Category Archives: Championships

Championships, Competitions, Endurance Riding, Events, USEF

US Endurance Team Takes Home Three Medals at 2011 Pan American Endurance Championships

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Lexington, KY – The U.S. Endurance Team collected a historic number of medals at the 2011 Pan American Endurance Championships in Santo Domingo, Chile. Taking the Team Silver medal in a combined time of 19:05:19 was John Crandall III with Heraldic, Valerie Kanavy and Spectacular Gold and Deborah Reich and Pandor. Meg Sleeper and Syrocco Cadence were eliminated at the mandatory recheck at vet gate three. The team finished just one minute and 47 seconds behind the Gold medal team from Uruguay. The home team of Chile took the Team Bronze.

The veteran pair of Crandall and Heraldic completed the 120km course in 6:03:38 to win the Individual Silver medal. Finishing in 6:05:47, Kanavy and Spectacular Gold took the Individual Bronze. Riding for Uruguay, Bernardo Algorta won the Individual Gold in 5:59:27. Reich and Pandor finished in 6:55:54 to place tenth. Riding as an individual Cheryl Van Deusen and Moro Amado finished fifteenth.

The U.S. team led by Chef d’Equipe Emmett Ross, set a blazing pace in the first three loops and were the team to catch most of the day. With Sleeper’s elimination at vet gate three the riders implemented a different strategy for the fourth and fifth loops. This is the most medals the U.S. has collected at an international Endurance competition.

“We are very happy with the two Silver medals and one Bronze,” said Ross. “Our riders had a fabulous go at it, we are proud of what we did and more importantly how we did it.”

*Featured/Spotlights, Championships, Competitions, Endurance Riding, Events, FEI

Double-Gold for Uruguay and Chile at Pan-American Endurance Championships

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Uruguay’s Bernardo Algorta and Cacique claimed the Senior Individual title at the Pan-American Endurance Championships 2011 in Santo Domingo, Chile. Photo: FEI/Chilean NF

Lausanne (SUI), 24 October 2011 – Endurance riders from Uruguay claimed Team and Individual gold in the Senior division, while the host nation of Chile dominated the Young Riders classes at the 2011 Pan-American Endurance Championships staged in Santo Domingo (CHI) last weekend.  Bernardo Algorta registered an impressive average speed of 20 kilometres an hour with his horse, Cacique, to take the Senior title for Uruguay, while Chile’s Sebastian Taverne and Eclipse covered the challenging course at an average of 19.73 kmh to secure the Young Rider honours.

Attention to detail in the preparation of the venue and facilities in Santo Domingo drew high praise for the Organising Committee from competitors, officials, supporters and spectators alike.  But the highest accolade of all was heaped on by Chile’s President, Sebastian Pinera, who attended the event and said that it provided “a great boost to Chile and to South America in general.”

ENTHUSIASTS
The history of Endurance in Chile dates back to a visit by a group of enthusiasts to the FEI World Championships at Fort Riley in Kansas, USA back in 1996.  On returning home they introduced the discipline to their native country, and began to organise races over distances of between 40 and 80 kilometres.  Chilean competitors who rose to prominence during the early years included Marcial Taverne, Antonio Llompart, Alejandro Donoso, Marcelo Cortes and Ignacio Urenda.

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Championships, Competitions, Eventing/H.T., Events, USEF

Riders Head to Lexington, KY for USEF National CCI1* Eventing Championship

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Lexington, KY – The 2011 National Championship season for eventing comes to a close this weekend at the Kentucky Horse Park with the USEF National CCI1* Eventing Championship. More than 30 horse-and-rider combinations will be vying for top honors in the championship which is held in conjunction with the Hagyard MidSouth Three Day & Team Challenge, October 21-23.

Four National Championships will be up for grabs this weekend in Lexington, KY. Riders will have the opportunity to be crowned USEF National CCI1* Eventing Champion, USEF National 19-21 Year Old Eventing Champion, USEF National Junior Eventing Champion and USEF National Amateur Eventing Champion.

The first horse inspection for all CCI1* competitors will take place Thursday, October 20. Competition officially gets underway for the one star division and National Championship Friday, October 21.

For more information about the Hagyard MidSouth Three Day & Team Challenge including schedules, ride times and results visit: http://www.kyevents.net/shows/info/tchallenge.

Visit http://usefnetwork.com/featured/EventersinEurope/ to keep up with the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team.

