Category Archives: Show Jumping

*Featured/Spotlights, Championships, Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Maclay, National Horse Show, Phelps Media Group, Show Jumping

Michael Hughes, Lillie Keenan, and Catherine Tyree Top 2011 ASPCA Maclay Regional Championships

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Michael Hughes won the 2011 ASPCA Maclay Region 1 "Northeast" Championship. Photo © 2011 Anne Gittins.

Wellington, FL – September 28, 2011 – This weekend concluded the 2011 ASPCA Maclay Regional Championships with the final competitions held for Regions 1, 2, and 4. Championship honors were awarded to Michael Hughes, Lillie Keenan, and Catherine Tyree for their incredible rides in each of their respective regions. The talented riders also earned an invitation to the Alltech National Horse Show in Lexington, KY, to compete for the top spot among the nation’s best junior riders with the 2011 ASPCA Alfred B. Maclay Finals presented by C. M. Hadfield’s Saddlery.

The Region 1 “Northeast” Championships were judged by Jimmy Torano and Jimmy Lee at the Grand Fall Classic in Westbrook, CT. Michael Hughes of Morriston, FL, caught their attention with his smooth and precise ride aboard Co Co Pop, winning top honors without entering the ring for additional testing. Hughes showed against 60 of the top juniors in the Northeast states of CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, and VT. Charlotte Jacobs of East Aurora, NY, finished in reserve for the second consecutive year.

“This weekend really went amazing,” said Hughes. “The first round went really well, the course was straightforward, and when it came to the flat phase, I know that Co Co Pop would really excel, so we were able to stay strong.”

Region 2 “East” Championship was held on Saturday, September 24 for the states of NJ, NY, and PA at Old Salem Farm in North Salem, NY. Judged by Rita Timpanaro and Chrystine Tauber, top honors were awarded to Lillie Keenan of New York, NY, aboard Catherine Cowie’s Vidarco. Samantha Schaefer of Westminster, MD rode to the reserve honors.

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Competitions, FEI, FEI, Show Jumping

FEI Nations Cup – Top League Statistics

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STACKING UP THE STATISTICS – NINE YEARS ON by Louise Parkes

Lausanne (SUI), 28 September 2011 – From the moment the concept of a Top League Nations Cup series was first devised by the FEI at the start of the new millennium, it grabbed the imagination and enthusiastic support of all those involved in the sport of Jumping.  And now, nine years on, and having returned to its original eight-leg, eight-nation format, some new statistics tell the story of the contribution of individual riders to one of the biggest success-stories in the history of equestrian sport – the FEI Nations Cup.

Since the inaugural Samsung Super League season got underway in 2003, a total of 13 nations – Great Britain, Germany, USA, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, The Netherlands, France, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Denmark and Poland – have battled it out for the coveted title that sets the best Jumping nation apart from the rest.  Germany holds the record for most wins, with four over the eight-year period including the 2011 title which they secured at the final leg of this year’s series in Rotterdam last month.

NO SURPRISE
It comes as no surprise then, that German riders dominate the statistical table for Riders with Most Wins between 2003 and 2011. This is headed up by Marco Kutscher who has been on 12 victorious teams.  From 25 starts, he produced 10 clear rounds and 4 double-clears and he has therefore made an exceptional contribution to his country’s success-rate.  Next in line is fellow-countryman Ludger Beerbaum with 11 wins from 26 starts, while Marcus Ehning lies third on this table with 10 wins from 30 starts and Christian Ahlmann is in fourth with nine.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Dressage, Eventing/H.T., Events, Show Jumping, USEF

Land Rover Awards $50,000 in Performance Grants to the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team

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Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister. Photo: www. stockimageservices. com

After a hugely successful early fall campaign for the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team, six riders will receive Land Rover Performance Grants based on their performance at the 2011 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials or the 2011 Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials.

2011 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (CCI4*) – Northampton, UK
Boyd Martin led the American effort with the Neville Bardos Syndicate’s Neville Bardos at the Burghley CCI4*. The pair finished seventh, earning a $10,000 Land Rover Performance Grant in addition to the $15,000 base grant which they received prior to their trip to the UK as part of the Land Rover Competition and Training Grant initiative. Their $10,000 Land Rover Performance Grant was based on their top 10% finish at a CCI4*.

