Category Archives: Show Jumping

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

Dutch Do It Again at St Gallen

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Pictured left to right - Jeroen Dubbeldam, Gerco Schroder, Rob Ehrens (Chef d'Equipe), Marc Houtzager and Leon Thijssen. Photo: FEI/Valeria Streun.

St Gallen (SUI), 1 June 2012 – A nail-biting last-to-go round from Gerco Schroder and Eurocommerce New Orleans clinched victory for The Netherlands at the FEI Nations Cup in St Gallen, Switzerland today.

Germany came into this third leg of the 2012 series as clear favourites following their emphatic success in Rome (ITA) last Friday.  But, just as it did 12 months ago, the Swiss venue provided a classic example of what makes the sport of Nations Cup Jumping so appealing – its utter unpredictability.  And in a repeat of last year’s exciting event, it was the Dutch who out on top once again.

The host nation enjoyed another great day when sharing second place with Great Britain, while team Germany finished fourth ahead of Belgium in fifth and Ireland in sixth, France in seventh and Sweden in eighth place.

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

Emotional Night as McLain Ward Wins Seventh Grand Prix of Devon in a Remarkable Comeback

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McLain Ward and Antares F (AK Dragoo Photography)

Devon, PA – A small but mighty field of show jumping horses lined up to tackle the penultimate USEF Observation Event for the U.S. Show Jumping Team for the 2012 Olympic Games. Thirteen combinations from the USEF Show Jumping Long List headlined the field of 16 in the 2012 $100,000 Wells Fargo Grand Prix of Devon.

The Dixon Oval always proves a tremendous venue at the Devon Horse Show and with improvements made over the last few years, the storied competition, though steeped with history, continues to evolve into the modern age. Another chapter in its history was written this evening as McLain Ward scored his seventh Grand Prix of Devon title. The win was full of emotion as Ward (Brewster, NY) battled back from a shattered kneecap in January to fight for his spot on his third Olympic Team.

“Obviously it feels great,” said Ward after his win. “I haven’t jumped jumps that big in a while. It’s nice to be back – it was a really hard four months.”

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

Abigail McArdle Earns Top Honors at Devon Horse Show

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Abigail McArdle and Cosma 20 placed sixth in the $15,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior Classic at the Devon Horse Show. Photo By: Kenneth Kraus/PhelpsSports

Devon PA – May 30, 2012 – During Junior Weekend at the prestigious Devon Horse Show, young rider Abigail McArdle showcased her skills and earned top ribbons in both the equitation and the jumper rings. She placed in the top three during three of the equitation events with Apartico, and qualified for the jump-off during the $15,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior Classic aboard Cosma 20.

The equitation classes were held at the beginning of the week, and McArdle kicked off the competition with a score of 89 in the WIHS Equitation Classic – Jumper Phase, which garnered the second place honors. She then went on to place third in the ASPCA Maclay Horsemanship Classic, as well as the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search with Apartico.

“It’s so nice to walk into the ring at Devon and in the first class lay down a trip and get a second in the Washington,” expressed McArdle. “Even though we didn’t win, we had very consistent trips in every class. There were great courses with a lot of different tests. You could have a forward line and then have to collect, and then need to make a bending line. It really showed off the relationship between Apartico and myself because we work really hard on the flat. It showed off which horses were adjustable, so that’s where all of my flatwork paid off and we could really shine.”

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Competitions, Events, FEI, FEI, Show Jumping

Irish Get Best of the Draw at St Gallen

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(Back row, L to R) - Philippe Guerdat, Chef d’Equipe Belgium; Henk Nooren, Chef d’Equipe France; Rob Hoekstra, Chef d’Equipe Great Britain; Sylve Soderstrand, Chef d’Equipe Sweden; Rob Ehrens, Chef d’Equipe The Netherlands. (Front row, L to R) - Robert Splaine, Chef d’Equipe, Ireland; Peter Stossen, President Organising Committee CSIO St Gallen; John Roche, Jumping Director, FEI; Otto Becker, Chef d’Equipe Germany; Urs Grunig, Chef d’Equipe Switzerland. Photo: FEI/Katja Stuppia.