*Featured/Spotlights, Championships, Competitions, Driving, Events, FEI, FEI

Eleventh Season of the FEI World Cup Driving Attracts World Class Field

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FEI World Cup Driving title holder Boyd Exell of Australia. © Kit Houghton

Lausanne (SUI), 12 October 2011 – After an exciting outdoor season with the FEI Open European Driving Championships for Four-in-Hand in Breda (NED) as its highlight, the sport of four-in-hand Driving moves indoors for the 11th season of the FEI World Cup Driving.

Ten top class drivers will battle it out for the ultimate title of FEI World Cup Driving champion. Germany, who was absent from the series for the past two seasons, is making a significant comeback and will now be represented by two drivers, Rainer Duen and Georg von Stein.

New comer
The qualification season consisted of 14 competitions held throughout Europe with the top 10 drivers qualifying for the 2011-2012 season. Amongst these, there is one new comer: Georg von Stein from Germany. Von Stein competed as a wild card in the FEI World Cup Driving Final 2011 in Leipzig where he finished sixth.

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Breeds, Championships, Competitions, Driving, Events, JRPR

Champion Driver Suzy Stafford and Sjaantje Take Home National Championship Title at the 2011 International Friesian Show Horse Association World & Grand National

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Suzy Stafford and Sjaantje took the National Championship in the Friesian Carriage Driving Open class at the IFSHA World and Grand National. (Photo courtesy of Rick Osteen)

Lexington, VA (October 17, 2011) – Decorated driver Suzy Stafford hasn’t let her success at the 2011 World Pony Driving Championships in Lipica slow her down.  Recently returned from Slovenia where she drove the half-Arabian mare Miss Josephine to an Individual Bronze Medal, Stafford hasn’t been back in the United States for a month before earning another championship title.  She drove Sjaantje, a 6-year-old Friesian mare, to the National Championship in the Friesian Carriage Pleasure Driving Open division at the International Friesian Show Horse Association (IFSHA) World and Grand National.  The mare’s owner, Gail AuMiller of Dreams Come True Farm in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, drove Sjaantje to top honors in the Amateur Carriage Pleasure Driving division and the pair also took the Reinsmanship Championship.

The IFSHA World and Grand National took place October 5-9, 2011 in Lexington, Virginia.  The IFSHA is dedicated to the promotion, showing, and exhibition of the Friesian horse and its derivatives, and the Championships featured a wide range of disciplines.  This year’s carriage driving classes were the largest driving classes to date at the Friesian National Championships, and Sjaantje, also known as “SJ”, proved her mettle by earning top placement while showing against some of the top members of her breed.

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Championships, Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, USEF

Schaefer Raposa Earns Top Honors in Pessoa/USEF Hunter Seat Equitation Medal Finals at Pennsylvania National Horse Show

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Schaefer Raposa wins the Pessoa/USEF Hunter Seat Equitation Medal Finals at Pennsylvania National Horse Show. Photo: Phelps Media Group

Harrisburg, PA – Capping off an eventful junior weekend at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, the Pessoa/USEF Hunter Seat Equitation Medal Finals presented by Randolph College saw Schaefer Raposa of Wellington, FL, earn the coveted championship honors. Edging out some of the most skilled young riders in the nation, Raposa smoothly tackled the first two rounds aboard her talented mount Charlie Z, as well as one challenging final test. Her quiet confidence garnered the top spot by evening’s end, with Brittany Hurst of Jackson, NJ, and Allison Fithian of Monterey, CA, finishing second and third, respectively. Rounding out the top four from the final test was Katie Tyler of North Kingstown, RI.

Today’s championship event featured two demanding rounds of competition followed by a test of the top four riders. The first course featured three imposing double combinations, a skinny coop without standards, and a triple bar. The judges invited the top 25 riders to return for the second course, which began with a three fence bending line, an oxer-oxer double combination, and a difficult plank vertical.

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

Martin & Lyman Produce Clear Rounds to Claim 2011 USEF National Eventing Championships

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Boyd Martin and Ying Yang Yo. Photo: Shannon Brinkman

Elkton, MD – Sunday brought an action-packed slate of show jumping at the 2011 Dansko Fair Hill International. With the top riders in both the CCI3* and CCI2* divisions tremendously close, clear rounds were at a premium. Boyd Martin and Kylie Lyman rose to the occasion producing fault-free rounds to win their CCI3* and CCI2* divisions as well as claim 2011 USEF National Eventing Championships.

The leaderboard in both the divisions at the Dansko Fair Hill International saw great fluctuations as a result of Sally Ike’s challenging track.

