Category Archives: Show Jumping

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

Guerdat Takes Individual Olympic Gold for Switzerland

Leave a comment
(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a very last-minute affair for O’Connor who only made the cut when Sweden’s Rolf-Goran Bengtsson’s stallion, Casall, was withdrawn after being sent to the holding box at this morning’s final veterinary inspection.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.”

Continue reading Guerdat Takes Individual Olympic Gold for Switzerland →

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

Kelley Farmer Brings Home Bundles of Ribbons in Day One of the Traders Point Hunt Charity Horse Show

Leave a comment
Kelley Farmer and On Q

Zionsville, IN – August 7, 2012 – Kelley Farmer showed a strong start aboard On Q opening day of the Traders Point Hunt Charity Horse Show Tuesday, Aug. 7. She placed in the blue ribbons riding the 6-year-old stallion owned by CH Farm in Delano, MN, in the First Year Green Working Hunter, First Year Green Handy Hunter and won a red in the Green Working Hunter Under Saddle Class.

“The stallion was great. We think he is going to be very special,” she bubbled. “We’re very excited about him.”

The day was warm and cloud-free as the riders mounted up surrounded by the green, rolling hills of Wild Air Farm owned by Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester Johnson. Striped tents dotted the landscape and spectators and riders alike enjoyed the gleaming horses and blue skies.

Continue reading Kelley Farmer Brings Home Bundles of Ribbons in Day One of the Traders Point Hunt Charity Horse Show →

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

Ponies Descend on Kentucky Horse Park for 2012 US Pony Finals

Leave a comment

The Kentucky Horse Park Welcomes Pint-sized Mounts to a Fierce Competition

Tomorrow begins the Green Pony Hunters Over Fences, Medium Ponies Compete in the Under Saddle Phase

Lindsey Ayres and In a Dream (Photos: Kendall Bierer/PMG)

Lexington, KY – The Walnut Ring was alive with families and friends supporting young competitors and their pony mounts as the 2012 US Pony Finals and the US Hunter Pony Championships presented by Sallee Horse Vans got underway with its first day at the Kentucky Horse Park. Today, the top ponies and riders from across the nation amassed for the Green Pony Hunter Model and Under Saddle, as well as the Regular Medium Pony Hunter Model. Throughout the year, riders have worked persistently to qualify for this prominent event and vie for the winning honors.

The US Pony Finals offer three phases of competition for utilizing scores in conformation, movement under saddle, and jumping ability. The riders were clad in their best dress. Winners are declared in each division: small, small green, medium, medium green, large and large green pony hunters. Each year the points are calculated to declare the US Grand Champion Green Hunter Pony Champion, as well as the US Grand Champion Regular Hunter Pony.

Continue reading Ponies Descend on Kentucky Horse Park for 2012 US Pony Finals →

Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Show Jumping

Equus Events Expands Show Schedule with Two New Fall Events

Leave a comment

August 7th, 2012 – Aiken, SC based Equus Events, Inc. is pleased to announce two new events for this coming fall. Chatt Hills Equestrian Center and Bouckaert Farms have added a new hunter jumper show taking place September 21-23. J. P. Godard and his Equus Events team will be handling the management duties for the Chatt Hills Fall Horse Show. This renowned facility is home of the popular Atlanta Summerfest series which takes place August 16-26 and also the 2012 USEA Nutrena American Eventing Championships held this September. It is situated on over 8,000 picturesque acres along the Chattahoochee River and offers some of the nicest footing and stabling in the country. The event will feature classics for most hunter divisions and offer many affordable opportunities for beginner riders. It will hold a USEF “A” rating and be sanctioned by GHJA, SCHJA, and NCHJA.

In October, the first annual Harvest Classic Horse Show will take place October 12-14 at Highfields in historic Aiken, SC. This new event will hold a USEF “A” rating and will feature a $1,000 Pony Hunter Derby, $1,000 Children’s/Adult Hunter Derby, and the $5,000 Aiken Jumper Derby. The Jumper Derby will have a “jump off” style format but will include more natural style obstacles and a slightly longer course. “Our goal for the pony and children’s/adult hunter derbies is to offer a finals type of experience that many exhibitors don’t receive at the regional level,” said show manager J. P. Godard. “We want to make these classes very special, and offer a show that is affordable and fun for everyone.”

