Category Archives: Competitions

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Events, Pan American Games, Show Jumping, USEF

US Jumping Team Wins Gold – Completes Equestrian Sweep of Team Gold at 2011 Pan American Games

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Team Gold (L-R) Kent Farrington, Christine McCrea, Beezie Madden, McLain Ward (Photo: Shannon Brinkman)

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Everything was at stake for the American show jumping team at the 2011 Pan American Games, including qualification for the 2012 Olympic Games. They faced the pressure and delivered the United States its third Equestrian Team Gold medal of the 2011 Games – jumping eight clear rounds in the Nations Cup today. Their score of 2.90 from the first class on Wednesday didn’t change and they led Brazil (11.58) and Mexico (13.24) in the medal ceremony.

“It’s the way they rode; it’s not the result,” said Chef d’Equipe George Morris. “I’m an ideological horseman. I’m not interested in it unless it’s beautifully ridden.”

By the time individual leader Beezie Madden (Cazenovia, NY) went in the ring as the last to jump for the team, she was jumping for herself, because the U.S. team already won based on the clear rounds of her teammates.

Continue reading US Jumping Team Wins Gold – Completes Equestrian Sweep of Team Gold at 2011 Pan American Games →

Competitions, Contributors/Press, Dressage, Events, FEI, FEI, Media/Radio/TV Sources, Show Jumping

FEI TV This Weekend

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Lausanne (SUI), 21 October 2011 – FEI TV, the official FEI video platform, will be LIVE on Friday, 28 October, and Sunday, 30 October, from the second leg of the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage and the third leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping. Both competitions will take place in Lyon (FRA).

The Grand Prix Freestyle-to-Music from the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage will be LIVE at 18.55 CEST on Friday.

Round Two of the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping will be LIVE on Sunday at 14.55 CET.

Media Contacts:

FEI
Ruth Grundy
Manager Press Relations
ruth.grundy@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 45

Malina Gueorguiev
Manager Press Relations
malina.gueorguiev@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 33

At Lyon
Pascal Renauldon
Press Officer
p.renauldon@rbpresse.com
+33 (0) 608 75 94 07

Competitions, Dressage, Events, FEI, Olympic Games

Final Olympic Dressage Team Qualifier Begins on 28 October

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Lausanne (SUI), 27 October 2011 – The last Dressage team qualifying event for the London 2012 Olympic Games will begin this Friday, 28 October. The qualifier, which will be run at two separate venues, is open to teams from the FEI Olympic Groups F (Africa and Middle East) and G (South East Asia and Oceania).

Due to quarantine restrictions, the qualifier will be held in two parts, one in each hemisphere, as riders and horses from Olympic Groups F and G are based in both Australasia and Europe. The first part will take place in Sydney (AUS) on 28 October; the second part will be held in Ermelo (NED) on 2 November.

The same judges will be used at both legs of the regional qualifier. The panel will be FEI 5* judges Stephen Clarke (GBR), who will also be the President of the Ground Jury at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Gotthilf Riexinger (GER) and Susan Hoevenaars (AUS), plus FEI 4* judges Mariëtte Sanders-van Gansewinkel (NED) and Raphaël Saleh (FRA).

Three nations – Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa – will be seeking Olympic qualification. The two best placed teams overall will join Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the USA, which have already qualified.

The updated Olympic Dressage qualification system is available at this LINK.

Media contacts:

Grania Willis
Director Media Relations
Grania.willis@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 42

Malina Gueorguiev
Manager Media Relations
malina.gueorguiev@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 33

Community/Charity, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Events, Hunter/Equitation, National Horse Show, Show Jumping

The Alltech National Horse Show: Affordable and Good Shopping

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Country’s Oldest Indoor Horse Show Comes to Kentucky

What are you doing next week? Anything really exciting? Riding season is winding down… weather is getting chilly… you’re looking forward to Thanksgiving but it’s not quite here.

