Category Archives: Show Jumping

Championships, Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Show Jumping, USEF

Gold Medals for Team Four in US National Pony Jumper Team Championship

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Caroline Zaunbrecher and Fire Van Battenbroek takes over individual lead

Zone 4, the US National Pony Jumper Team Champions (Ashley N. Williams/PMG)

Thursday night the determined mounted their ponies to take on the indoor jump course at the Alltech Arena for the 2012 US Pony Finals at the beautiful Kentucky Horse Park. Riders from all over the nation participated in the US National Pony Jumper Team Championship and also competed at the individual level in phase II, a continuation from Wednesday. By the end of the night, team four united over an outstanding unit score to win the US National Pony Jumper Team Championship. In the second phase of the individual jumper, with a score of 63.511, Caroline Zaunbrecher and Fire Van Battenbroek were ranked in first place.

Designed by Marc Donovan, the freshly constructed jump course was made up of 13 classic jump obstacles. The rider’s opening fence was a double oxer, creating a wide left along the gate side of the ring leading into a diagonal line of a vertical to double oxer. Taking the far side curve to the right, the rider was then challenged to an outside line of verticals separated by four strides and then to a double oxer. A tight right and a maneuver through fences introduced a single double oxer and a lead change to the far end of the course for a series of tight turns and few stride jumps. The last line of the course led jumpers to a double oxer-vertical-vertical combination to double oxer to stop the clock.

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Championships, Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Phelps Media Group, Show Jumping

Vale Is Victorious in Phase Two of the Zone 5 Open Jumper Championship at Traders Point

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Aaron Vale and Wodka L. Photos by Carrie Wirth

Zionsville, IN – August 9, 2012 – Much-needed rain came to the Zionsville, IN, area on Thursday and added a few puddles and a few delays but did not detract from the festivities and competition at the 2012 Traders Point Hunt Charity Horse Show and Country Fair at picturesque Wild Air Farms in Zionsville, IN. Guests and exhibitors enjoyed live music on the grounds wafting from the annual Charity Garden Party.

Course designer, Phil DeVita, built a technical track in the Russell Fortune Grand Prix Arena adding more combinations and tricky turns, presenting the rider and horse teams with interesting questions to answer and determining whether they could deliver fast times and clear rounds.

The course for Phase Two of the Zone 5 Open Jumper Championship got underway on the far end of the arena with a single oxer on the diagonal headed toward home. The track took an immediate right turn around to the far end of the ring to a single vertical then an immediate right turn to an oxer-to-vertical combination and a long bending gallop to a single oxer, then left bending line to a vertical, landing very close to the rail across from the jumper tower. The course turned to the left and continued on the diagonal to a vertical-vertical combination and a left bending line to an oxer. Next was a turn to the right to a liverpool, a rollback to the right to an oxer and a bending line to a vertical-oxer combination. A left past the in-gate led to the final fence, an oxer.

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Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Phelps Media Group, Show Jumping

Equitation Competition Heats Up a Steamy Day at Traders Point Hunt Charity Horse Show

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Haley Zimmerman and Zider zestfully capture the blue

Zionsville, IN – August 9, 2012 – Equitation took center stage Thursday in the Main Hunter Arena at the Traders Point Hunt Charity Horse Show held at Wild Air Farms in Zionsville, IN. After a series of thunderstorms dumped much-needed rain Wednesday night, the hunter classes were postponed until Friday but there was still plenty of action with the Pessoa USEF Hunter Seat Medal, the ASPCA Maclay Horsemanship class and the Taylor Harris Insurance Services (THIS) National Children’s Medal.

Haley Zimmerman, 13, aboard her own 9-year-old Swedish Warmblood, Zider (barn name “Zac”), snagged the hotly contested Pessoa USEF Hunter Seat Medal. “It was one of those courses where things come kind of fast,” she said. “It kind of had weird turns, but that, for me, is pretty OK. I mean, the course was great for him. He’s adjustable with a nice big jump. He just kind of goes with whatever I want to do.” Zimmerman and Zac have been a dynamic duo for a year and she bought him to get started on jumpers. “He’s great,” she smiled. “He likes to cuddle and he’s a dream horse.”

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Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Jennifer Ward, Show Jumping

Mark Bluman and G&C Blue Gallop to Victory in $10,000 Welcome Stake

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Mark Bluman and G&C Blue won the $10,000 Not Your Daughter’s Jeans Welcome Stake. David Mullinix Photography

East Dorset, Vermont – Colombia’s Mark Bluman and G&C Blue, owned by Gustavo Mirabal, were the winners in the $10,000 Not Your Daughter’s Jeans Welcome Stake, presented by Manchester Designer Outlets, on Thursday, August 9, at the 2012 Vermont Summer Festival.  The six-week Vermont Summer Festival is running at Harold Beebe Farm in East Dorset, VT, from July 4 through August 12.

