 August 2010 – The 2010 FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships came to a close on Sunday August 1st at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, USA – home of the forthcoming Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.  Top American, Canadian and Mexican riders between the ages of 14 and 21 showcased their talents in Jumping, Dressage, Eventing and Reining but it was the host nation that dominated affairs when taking nine gold medals.

Jumping

US riders swept the boards in both the Individual and Team Young Rider Jumping Championships.  Ali Wolff and H & M Necoll made an amazing comeback after pulling two rails during the First Individual Qualifier to claim Young Rider Gold. They began their rise to the top by completing two clear efforts in the Team Competition. The pair then moved into the first place position during the last round of the Finals and held their lead with another clear to finish on a total of 9.93 faults. Catherine Pasmore and My Boy took the Silver Medal with 10.65 faults and Jessica Springsteen and Vornado Van Den Hoendrik took home the Bronze after accruing 13.44 faults.

Continue reading FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships 2010 →

*Featured/Spotlights, Championships, Community/Charity, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, Events, JRPR

Caroline Roffman and Bon Chance Go Five for Five

1 Comment

Caroline Roffman and her Hanoverian gelding, Bon Chance, won the Five-Year-Old Championship at the Markel/USEF National Young Horse Championships in Lamplight, Illinois. (Photo courtesy of Fire and Earth Photo)

Wellington, FL (August 2, 2010) – Five may be dressage rider Caroline Roffman’s favorite number right now, as the talented 21-year-old rode her Hanoverian gelding Bon Chance (Belissimo M x Wintersong by Weltmeyer bred in Germany by Marefield Meadows) to the Five-Year-Old Championship at the Markel/USEF National Young Horse Championship in Lamplight. It was the first national championship for Roffman, who lives in Wellington, Florida, and trained Bon Chance herself.

The Five-Year-Old victory was the fifth win at a major show for Bon Chance, giving the duo a five for five record. Bon Chance also won the Five-Year-Old Preliminary Class at the Young Horse Championships, captured first at the 2010 Dressage at Equestrian Estates as well as the 2010 Dressage Derby and was Reserve Champion at the 2009 Young Horse Championships in the Four-Year-Old class.

Continue reading Caroline Roffman and Bon Chance Go Five for Five →

Championships, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Driving, Events, FEI

FEI World Singles Driving Championships 2010 – Final Day

Leave a comment

From left to right: Bartolomiej Kwiatek (POL)-silver, Thorsten Zarembowicz (GER)- gold and Cristiano Cividini (ITA) – bronze. (c) Hippoevent

DOUBLE GOLD FOR GERMAN SINGLE DRIVERS

Pratoni del Vivaro (ITA), 1 August 2010 – After a nerve-wracking obstacle driving competition at the FEI World Single Driving Championships in Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy, Germany took home both individual and team gold. Thorsten Zarembowicz is the new World Champion. Poland’s Bartolomiej Kwiatek took the silver and Italy’s Cristiano Cividini won the bronze medal.

World Championship course designer Christian Iseli is known for his challenging obstacle driving courses, and at Pratoni he built another selective course, sticking to his motto ‘Not easy, but Iseli!’  The course, which was underestimated by most of the drivers, consisted of many sharp turns and the tight time frame made it difficult, but nevertheless do-able.

Continue reading FEI World Singles Driving Championships 2010 – Final Day →

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, Events

Adelinde Cornelissen & Jerich Parzival Win Exquis WDM Freestyle at Hickstead

1 Comment

Adelinde Cornelissen on Jerich Parzival holding aloft the Exquis World Dressage Masters trophy with Mike Rutherford and wife, Angie, on left and WDM Chief Executive Officer Anthony Kies, and Tosca and Kees Visser of Moorland Stables. © 2010 Ken Braddick

HICKSTEAD, England, Aug. 1 — Adelinde Cornelissen and Jerich Parzival dominated the final Exquis World Dressage Masters of the year with a resounding victory in the Grand Prix Freestyle Sunday with Dutch team mate Hans Peter Minderhoud on Exquis Nadine was runner-up.

Adelinde and the 13-year-old chestnut gelding ranked No.2 in the world, received a score of 85.650 per cent with Hans Peter and the mare receiving marks of 78.850 percent in the €60,000 (US$78,000) freestyle.

Great Britain’s Laura Bechtolsheimer and Andretti, who had finished second behind Adelinde in the Grand Prix, was third on 78.250 per cent. Adelinde and Parzival had won the Grand Prix with a score of 81.362 per cent, a margin of eight percentage points over the second placed pair.