Full scores are available here: http://www.evententries.com/livescoring/14839.html.

2011 USEF National CCI3* Eventing Championship

Martin, the leader following the dressage phase, jumped a clear round on Ying Yang Yo to clinch his second USEF National CCI3* Eventing Championship. Martin (West Grove, PA) and the 15 year-old Australian Thoroughbred gelding rattled a few rails but all stayed in place for the pair to finish on a score of 52.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Championships, Competitions, Eventing/H.T., Events, USEF

Byyny & Lyman Set the Pace in the USEF National Eventing Championships

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Jan Byyny and Inmidair (Shannon Brinkman Photo)

Elkton, MD – Clear jumping and quick trips across the country were the name of the game Saturday at the 2011 Dansko Fair Hill International. The rain that plagued the first two days of competition was nowhere in sight as the sun shone over Derek di Grazia’s tracks. Heavy going resulted in time faults for many of the competitors and a shake-up on the leaderboard in both divisions. Jan Byyny and Kylie Lyman produced two of the quickest rounds of the day in the CCI3* and CCI2* to lead their respective divisions and USEF National Eventing Championships.

All will be to play for in Sunday’s show jumping as one rail separates the top four in the CCI3*. In the CCI2* nine points divide first from tenth.

Full scores are available here: http://www.evententries.com/livescoring/14839.html.

2011 USEF National CCI3* Eventing Championship

Byyny (Purceville, VA) rose from fifth place after the dressage to lead the CCI3* on her own Inmidair with a score of 51.2. The 12-year-old New Zealand Thoroughbred gelding rocketed around the 10:08-minute course, adding just 4.4 penalties.

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

Meg O’Mara and Sinatra IV Go for the Gold in Randolph College/Junior Jumper Championships at Harrisburg

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Meg O'Mara and Sinatra IV. Photo: Phelps Media Group

Harrisburg, PA – An action-packed junior weekend continued to wow the crowd at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show tonight, as Phase III of the Randolph College/USEF Individual Championships culminated in a triumph for junior jumper Meg O’Mara. Riding out of Romson, NJ, O’Mara and Sinatra IV had one of only two clear rounds of the evening, emerging victorious through a steady, controlled approach. Earning the silver medal tonight was Savannah Talcott of Wildwood, MO, who bested third place finisher Reed Kessler of Amrock, NY in a suspenseful jump-off.

O’Mara and Sinatra IV held a solid lead going into tonight’s final event, with just a single fault to their name. The duo produced another brilliant performance over the difficult course designed by Steve Stephens of Palmetto, FL. They were one of only two horse and rider combinations to leave all fences intact, retaining their highly impressive one fault score. O’Mara and Sinatra’s IV confidence and consistency prevailed, as they claimed the winning title to the lead final victory gallop.

After her flawless turn in the ring tonight, gold medal winner O’Mara remarked, “There was a little bit of pressure, but I knew that it could go perfectly with Sinatra. He’s such a special horse that I knew he’d be able to do it. Sinatra is the best horse in the world; he’s the sweetest thing ever, and my mom says she wants him to live in our backyard! We actually went through a little bit of a bumpy patch this spring, but we’ve come back to an amazing show.”

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Championships, Competitions, Events, Show Jumping, USEF

Zone 2 Tops $15,000 USEF Prix de States Team Championship at Pennsylvania National Horse Show

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Katie Dinan and Belle Dame D. Phelps Media Group.

Harrisburg, PA – It was an exciting night of jumper action at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show tonight, as the $15,000 USEF Prix de States Team Championship and Individual Championship Phase II took place in Harrisburg, PA. The team from USEF Zone 2 swept the top spot for the second year in a row with excellent rides by Meg O’Mara of Rumson, NJ, Katie Dinan of New York, NY, Charlotte Jacobs of Buffalo, NY, and last night’s Randolph College/USEF $7,500 Individual Championship Phase I winner Reed Kessler of Armonk, NY. Despite an initial tie for second place between Zones 5 and 7, the silver medal was ultimately awarded to Zone 5 thanks to Nora Laue of Wilmette, IL.

Sponsored by Randolph College, the competition featured 32 of the country’s top junior jumpers showing over a technical course by Steve Stephens of Palmetto, FL with compact turns and three different combinations. Riders also had to scale the Pennsylvania National Horse Show signature vertical, which proved to be a problem fence for several riders. Since the competition mixed individual riders as well as riders representing their USEF zones, the crowd was able to witness a variety of jumper talent.

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