St Gallen (SUI), 31 May 2012 – The luck of the Irish may be about to change as they have the advantage of being drawn last to go in tomorrow’s third leg of the FEI Nations Cup 2012 at St Gallen, Switzerland.  Their last-place finish in Rome (ITA) a week ago has plunged them to the bottom of the series leaderboard, but Chef d’Equipe, Robert Splaine, will be hoping to do something about that when tomorrow’s competition gets underway.

The order of go is as follows:  1, The Netherlands; 2, Germany; 3, Switzerland; 4, Belgium; 5, France; 6, Great Britain; 7, Sweden; 8, Ireland.

The team managers will select their sides later today after the warm-up competition.  There is a new format for CSIO St Gallen this year, with the show running over three days instead of four, and of course the centre-piece of tomorrow’s first-day action will be the FEI Nations Cup.  The records show that, since it was first staged in Lucerne in 1927, Germany has won the Swiss Nations Cup more times than any other country – on 20 occasions over the last 85 years.

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS

It is the Dutch, however, who return as defending champions, having won at St Gallen in 2011.  And they will be first into the ring tomorrow, after Rob Ehrens has selected his side from Gert-Jan Bruggink, Jeroen Dubbeldam, Marc Houtzager, Gerco Schroder and Leon Thijssen.  Schroder and Houtzager both competed in Rome (ITA) last Friday where the team finished equal sixth with Great Britain.

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

Third 2012 US Show Jumping Team Observation Event Set to Get Underway at Devon Horse Show

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Beezie Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo (Shannon Brinkman)

Devon, PA – All eyes will be on the Devon Horse Show this week as 13 of the top jumping combinations in the U.S. compete in the third of four 2012 U.S. Show Jumping Team Observation Events. Horses and riders on the USEF Long List for the U.S. Show Jumping Team for the 2012 Olympic Games will jump in Thursday’s Wells Fargo Grand Prix of Devon and Saturday’s Open Jumper Stake.

Beezie Madden will be extremely busy this week as she brings her three long listed horses to compete at the Devon Observation Event. Madden will compete Coral Reef Via Volo in the mare’s first Observation Event classes this week. The 14-year-old Belgian Warmblood and Madden teamed up to win Team Gold and Individual Silver medals for the U.S. at last year’s Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. She will also ride Abigail Wexner’s talented geldings Simon and Cortes ‘C’. Both horses had strong showings at the Observation Event in Lexington, KY earlier this month. Simon jumped to victory in the $50,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic and collected third place honors in the $75,000 Commonwealth Grand Prix. While Cortes ‘C’ finished fourth in the latter.

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

2012 Show Jumping European Young and Junior Rider Tour Ready to Jump in France

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U.S. Young Riders are Prepared for the 2012 Show Jumping European Young and Junior Rider Tour (USEF Archive)

Lexington, KY – The 2012 Show Jumping European Young and Junior Rider Tour continues this week in France. Michelle Grubb will serve as the chef d’equipe and guide the talented group of riders through their second stop on the 2012 tour this weekend at the CSIOYJ Reims, running May 31 – June 3. At the first stop of the tour in Bonheiden, Belgium, the U.S. Young Riders team tied for fourth in the Nations Cup.

The five U.S. riders contesting the CSIOY this weekend have already had success in Europe and look to continue the trend this weekend. The top performer in the Nations Cup at Bonheiden was Alise Oken & Hi Hopes Farm’s Kaid Du Ry. The pair produced two clear efforts over both rounds of competition, something that only one other pair was able to do. Oken will also ride Hi Hopes Farm’s Marcus Quintus at Reims this week.

Annie Cook and Lydia Ulrich both improved from round to round in the Bonheiden Nations Cup. At Reims, Cook will ride Signe Ostby’s Banba and Landkorn 5 and Ulrich will ride Beth Congel and Up The Creek Farm’s Santos Utopia. Jennifer Goddard won two classes in Bonheiden with Stateside Farm’s Ungaro de la Hot Couture. Goddard will also ride Stateside Farm’s Unique, her Nations Cup mount, in France on the second stop of the tour.