Eric Hasbrouck is the course designer in the grand prix ring for the sixth week of jumper action in Vermont. In Thursday’s $10,000 Not Your Daughter’s Jeans Welcome Stake, Hasbrouck saw seven out of 30 entries jump the first round course without fault. Three went double clear in the jump-off, and it was 21-year-old Mark Bluman and G&C Blue who had the fastest time of 31.21 seconds for the win.

Wednesday’s $5,000 Open Jumper 1.40m winners, Tracy Magness and M/M John Bartko’s Tarco Van Ter Moude, finished second. Magness, of Hughesville, MD, blazed through the short course in 33.27 seconds as the seventh entry to go with Tarco. Their time held the lead for most of the class, but was surpassed by Bluman 19 rounds later.

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Championships, Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Show Jumping, USEF

The Sky’s the Limit as Midnight Heart and Taylor Cox Reach for Starry Wins at USEF Pony Jumper Finals

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Ellyn Fritz and Sailor Moon are bright stars falling into second place at USEF Pony Jumper Finals

Taylor Cox and Midnight Heart won the Individual Phase during the first phase of the US National Pony Jumper Championships. (Ashley N. Williams/PMG)

Lexington, KY – Riders have trained all year to prove their ponies possess the honed skill to jump in the US National Pony Jumper Championships at the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park. With stadium seating and a lively audience, 31 competitors from around the country attempted a faultless finish and to set an unrivaled time to beat. Putting on an unparalleled performance, rider Taylor Cox and steed Midnight Heart secured the win. Coming in a brisk second, Ellyn Fritz and Sailor Moon cleared the course while making noteworthy time.

Designed by Marc Donovan, the course consisted of 13 obstacles to challenge both horse and rider alike. It began over an oxer set at the far end of the ring. In a bending line riders then took a vertical, and with a hard right rollback continued over a six-stride oxer-liver pool line. Next riders where challenged with an oxer leading into a vertical-vertical combination. With a left turn riders then took a stand alone over headed to the far end of the ring where they took a vertical heading into an oxer-vertical outside line and over a skinny vertical. A sharp right turn took riders to the penultimate oxer and then over the final vertical to trip the timer.

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FEI, Olympic Games, Show Jumping

Statement from FEI Secretary General on Disqualification of Canadian Horse Victor

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London (GBR), 9 August 2012 – FEI Secretary General Ingmar De Vos has spoken publicly for the first time about the Canadian team Jumping horse Victor, which was disqualified under the FEI’s hypersensitivity protocol shortly before the Olympic team competition in London on 5 August.

“Disqualification of an athlete will always spark speculation, but in the case of Tiffany Foster’s horse Victor the protocol established very clearly that this was an obvious case of hypersensitivity,” Ingmar De Vos said today. “This was a unanimous decision, supported by four highly qualified veterinarians who specialise in testing for hypersensitivity using a system that has been monitoring FEI competitions since 2005.”

“These have been really great Games, and all the equestrian disciplines at Greenwich have been very special. The spectacular sport and the fantastic crowds are the memories that we will take away from London 2012.”

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Championships, Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Phelps Media Group, Show Jumping, USEF

Valentino and Aleece Jarman Capture Overall Green Grand Hunter Pony Championship at 2012 US Pony Finals

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Aleece Jarman and Valentino won the Overall Green Grand Hunter Pony Championship at the 2012 US Pony Finals. Photo By: Ashley N. Williams

Lexington, KY – The fences were set as the second day of the Green Pony Hunter divisions entered the ring to showcase their talent over fences. The 2012 US National Hunter Pony Championships presented by Sallee Horse Vans, continued today at the Kentucky Horse Park, seeing ponies and riders navigate the nine-obstacle course with the hopes of taking the top honors over fences, as well as the prestigious championship and reserve championship titles. As the day came to a close, it was Aleece Jarman and Valentino who claimed the Green Pony Hunter Grand Championship title after winning the Large Green Pony Hunter Over Fences and the Large Green Pony Hunter Championship.

The first to dare Bobby Murphy’s course were the Small Green Pony Hunters. Parker Wright and Benjamin Buttons, owned by Emmalee Virginia, entered the third phase of the competition with the highest overall score and, combined with their excellent round over fences, they climbed to the top of the leaderboard. The pair was awarded the scores of 83.50, 85.50, and 83.50 for a total of 252.50 points. Combined with their first day scores, Wright earned a total 1009.50 points to take the blue ribbon in the over-fences phase, as well as the Small Green Pony Hunter Championship.