Continue reading Equus Events Expands Show Schedule with Two New Fall Events →

Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Kentucky Horse Shows, Phelps Media Group, Show Jumping

Kentucky Summer Classic Horse Show Wrap-up: July 31 – August 5

Leave a comment
Kaitlin Campbell holds the current lead in the 2012 Hagyard Challenge Series (pictured with Rocky W).

Lexington, KY – Aug 6, 2012 — The applause and excitement could be heard resounding throughout the Kentucky Horse Park Saturday evening as the $50,000 Rood & Riddle Grand Prix got underway in the Rolex Stadium. It was the fifth day of the Kentucky Summer Classic, and the nation’s top riders gathered to show under the bright lights of the stadium for a share in the prize money, and the desired $8,000 SSG ‘Go Clean for the Green’ Digital Riding Glove promotion bonus. Out of 33 entries only five were able to ride the first course clear, and progress into the arduous jump-off. It was Blythe Marano and Urban who wowed the crowd tonight, taking the top earnings and the bonus money. Aaron Vale piloted Palm Sunday to the second place finish as the only other rider to go double clear.

Blythe Marano was the first to outwit D’Ambrosio’s shortened course. She guided Urban, owned by Riverview Farm of Franklin, TN, to a speedy jump-off time, leaving all rails intact as she utilized Urban’s sure footing to her advantage. The duo tripped the timers in a mere 43.770 seconds, setting the target time as the pathfinder.

Continue reading Kentucky Summer Classic Horse Show Wrap-up: July 31 – August 5 →

Competitions, Events, HITS, Hunter/Equitation, Show Jumping

Jeffery Welles Is on His Way to the Pfizer Million with a Win in Sunday’s $100,000 Strongid C 2X Grand Prix

Leave a comment
©ESI Photography. Jeffery Welles and Aries look focused as they jump their way to a win in Sunday’s $100,000 Strongid C 2X Grand Prix

SAUGERTIES, NY (August 6, 2012) – Jeffery Welles’ Pfizer Million fate was sealed on Sunday as he and Aries jumped to a win in the $100,000 Strongid C 2X Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, and picked up his final required qualifier for September’s Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix. Welles, who has earned over $48,000 aboard Aries on the road to the Pfizer Million, is now eligible and excited to be a part of the coveted feature class of HITS Championship Weekend, scheduled for September 9.

Thanks to Sunday’s $30,000 winner’s check, Welles jumped from 26th in the Pfizer Million Top 40 Rider Rankings to sit comfortably in the top ten. He piloted Aries – a nine-year-old gelding owned by Noel Love Gross – to the top of a 31-horse field and used an impressively big stride to beat all comers in the jump-off. Welles produced the third clear round of the day over a course set by Canada’s Danny Foster. He was later joined by two more riders in a five-horse second round.

Continue reading Jeffery Welles Is on His Way to the Pfizer Million with a Win in Sunday’s $100,000 Strongid C 2X Grand Prix →

Community/Charity, Competitions, Events, Show Jumping, Sydney Masters-Durieux

Step by Step & Colorado Horse Park Foundations Raise Thousands for Families Displaced by Waldo Canyon Fires at Summer in Rockies Series

Leave a comment

Children Receive School Supplies Thanks to Step by Step’s “Back to School Backpack” Online Initiative before Fall Classes Begin

Emanuel Andrade champions the charity at the Kentucky Horse Park, by Ingrid Sabater

Parker, CO/Wellington, FL – August 5, 2012 – CEOs Liliane Stransky of Step by Step and Kyle Fenner of The Colorado Horse Park joined forces during the Summer in the Rockies horse show series to raise funds for the victims of the Waldo Canyon fire and charity helping, Colorado Springs Together.  The event, held at the Colorado Horse Park in Parker, CO before the final $50,000 Parker Adventist Grand Prix, raised thousands for the displaced families in the community and their animals. In addition Stransky also introduced the Step by Step’s School in Backpack campaign, an online initiative which raised funds to buy supplies for students in the area before they go back to classes in the fall. This online outreach drew donations from around the country and, thanks to the success of both the Facebook and online promo, Stransky was able to purchase hundreds and hundreds of backpacks filled with much needed supplies which she and her staff sent out from the charity’s headquarters in Florida this week.