Hop in the car and come to the National Horse Show at the Kentucky Horse Park November 2-6th — this is America’s OLDEST INDOOR HORSESHOW, founded in 1883 and held in Madison Square Garden in New York for many years.

Now it has moved to Kentucky, for what we hope will be a permanent home.

If you were one of those people who thought the World Equestrian Games’ tickets were too expensive, you’ll like what you hear about the National Horse Show: TICKETS START AT $10.00. (Children 12 and under are FREE.)

Continue reading The Alltech National Horse Show: Affordable and Good Shopping →

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

The Marshall & Sterling League Mid-West Finals Crown Champions at the Lamplight Equestrian Center

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© Shawn McMillen Photography. Ryan Goodman and Pulsatilla W on course in the $2,500 Marshall & Sterling Children’s Jumper Championship.

WAYNE, IL – October 26, 2011 – The Marshall & Sterling League Mid-West Finals were held September 13-18 at the Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, Illinois. This regionally-located Final took place during the Showplace Fall Classic and featured a total of 92 hunter, jumper and equitation riders.

Child riders have been the cornerstone of the Marshall & Sterling League since its inception as they compete all year for a chance to show at the Finals. The $2,500 Marshall & Sterling Children’s Jumper Championship and $1,000 Marshall & Sterling Children’s Hunter Championship saw two rising stars achieve top honors.

The $2,500 Marshall & Sterling Children’s Jumper Championship featured 18 horse-and-rider combinations as Ryan Goodman of Vernon Hills, Illinois took home the Championship aboard Adrienne Marciano’s Pulsatilla W.

“She [Pulsatilla W] and I have an amazing connection,” said Goodman of his 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood. “She is always there to help me out when necessary. The class was a great opportunity for me, especially being so close to home.”

Continue reading The Marshall & Sterling League Mid-West Finals Crown Champions at the Lamplight Equestrian Center →

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

Walker Claims 2011 USEF National CCI1* Eventing Championship Riding for the First Time as an American

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Robin Walker and Florenz (Image by Xpress Foto © 2011)

Lexington, KY – Riders from throughout the United States travelled to the Kentucky Horse Park to contest the 2011 USEF National CCI1* Eventing Championships held October 21-23. These championships, which were hosted in conjunction with the Hagyard MidSouth Three Day & Team Challenge, saw 25 U.S. competitors braved the frigid autumn temperatures to vie for top honors. Robin Walker and Florenz scored a wire-to-wire victory finishing more than 10 points ahead of the other National Championship competition.

Walker (Grass Lake, MI) was competing for the first time under the U.S. flag at the Hagyard MidSouth Three Day after having changed his nationality four days prior to the start of competition. He finished his first competition as an American in style, piloting Florenz to double-clear rounds in both the cross country and show jumping to add nothing to their dressage score of 45.

This pair was the winner of both the CCI1* and USEF National CCI1* Eventing Championship. Walker thinks very highly of Anne-Marie Rasch’s seven-year-old Oldenburg and believes she has a future in the sport.

Continue reading Walker Claims 2011 USEF National CCI1* Eventing Championship Riding for the First Time as an American →

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Eventing/H.T., Events, FEI, Pan American Games

USA Wins Team Gold, Canada’s Phoenix Claims Individual Title

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Canada's Jessica Phoenix and Pavarotti on their way to taking the Individual title in Eventing at the Pan-American Games. Photo: FEI/Anthony Trollope.

Lausanne (SUI), 25 October 2011 – American riders scooped Eventing Team gold in convincing fashion at the Pan-American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico on Sunday when all five team-members sensationally completed on their Dressage scores.  But the USA had to settle for silver and bronze in the battle for the Individual title, as Canada’s Jessica Phoenix stood firm to capitalise on the advantage she had established in the Dressage arena last Friday.