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

London Bound Margie Engle Wins the $50,000 EMO Grand Prix to Finish Out Opening Week at HITS-on-the-Hudson

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©ESI Photography. Margie Engle and Royce on course in the $50,000 EMO Grand Prix

SAUGERTIES, NY (May 29, 2012) – U.S. Olympic hopeful Margie Engle didn’t waste any time settling in at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, New York this year. On Sunday, riding Elm Rock Partners LLC’s Royce, she captured the victory in the $50,000 EMO Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health.

Engle, of West Palm Beach, Florida, piloted Royce to the win over a course designed by Marina Azevedo of Campinas, Brazil. Engle was one of seven who advanced to the jump-off where, as one of the most winning riders in the history of the sport, she is known to capitalize.

“This is the first time this horse has ever won a Grand Prix,” said Engle. “I just got him at the beginning of the season and he’s still young, only eight years old and he has all the raw talent in the world. This was a lot of fun today for this horse and I think he could become a really great horse in the years to come.”

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Classic Company, Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Show Jumping

Tryon Summer Classic Just Under a Week Away

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Lucky One and Vick Russell. Photos by Mark Lenher and Hoofclix Photography

May 25th, 2012 – Aiken, SC – After a full week of competition and record attendance at the Atlanta Spring Challenge Horse Show there is no down time for the staff at Aiken, SC based Equus Events. The 2012 Tryon Summer Classic to benefit the Tryon Hounds is just under a week away and preparations are already underway for the event which takes place May 31 – June 3 at beautiful FENCE (Foothills Equestrian Nature Center). FENCE is an over 380 acre nature, education, and recreation facility nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. There are many activities in the area including numerous shops and antique stores as well as adventures whitewater rafting on the Green River. This year’s show will again benefit the Tryon Hounds. This event encompasses the days of old with a rich tradition but also attracts some of the top riders and trainers in the southeast. Many will be competing for some of the numerous Grand Champion and perpetual trophies.

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

Convincing Win for Germany in Rome

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(from left to right): Chef d’Equipe Otto Becker, Marcus Ehning, Marco Kutscher and Ludger Beerbaum (back row), Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr Giulio Terze, FEI President HRH Princess Haya and Mr Andreas Paulgross, President of FISE. Photo: FEI/Bruno de Lorenzo.

ROME (ITA), 25 May 2012 – A powerful German team breezed to victory in the second leg of the FEI Nations Cup 2012 series at the Piazza di Siena in Rome (ITA) this afternoon.  On a day when FEI President, Princess Haya, visited the venue where she competed herself during her jumping career, and where all the talk was about the forthcoming Olympic Games in London and the proposed changes to the FEI Nations Cup format, the competition provided the excitement that has ensured its survival for over a century.

Switzerland finished a close second today, just four faults behind the winning side, while the first-leg winners from Belgium slotted into third.  The host nation of Italy, making a guest appearance since they no longer compete in the Top League, did themselves proud when galloping into fourth spot ahead of France, while The Netherlands and Great Britain shared sixth.  For Sweden and Ireland however it was a difficult day when both were left vulnerable due to rider eliminations and had to settle for eighth and ninth places respectively.

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Classic Company, Classic Company, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Products/Services, Show Jumping

Classic Company Announces NickerDoodles as 2012 Hunter Pony Derby Classics Sponsor

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May 26, 2012 – ST JOHNS ISLAND, SC – Bob Bell, President of the Classic Company, is happy to welcome NickerDoodles as the official sponsor of the inaugural $25,000 Hunter Pony Derby Classics that will premiere this summer. The first classic will be held during the Atlanta Summer Classic Week II (June 20-24) at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers, GA and the second at the Charleston Summer Classic Week II (July 17-21).

“Classic Company is thrilled to have NickerDoodles sponsoring these special and historic pony events! No doubt the ponies too will be happy to have these great treats available,” Bell said.

NickerDoodles is a handcrafted easily digestible treat made from oats, wheat bran, barley, corn and molasses that ponies and horses alike can’t get enough of. Virginia Milam, who owns Khaki Run Horse Farm in Summerfield, NC, had been looking for a new venture that would still allow her to remain faithful to her passion, horses, when she discovered NickerDoodles. She was so impressed with the product she sought out the owner and bought the company.

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