Continue reading Step by Step & Colorado Horse Park Foundations Raise Thousands for Families Displaced by Waldo Canyon Fires at Summer in Rockies Series →

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

US Pony Finals Set to Begin Tuesday

Leave a comment

Lexington, KY – More than 500 of the very best ponies in the U.S. are in Lexington, Kentucky right now to compete at the 2012 US Pony Finals. Starting Tuesday they will be ridden into competition at the Kentucky Horse Park by youth riders from around the country.

Over the next six days riders will take aim at the US Hunter Pony Championships presented by Sallee Horse Vans in Small, Medium, and Large Regular Hunter and Green Hunter sections and at an overall Regular and Green Hunter championship.  Starting Wednesday and continuing through Friday pony jumpers will go after Team and Individual jumping championships. On Sunday, August 12th the week will end with the awarding of the Equisport Insurance/US Pony Medal Championship.

The full 2012 U.S. Pony Finals schedule is available here.

Though a National Pony Championship has been held in the U.S. since 1967 the popular and cherished Pony Medal has only been awarded since 1984. Since then the equitation competition that determines the medal winner has been a highlight of the week. Riders qualify by earning a blue ribbon or by earning 30 points in any U.S. Pony Medal Qualifying class. During the championship they will be judged head-to-head over a demanding course of fences.

Continue reading US Pony Finals Set to Begin Tuesday →

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

Great Britain Takes Olympic Jumping Gold in Two-Way Showdown Thriller

Leave a comment
Scott Brash, Ben Maher, Nick Skelton and Peter Charles won jumping team gold for Great Britain at the London 2012 Olympic Games equestrian venue in Greenwich Park today. Photo: FEI/Kit Houghton.

London (GBR), 6 August 2012 – There were ecstatic scenes in Greenwich Park this afternoon when Great Britain ended a 60-year drought to claim Jumping team gold for only the second time in the history of the Olympic Games. They had to battle all the way, and it came down to a two-way jump-off against The Netherlands, but Nick Skelton, Peter Charles, Ben Maher and Scott Brash triumphed in the finest style and, to put the icing on the cake, they did it on home soil. Saudi Arabia took bronze behind the Dutch, with Switzerland finishing fourth and just outside the medals.

For Skelton and Charles, level at this success has been a long time coming. “It’s taken me 54 years,” Skelton said today. “It’s unbelievable and what a place to do it! I have a wonderful horse and it’s a dream come true. It’s great for our country and great for our sport. The lads have done great” he added, turning to his team-mates, “and I’m really pleased for Pete (Charles). He has had a rough trip but he came good in the end.”

For 52-year-old Charles it was no easy ride. “I got off to a bad start, but this is as good as it gets!” he said as he grasped the gold medal hanging around his neck.

Continue reading Great Britain Takes Olympic Jumping Gold in Two-Way Showdown Thriller →

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

U.S. Olympic Show Jumping Team Finishes Sixth; Fellers and Ward Advance to Individual Final

Leave a comment
Beezie Madden and Via Volo (Shannon Brinkman)

Greenwich, UK – Hard luck continued for the U.S. Olympic Show Jumping Team as they rallied for a sixth place finish in the Team Championship at Greenwich Park. American anchor rider Rich Fellers said “Clear rounds win medals” and today that proved true as Great Britain won Team Gold for the first time since 1952. They did it in classic style in front of a home crowd of 20,000 fans, jumping off with Holland for the Gold medal. It was a masterful effort by the home team. Saudi Arabia won Bronze.

Bob Ellis’ track proved incredibly tough and scopey and only eight of the 51 starters managed clear rounds. The water line, from fences three to five proved very influential. The best American effort was turned in by Beezie Madden (Cazenovia, NY) who rebounded back from a rough start to the Olympic Games on Via Volo to fault at the third to last fence, a massive oxer.

“For sure it’s harder without saying,” said Madden. “And more technical. The water is more difficult and the double to the vertical is quite difficult… and the last three jumps are just plain old big.”

Continue reading U.S. Olympic Show Jumping Team Finishes Sixth; Fellers and Ward Advance to Individual Final →