“It was fantastic gesture for Land Rover to reward Neville with the $10,000 bonus thanks to his top finish at Burghley,” said Martin. “A huge international trip like this amounts to thousands of dollars in expenses, and this performance grant will be going directly toward offsetting a lot of the costs for Neville’s trip to England. Land Rover has absolutely made my dream of competing at Burghley a reality with their grants.”

Sinead Halpin rode Manoir de Carneville to a 15th place finish at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials and will receive a $5,000 Land Rover Performance Grant for their top 20% finish at a CCI4*. Halpin’s trip to her first European CCI4* was funded by the USET Foundation’s Jacqueline Mars Grant.

2011 Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials (CCI3*) – Woodstock, UK
Tiana Coudray jumped up to a second place finish with Ringwood Magister at the Blenheim CCI3*, marking a return to form for the California combination. They will receive a $10,000 Land Rover Performance Grant based on their top 10% finish. Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen finished fifth and Will Faudree and Pawlow were eighth, which also marked a top 10% finish for both combinations. They will also receive an additional $10,000. Both Faudree and Montgomery received Land Rover Competition and Training Grants to fund their trip, as did Phillip Dutton, who finished 12th on Mighty Nice. Dutton and Mighty Nice finished in the top 20% at Mighty Nice’s first CCI3*, meaning that they receive a $5,000 Land Rover Performance Grant.

*Featured/Spotlights, Community/Charity, JRPR, Show Jumping

Show Jumping Mourns the Loss of Gilmore 48

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Gilmore 48 and Damian Guthrie. (Photos courtesy of MarkAstrom.com)

Reddick, FL (September 27, 2011) – This past weekend the team at Magnolia Hill Farm in Reddick, Florida lost the talented 12-year-old Westphalian show jumper, Gilmore 48.  Gilmore was euthanized late in the afternoon on Friday, September 24, 2011 after being injured in an attempt to jump out of his paddock.  Gilmore’s devastated owners include rider Damian Guthrie, his wife, Rebecca Guthrie, Chester Weber, and My Elisabeth Weber.  Damian Guthrie had recently qualified Gilmore for the 2012 London Olympics while representing Australia in 6 Nations Cup events and the pair was on the Australian Show Jumping Elite Squad.

“We are all stunned,” said Damian Guthrie.  “It happened in an instant.  Gilmore was turned out and decided to try to jump out of his paddock for no apparent reason other than that he was feeling pretty good about himself.  He landed badly after taking the fence at an angle; I knew immediately that there was no hope for recovery or rehab.  We were able to get a vet to the farm within ten minutes and Gilmore was euthanized soon after.”

For the Webers and the Guthries, the loss of their successful Grand Prix horse was not just a blow to their competition schedule, but also to their family.  “He was the most beloved horse on the farm,” said Guthrie.  “Gilmore had a great life with us.  He had the premium paddock with the best grass and shade; more importantly he had the best view of his lady friend Camilla, my wife’s retired jumper who lived next door to him.  His stable provided him with a view of the farm and all of his other buddies so Gilmore could never feel left out of anything.  My daughter Emilia even has teddy bears named after Gilmore; he was so much more than just a Grand Prix jumper.”

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

FEI World Jumping Championships for Young Horses 2011 – Lanaken (BEL)

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DOUBLE GOLD FOR ZANGERSHEIDE STUDBOOK, BUT BELGIAN WARMBLOOD WINS YOUNGEST CATEGORY by Louise Parkes

Jessica Kuerten steered Ayumi Kotani's Zangersheide stallion, Cor dela Rossa Z, to victory in the 7 Year Old Final at the FEI World Jumping Championships for Young Horses 2011. Photo: FEI/Peter van del Bulck.

Lausanne (SUI), 26 September 2011 – Horses from the Zangersheide Studbook claimed two of the three gold medals on offer at the 2011 FEI World Jumping Championships for Young Horses staged in Lanaken, Belgium over the weekend.  This event is long-established as the shop window for up-and-coming champions, and for the many breeding organisations who annually compare their merit throughout four days of tough competition.

It was a particularly satisfying result for the host venue at Zangersheide Stud, home to the highly influential and extremely successful Zangersheide Studbook which dates back to its earliest origins in 1992 when Leon Melchior first began to apply a scientific approach to the traditional methods of producing top-class Jumping horses.  And ensuring that all the main honours remained with the host nation, it was the Belgian Warmblood Studbook that reigned supreme in the youngest category for 5 Year Olds.

