Category Archives: Show Jumping

Victoria Colvin Wins 5th Annual George Morris Excellence in Equitation Championships

Michelle Navarro-Grau and Tibetano Capture Spy Coast Farm 1.40m Speed Challenge, Hillary Jean and D’Amour Win Low Adult 2’6″ Hunters

Victoria Colvin and VIP Z. Photo © Sportfot

Wellington, FL – March 23, 2012 – The 5th Annual George Morris Excellence in Equitation Championships were held on Friday evening in the International Arena at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. A feature event for the junior riders at the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival, the victory gallop was led by 14-year-old Victoria Colvin of Loxahatchee, FL.

Tonight’s class was held in three rounds with thirty-four riders competing in round one, the top 13 coming back for round two, and the top four returning for the third and final round. The course walk and schooling were the sole responsibility of the riders. Competitors were allowed no contact with their trainers during the class and were responsible for time management, warm up, and schooling of their own horses with the assistance of one groom.

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20th Annual Live Oak International Is Underway in Ocala

Chester Weber (picsofyou.com)

The 20th Annual Live Oak International got underway today on the serene grounds of Live Oak Plantation, also home to leading Thoroughbred breeding and training facility, Live Oak Stud in Ocala Florida. The Live Oak International represents the very best that combined driving competition has to offer and the event traditionally attracts the best drivers from around the world.  “This really is the premier event in the country,” according to the Technical Delegate Ed Young and U.S. Driving Team Chef d’Equipe, “they really go over and above here; the grounds are turned out to the nines.” In addition to the stellar driving competition, Live Oak International has added FEI CSI** Show Jumping to its roster on its 20th anniversary.  For the first time in 2012, jumpers will compete; initially on Friday afternoon in the $15,000 EyeD Welcome Stake, and then again on Saturday afternoon in a $50,000 Grand Prix.  The event this year boasted a wishful waiting list of entrants who were eager to get into the competition, but the event is full and running at capacity.

The driving event started this morning, and in total, 41 FEI and Intermediate dressage scores were turned in today.

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Engle, Fellers, and Kessler Share the Lead after Three Rounds in USEF Selection Trials

Skelton Continues Winning Streak in $30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Round 11 with Big Star, Farmer and Taken Win High Performance Working Hunters

Reed Kessler and Cylana. Photo © Sportfot

Wellington, FL – March 22, 2012 – Margie Engle and Indigo, Rich Fellers and Flexible, and Reed Kessler and Cylana are all tied at the top of the standings after round #3 of the USEF Selection Trials, which are being held to determine the riders that will represent the United States Show Jumping Team in the 2012 Olympic Games.

Riders showed in round #1 on Wednesday afternoon and round #2 earlier in the day on Thursday. The scores from all three rounds will carry over to Saturday evening when competitors will compete in a fourth and final round. This event also serves as the USEF National Show Jumping Championships, a return to the event that was last held in 2008.

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Engle, Fellers and Kessler Tied at the Top of the 2012 USEF National Show Jumping Championships/USEF Selection Trials for the U.S. Show Jumping Team

Mario Deslauriers and Urico (Photo: SportFot)

Wellington, FL – Two rounds of jumping for the USEF National Show Jumping Championships took place on Thursday at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center – and for the 30 horses returning for the penultimate round, there was also selection for the U.S. Show Jumping Team for the 2012 Olympic Games on the line. Alan Wade’s course was a serious one this evening, and it was compared to some of the biggest championship tracks in the world.

Clear rounds were hard to come by in both rounds: in the Trial 3 no one managed a fault free performance, but fellow New Yorkers Mario Deslauriers on Jane Clark’s Urico and Brianne Goutal on Remarkable Farms’ Nice de Prissey respectively finished with one time fault. This performance put Deslauriers into the fourth place spot in the trial rankings (on nine faults) with a three-way tie for the lead on eight.

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Eight Stand Out in Opening Day of USEF Selection Trials for U.S. Show Jumping Team

Charlie Jayne and Athena. Photos © Sportfot

Wellington, FL – March 21, 2012 – Week eleven of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival kicked off on Wednesday with the exciting first round of the USEF Selection Trials for the U.S. Show Jumping Team for the 2012 Olympic Games. Eight of the USA’s top show jumping duos stood out from the pack with clear rounds in Selection Trial #1, including Reed Kessler and Cylana, Charlie Jayne and Athena, Margie Engle and Indigo, Laura Kraut and Teirra, Kirsten Coe and Baronez, Kent Farrington and Uceko, Christine McCrea and Romantovich Take One, and Mario Deslauriers and Urico.

Today’s class was the first of four challenging rounds in the USEF Selection Trials. The next two rounds, similar to Nations Cup format, will be held on Thursday, March 22. The first round is at 1 p.m. and the second round starts with festivities at 7 p.m. and the first horse at 8 p.m. The final round in jump-off format is on Saturday, March 24, with festivities starting at 7 p.m. and first horse at 8 p.m.