Great Britain’s Carl Hester, in the first CDI5* since getting the ride back on Liebling II, won the €30,000 (US$39,000) Moorlands Grand Prix Special earlier Sunday, and most likely secured a place on Great Britain’s team for the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky next month.

Continue reading Adelinde Cornelissen & Jerich Parzival Win Exquis WDM Freestyle at Hickstead →

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Events, Phelps Media Group, Show Jumping

Henri Kovacs and Sassicaia II Race to $40,000 KY Summer Grand Prix Victory at Kentucky Summer Horse Show

1 Comment

Henri Kovacs and Sassicaia II won the $40,000 KY Summer Grand Prix at Kentucky Summer Horse Show. Photo By: Kenneth Kraus

Lexington, KY – August 1, 2010 – The curtain closed on the Kentucky Summer Horse Show, the first in the summer series, and the last event of the week did not disappoint. The week featured classes such as the NAJYRC finals and the $30,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic, and the most prize money was offered in this evening’s $40,000 Kentucky Summer Grand Prix, sponsored by Audi of Lexington. As the sun set over the Kentucky Horse Park’s Main Outdoor Stadium it was 20-year-old Hungarian Henri Kovacs garnering the win with Plain Bay Farm’s Sassicaia II in their third Grand Prix victory as a team here in Lexington.

Thirty-two entries competed over today’s 13-obstacle, 1.50 m course, designed by Olaf Petersen, Jr. The technically demanding track included a wall fence, triple bar, a double combination and a triple combination. The distances in the related lines required control of the mount, and a tight time allowed required a precise route to break the beam within the 80-second time allowed, which already had been lengthened from the original 72 second limit.

Continue reading Henri Kovacs and Sassicaia II Race to $40,000 KY Summer Grand Prix Victory at Kentucky Summer Horse Show →

Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, Events

Adelinde & Parzival Post Best Ever Grand Prix Score to Win Exquis World Dressage Masters at Hickstead

1 Comment

Adeline Cornelissen and Jerich Parzival. © 2010 Ken Braddick

HICKSTEAD, England, July 31 — Adelinde Cornelissen rode Jerich Parzival to victory at the Exquis World Dressage Masters Saturday with their best ever Grand Prix score of 81.362 per cent while Laura Bechtolsheimer and Andretti turned in their best ever result of 73.362 per cent for runner-up and home side joy.

Hans Peter Minderhoud and Exquis Nadine, selected to be on the Dutch team with Adelinde at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky in September, finished third with 70.936 per cent.

The €10,000 (£8,320/US$13,000) Grand Prix kicked off the fifth and final CDI5* event for 2010, the second year of the richest lineup of dressage competitions that started with Palm Beach, USA, then moved to Munich, Germany, Cannes, France and Falsterbo, Sweden for the first time. Each of the events carries total prize money of €100,000 (£83,200/US$130,000).

Continue reading Adelinde & Parzival Post Best Ever Grand Prix Score to Win Exquis World Dressage Masters at Hickstead →

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Events, Jennifer Wood, Show Jumping

Pablo Barrios Wins Three Gold Medals at 21st Central American and Caribbean Games

Leave a comment

Andres Rodriguez and Pablo Barrios (left, center) in the medal ceremony. All Photos © Anwar Esquivel.

Mayaguez, Puerto Rico – July 31, 2010 – Pablo Barrios represented his home country of Venezuela well this week at the 21st Central American and Caribbean Games in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. Barrios rode G&C Quick Star 11 to the gold medal in the first individual round, helped the Venezuelan team win the gold medal, and finished as the overall individual gold medal winner. G&C Quick Star 11 is owned by G&C Farm. G&C Farm, owned by Gustavo and Carolina Mirabal of Venezuela, is based in Wellington, FL. Barrios is also based in Wellington, FL.

In the opening speed round, Barrios and G&C Quick Star 11, a 12-year-old KWPN mare by Quick Star x Grannus, were the fastest clear round to take home the first gold medal in show jumping. Venezuelan teammate Andres Rodriguez won the silver, which helped Venezuela take the lead in the team classification going into the next day’s Nations Cup competition.

“I went last out of the Venezuelan riders on the first day, so I had the opportunity to watch almost the whole class,” Barrios recalled. “I watched Andres lead the class for a while, and I wanted to go a little faster. I made a few turns tighter, but I didn’t want to risk too much because it’s a championship and all scores count.”

Continue reading Pablo Barrios Wins Three Gold Medals at 21st Central American and Caribbean Games →