The event, staged in warm and sunny weather conditions, attracted a phenomenal 80,000 visitors who came to see over 800 jumpers in action.  A total of 206 started in the 5 Year Old category, a massive 265 in the 6 Year Olds and 240 in the 7 Year Old division.  And with €220,000 up for grabs, along with the enormous prestige that is automatically attributed to every medal-winner, the competition was razor-sharp.

FEROCIOUS BATTLE
A total of 58 qualified for Sunday’s 5 Year Old Final, and 35 of these went clear in the first round, so it was a ferocious battle for the medal placings as these youngsters raced against the clock.  The quality of the talent on show however was demonstrated when 15 managed to complete with double-clear performances, but the best of all was the Belgian Warmblood mare Gladys – Wandor v Mispelaere x Toulon – who scorched home quickest for Belgium’s Yves Vanderhasselt.

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

Demi Stiegler Champion of the Platinum Performance/USEF Talent Search Final – West

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Demi Stiegler. Photo by Flying Horse Photography

Lexington, KY – On Saturday afternoon at the L.A. International Jumping Festival (Sep 21-25), a crowd gathered on LAEC’s grass Cricket Field to watch the Show Jumping phase of the demanding and prestigious Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals West. When all was said and done, Demi Stiegler (Robin Stiegler and Archie Cox, trainers) led the victory gallop as champion of the 41-entry field.

“It was amazing!” Stiegler said of her win. “I was sixth coming into Phase III, and I knew from the Flat and Gymnastics Phases I just had to stay consistent. I tried to just concentrate on what would work best for my horse and myself and not worry about the pressure, and it paid off.” This was Stiegler’s second Talent Search Final, having competed in it in 2009.

The course for Phase III was fairly straightforward, with long distances between jumps to give riders a chance to think through each element – although they had to be careful not to let their horses get too fast or strung out with all that space. The two trickiest spots were the eighth jump, a skinny vertical after a sharp bending line, and the last line that started with a water jump followed by a bending line to a short one-stride combination. Stiegler sailed gracefully through the course, earning a score of 89. Scores in the multiplier for this phase was “2”, and added to the two earlier phases, and Stiegler’s overall score of 389.5 moved her from sixth into third place going into the final phase.

Sage Flynn (Hap Hansen, trainer) executed the Phase III course beautifully and earned the top score for the round of 92, which kept her in second place with 401 overall. Zoie Nagelhout (Archie Cox, trainer) went into Phase III in the lead, and her smooth and capable trip earned her a score of 88.5 and just kept her in the lead with 402. Taylor Harris (Elvenstar, trainer) joined them in the work off with a combined score of 380.5.

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

Sweden Wins FEI Promotional League Final in Barcelona Cliff-Hanger

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(L to R) Rolf-Goran Bengtsson, Svante Johansson, Angelica Augustsson, Malin Baryard-Johnsson and Chef d'Equipe Sylve Soderstrand. Photo: FEI/Nacho Olano.

FEI TV – enjoy LIVE programming, highlights, interviews and archive footage at www.feitv.org.

Barcelona (ESP), 25 September 2011 – The Swedish team came out the winners at the Promotional League Final in Barcelona, Spain this afternoon and will now rejoin the elite eight-nation FEI Nations Cup series in 2012.  But, on a roller-coaster afternoon, it took a monumental effort from last-line Swedish rider Rolf-Goran Bengtsson to seal the coveted qualifying spot.

Despite the fact that three of the opposing sides were reduced to just three team-members, and were therefore unable to discount one performance, the four-strong Swedish team relied heavily on the man who, just seven days ago, claimed the Individual gold medal at the FEI European Jumping Championships in Madrid.

The host nation of Spain finished second, with just a single-fault advantage over The Ukraine in third, while the Canadians lined up fourth ahead of the Italians who looked threatening to the very end but who had to settle for fifth in the final analysis.  The last two places in the seven-nation line-up were filled by Poland and Russia, each hampered when fielding just three riders, but showing flashes of form that would suggest their time will come in future years.

For the Swedes, today’s result was an enormous relief.  Last Sunday, Bengtsson pointed out during the final press conference in Madrid that, despite his personal triumph and the Olympic qualification earned through the fifth-place finish in the FEI European Team Championship, there was still another big job to be done this weekend in Barcelona.  So for the 49 year old newly-crowned European champion and reigning Olympic silver medallist it was a case of “mission accomplished” as, ably supported by Malin Baryard-Johnsson, Angelica Augustsson and Svante Johansson, he helped restore his country to its rightful place in the premiership of team Jumping.  “I’m very happy,” he said with his usual degree of understatement this evening.