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American Stars Line Up with USEF National Show Jumping Championship at Stake in Wellington

USEF Selection Trials to Run Concurrently

Lexington, KY – Twenty-seven of the United States’ best show jumping riders will take over the International Ring at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center March 21-24 to vie for the 2012 USEF National Show Jumping Championship. The championship runs concurrently with the USEF Selection Trials for the US Show Jumping Team for the 2012 Olympic Games, meaning there is plenty on the line at the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival.

The USEF National Show Jumping Championship has been on hiatus since 2008 but the 2012 return features four classes over three days of jumping.

“It is wonderful,” said U.S. Chef d’Equipe George Morris. “In most other countries this is a very big deal, this national championship. We definitely needed to incorporate it into the trials because my concern is that horses are always asked to do more.”

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Kent Farrington and Uceko to Defend Title at Gene Mische American Invitational

Kent Farrington and Uceko, winners of the 2011 Gene Mische American Invitational. PHOTO: ©Parker/Russell, The Book LLC

Tampa, FL – March 20, 2012 – Kent Farrington and Uceko, the winners of last year’s Gene Mische American Invitational, presented by G & C Farm, will be returning to defend their title when the “Super Bowl of Show Jumping” returns to Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium on Saturday, April 7, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.

This year marks the 40th anniversary for this enduring classic and promises to be a thrilling night of show jumping as the world’s greatest riders and horses gather in the Tampa Bay area to decide the American Invitational title.

But for Farrington and Uceko to win a second time, much less in back to back years, the dynamic duo will have to defy the odds. Over long and storied forty year history of America’s greatest show jumping test, only two horses have ever put together back to back wins and only four horses in total have been able to win the event twice.

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Tampa Equestrian Series Adds New Hunter and Jumper Divisions

Tampa, FL – March 20, 2012 – The 2012 Tampa Equestrian Series is pleased to announce that it has added new hunter and jumper divisions to the lineup for the two-week horse show. Thanks to popular demand by this year’s exhibitors, the Tampa Equestrian Series has added Performance Working Hunter 3’6-3’9″and Performance Working Hunter 3’3″divisions, as well as Low Adult and Low Children’s Jumper divisions. The Tampa Equestrian Series is scheduled for March 28 – April 7, 2012, at the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, FL.

The hunter ring has recently added the Performance Hunter 3’6″-3’9″ division and the Performance Hunter 3’3″ division to its list of rated events, and the Tampa Equestrian Series is pleased to welcome these new additions. The classes will be held in the Main Hunter Ring during the first two days of competition for each week of the show. The divisions have also been added to the Tampa Equestrian Series Awards.

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FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival: Week Ten Wrap-up and Week Eleven Upcoming Events

Wellington, FL – March 19, 2012 – The tenth week of competition at the 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) concluded on Sunday. Sponsored by Artisan Farms, the week featured numerous exciting events, including the $80,000 Pennfield Feeds CSI 3* Grand Prix and $15,000 Artisan Farms Young Rider Grand Prix Final. Week eleven runs March 21-25 and features the USEF Selection Trials for the U.S. Show Jumping Team for the 2012 Olympic Games. The 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of competition that conclude on April 1, 2012, and will be awarding more than $6 million in prize money through the circuit.

It’s a Big Week at the FTI WEF Week 11 – See What You Can Watch!

The Global Dressage Festival National Challenge is the next horse show at the Stadium show grounds of the Global Dressage Festival. The event takes place on Tuesday, March 20 and Wednesday, March 21. Come and watch top dressage competition in the beautiful new show grounds.

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Charlotte Jacobs Earns Position on United States Young Riders European Tour

Charlotte Jacobs and Promised Land during the $15,000 Artisan Farms Young Rider Grand Prix. Photo By: Rebecca Walton/PMG

East Aurora, NY and Wellington, FL – March 20, 2012 – The 2012 Artisan Farms Young Rider Series came to a close yesterday following its final event, the $15,000 Artisan Farms Young Rider Grand Prix. Once again proving her consistency, Charlotte Jacobs piloted Promised Land to a second place finish, which eventually helped her tie for the second place position overall in the four-part series. As the highest placing American, Jacobs has now earned a position on the USEF Young Riders European Tour.

This year during the Series, Jacobs completed three clear rounds and two four-fault rounds with Promised Land, including the fastest four-fault effort during the final event, which earned the red ribbon. “It was a really long course,” explained Jacobs. “It was out here on the field, so everybody was expecting it to be long, but having the triple at the end of course caught a lot of people including myself. It was big and it was difficult, there were a lot of technical places, but I thought it was a good course overall.”

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