It was a historic result for 28-year-old Phoenix, who hails from Uxbridge, Ontario as she is only the second Canadian rider ever to earn individual Eventing gold in the history of the Pan-American Games.  Riding the nine-year-old Westphalian gelding, Pavarotti, she set the target with a Dressage mark of 43.90 and never looked back.  A flawless Cross Country performance on Saturday was followed by another copybook round over the coloured poles on Sunday to clinch individual gold.  “It’s a dream come true,” she said afterwards.

PIVOTAL
The Dressage placings proved pivotal, as the top four all remained within that grouping, although America’s Sue Burnett and Harbour Pilot improved from third to fill silver medal spot in the final analysis.  Team-mate, Bruce Davidson Jr., moved up from fourth to take the bronze at the expense of fellow-American Michael Pollard who narrowly missed a medal-placing with two fences down on the final afternoon.

Continue reading USA Wins Team Gold, Canada’s Phoenix Claims Individual Title →

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Events, Pan American Games, Show Jumping, USEF

The US Show Jumping Team Takes the Stage at 2011 Pan American Games

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Christine McCrea and Romanovich Take One (Photo: www.stockimageservices .com)

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – The U.S. Show Jumping Team will be looking to make it a Team Gold medal sweep at the 2011 Pan American Games after both the Dressage and Eventing topped the medal podium. They got off to a great start, presenting five fit and sound horses at the Jog. Under the guidance of Chef d’equipe George Morris and under the care of Veterinarian Dr. Tim Ober, farrier Todd Meister and physiotherapist Janus Marquis, all five horses were beautifully prepared by their grooms – and shone in the Mexican sunshine.

Listen to Dr. Ober discuss his role as the Team Veterinarian: http://usefnetwork.com/blogs/173/dr_tim_ober_on_his_role_as_jumping.aspx.

The U.S. Team arrived in Mexico with a mission: to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games.

They need to finish in the top three in the team competition of the teams that are NOT already qualified. Of the teams competing at the Pan American Games, both Brazil and Canada qualified at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

Continue reading The US Show Jumping Team Takes the Stage at 2011 Pan American Games →

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

FEI World Eventing Championships for Young Horses 2011 – Le Lion d’Angers (FRA)

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GERMANY’S JUNG AND BRITAIN’S KING TAKE THE TITLES by Louise Parkes

Michael Jung won the 6 Year Old title with the Hannoverian mare, Rocana FST. Photo: FEI/www.equi-photos.com

Lausanne (SUI), 24 October 2011 – Germany’s Michael Jung won the 6 Year Old title with the Hannoverian mare Rocana while Great Britain’s Kitty King claimed the 7 Year Old honours with the Dutch-bred mare Zidante at the 26th FEI World Eventing Championships for Young Horses at Le Lion d’Angers over the weekend. This specialist fixture is widely recognised for identifying the rising stars of the future. Proof of this is clear in the number of horses which progress from Mondial du Lion to produce results at European, World Championship and Olympic level. Frenchman Nicolas Touzaint is the most prolific winner in the history of the event having won six gold medals between 2000 and 2005, including the 6 year old championship in 2000 and the 7 year old championship in 2001 riding Galan de Sauvagère, his double individual European gold medal winning mount. Jung won the silver medal in both the 6 and 7 year old categories with his 2010 FEI World Eventing Championship ride La Biosthétique-Sam, and 2011 Lexington CCI4* winner, King’s Temptress ridden by Great Britain’s Mary King, is another Le Lion graduate.

The ‘Mondial du Lion’ has taken place every year since 1986 at the same venue – the Isle Briand Estate – and is always staged at the beginning of the French All Saints holidays. The winner of the inaugural fixture was the current coach of the French eventing team, Laurent Bousquet, on Jim Pam. That year 43 combinations lined out, a number which rose so rapidly it had to be capped at 110 by the FEI. The Championships have also proven increasingly popular with the public, with attendance figures rising from 5,000 in 1986 to a record 41,000 in 2009.

Continue reading FEI World Eventing Championships for Young Horses 2011 – Le Lion d’Angers (FRA) →

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.”