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Competitions, Events, Show Jumping, USEF

Zoie Nagelhout Leads after Gymnastics Phase of Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Final – West

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Lexington, KY – The 2011 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Final – West is well under way at the L.A. International Jumping Festival, September 21-25, in Burbank, CA. The flat phase, first of the four phases took place Thursday night. The judging team of noted judge Sue Ashe and her daughter, international jumper rider Molly Ashe, tested the riders on their mastery of the skills needed to properly prepare a jumper for flatwork, including a demonstration of haunches in and a flying change to the counter canter.

After the scores were tallied, Carly Anthony emerged as the winner of Phase I with a score of 96, followed by Zoie Nagelhout with 93.

“It was awesome,” said Anthony. “It was basic, but a good test of the fundamentals. It definitely prepared me for the second phase, which was another great test.”

Friday night brought Phase II of the competition, a challenging gymnastics round that tested each rider’s ability to ride accurately and remain focused to manage the different combinations and distances.

“We put together a course we thought was fair,” judge Sue Ashe said. “It could be done beautifully, or the riders could have some problems if they were not prepared. We didn’t want anyone to leave discouraged by the course; we wanted them to leave wanting to come back and do better next year, and to finish the class a better rider than they began it.”

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Competitions, Events, Show Jumping, USEF

The 2011 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Final – West Is Underway

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Lexington, KY – The Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Final – West continues today at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center with Phase II of the Final, the gymnastics portion. This final runs during the 2011 LA International Jumping Festival.

Yesterday’s flatwork phase was won by Carly Anthony who rode Abrakadabra in a determined performance.

The Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals has produced some of the country’s top jumping riders. Past winners include two-time Olympic Gold medalist McLain Ward, winner of over 100 grand prixs Richard Spooner, Pan American Gold medalist Lauren Hough and Rolex FEI World Cup Finals winner Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum.

The Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Final is a four-phase competition which tests the fundamental skills and horsemanship in a challenging format. The competition is made up of three phases: flatwork, gymnastics, and a jumping course which consists of show jumping over grand prix styled fences (which may include natural obstacles). Using a format modeled after the World Championships’ final ride-off; the top-four competitors ride their own horses, as well as the three other competitor’s horses over a shortened course.

The Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals are the ultimate test of horsemanship and show jumping skill for American junior and young riders.

More information is available in the prize list: http://www.usef.org/documents/disciplines/jumper/TalentSearchClass/TalentSearch2011.pdf.

Information about the LA International Jumping Festival is available here: http://www.langershows.com/laec/show_details.php?show_id=190.

Competitions, Events, FEI, FEI, Show Jumping

Italy to Lead the Way at Promotional League Final in Barcelona

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CSIO Barcelona Show Director Daniel Giro (left) and FEI Jumping Director John Roche (right) at the draw for the order-of-go for the FEI Nations Cup Promotional League Final 2011. Photo: FEI/Nacho Olano.

FEI TV Preview: http://youtu.be/KfqXxcm8Oks

Barcelona (ESP), 24 September 2011 – The Italian team will be pathfinders as the much-anticipated FEI Nations Cup Promotional League Final gets underway at the Real Club de Polo in Barcelona, Spain tomorrow afternoon.  A total of seven nations will battle it out for the last remaining qualifying spot in the 2012 FEI Nations Cup series, and the order-of-go for tomorrow’s competition is as follows:

1, Italy; 2, Ukraine; 3, Russia; 4, Canada; 5, Sweden; 6, Spain; 7, Poland.

It is expected to be a hard-fought affair, and three of the teams may comprise only three riders instead of the full complement of four, allowing them no drop-score as a result.  At today’s press conference, Canadian Chef d’Equipe, Mark Laskin, announced that his side may be only three-strong, while both Poland’s Rudiger Wassibauer and Russian team manager Aleksander Varnavskiy, both confirmed that their sides will be one rider short.

SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS
FEI Jumping Director, John Roche, congratulated the Organising Committee on the significant improvements made to the showgrounds for the 2011 fixture, during which CSIO Barcelona celebrates its centenary. The Real Club de Polo was the Jumping venue during the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, and has a long and strong connection with equestrian sport.

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