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Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Jennifer Ward, Show Jumping

Tracy Magness and Tarco Van Ter Moude Win $5,000 1.40m in Vermont

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Tracy Magness and Tarco Van Ter Moude won the $5,000 Open Jumper 1.40m class. David Mullinix Photography

East Dorset, Vermont – Week six of the 2012 Vermont Summer Festival kicked off on Wednesday, August 8, with its Vermont Summer Celebration Horse Show at Harold Beebe Farm in East Dorset, VT. The $5,000 Open Jumper 1.40m was the highlight class of the day with a win for Tracy Magness, of Hughesville, MD, riding Tarco Van Ter Moude. The Vermont Summer Festival runs July 4 through August 12.

Eric Hasbrouck is the course designer in the grand prix ring this week. In Wednesday’s $5,000 Open Jumper 1.40m, Hasbrouck saw 13 out of 21 entries navigate the first round course without fault. Seven entries went double clear in the jump-off, and Tracy Magness and Tarco Van Ter Moude, owned by M/M John Bartko, had the fastest time of 36.48 seconds for the win.

Second place honors went to Ireland’s Paul O’Shea and Wizz, owned by O’Shea and Daniel Walsh, with a clear jump-off round in 38.16 seconds.  Charlotte Jacobs, of East Aurora, NY, grabbed the third and fourth place prizes with her mounts Promised Land and Kachina. Riding Promised Land, owned by Candy Tribble and Windsor Show Stables, Jacobs stopped the clock in 38.40 seconds to finish third. With Kachina, owned by Deeridge Farms, Jacobs finished in 40.30 seconds to place fourth. Catherine Tyree, of Barrington Hills, IL, jumped double clear with Wetter in a time of 42.07 seconds to place fifth. Ireland’s Darragh Kenny rode North Star’s Umberto and Cyrina Z to double clear rounds as well, finishing sixth and seventh respectively.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Events, Olympic Games, Show Jumping, USEF

Top Ten Individual Finish for Fellers at 2012 Olympic Games

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Rich Fellers and Flexible (Shannon Brinkman)

Greenwich, UK – Rich Fellers and Flexible put in a valiant effort in the Individual Show Jumping Final at the Olympic Games and came up with a top 10 finish on just five faults. Swiss rider Steve Guerdat put forward an immaculate effort to take Gold on Nino des Buissonnets while Gerco Schröder’s clear jump-off round meant he takes Individual Silver home to Holland with the appropriately named London. Irishman Cian O’Connor would have stopped the clock quicker in that jump-off on Blue Lloyd 12 but had the very last fence down to settle for Bronze.

The United States was represented by both Fellers (Sherwood, OR) and McLain Ward (Brewster, NY) in the Individual Final. Ward rode Antares F to a 12-fault effort in Round A, putting a foot in the water in addition to lowering the heights of two of the fences on Bob Ellis’ track. Five faults was the cut off for the top 20 who qualified for Round B, so only Fellers returned to the ring.

“It was a great course,” said Ward after Round A. “It was hard but fair. At this point you’re starting to run on fumes. But my horse should have been better. I felt like I rode the course better today than I rode a Nations Cup so I was pleased with my riding. As always, I will look to see what I could have done better down the last line.”

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

Guerdat Takes Individual Olympic Gold for Switzerland

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(L to R) Gerco Schroder (NED) silver, gold medallist Steve Guerdat (SUI) and bronze medallist Cian O'Connor (IRL). Photo: FEI/Kit Houghton.

London (GBR), 8 August 2012 – Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat claimed individual jumping gold at the London 2012 Olympic venue at Greenwich Park today when he was the only rider in the final competition to maintain a completely clean sheet in the two rounds. And in a thrilling two-way third-round jump off, The Netherlands’ Gerco Schroder pipped Ireland’s Cian O’Connor for silver.

Hopes had been high for a fairytale British ending to a week of fantastic jumping sport, but it wasn’t to be. And it was a very last-minute affair for O’Connor who only made the cut when Sweden’s Rolf-Goran Bengtsson’s stallion, Casall, was withdrawn after being sent to the holding box at this morning’s final veterinary inspection. This allowed the three riders sharing reserve spot to take their chance, and the Irishman grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

Bengtsson, silver medallist at the 2008 Beijing Games, was disappointed when he couldn’t compete. “I’ve been working towards this since Hong Kong, but the horse has to be my first priority,” he said. Swedish team vet Jonas Tornell explained, “Casall got a small injury on his left front leg during the second round of the team competition.”

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