Lausanne (SUI), 20 October 2011 – American Dressage riders swept all before them when returning a record-breaking fourth consecutive team victory and filling all the steps of the individual medal podium at the 2011 Pan-American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. On Sunday they cruised confidently into pole position in the team event ahead of the silver medallists from Canada while Colombia claimed the bronze. And yesterday Steffen Peters steered Weltino’s Magic to individual gold ahead of Heather Blitz with Paragon in silver and Marisa Festerling and Big Tyme in bronze.
It was a convincing performance at all levels, and anchorman Peters was the linchpin of the American side. But, as he pointed out in the aftermath of the team success, he was under considerably less pressure than usual due to the highly-competitive performances of his team-mates. “Over the past few years I have always had to carry a lot of weight on my shoulders as the very last rider, but the team did an awesome job – every single horse, every single rider,” he pointed out. The silver medallists from Canada and bronze medallists from Colombia had plenty of reason to celebrate too, as their second and third-place finishes have provided them with qualifying spots for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
TEAM MEDALS
A total of 12 nations battled it out for the team medals, and the combined US score of 75.754 gave them a clear five-point victory. Peters and Weltino’s Magic produced the only score over 80% – his 80.132 setting a new Pan-American Games record – and he was awarded the leading mark by all five members of the Ground Jury – Great Britain’s Stephen Clarke, Raphael Saleh from France, Canada’s Cara Witham, Argentina’s Gabriel Armando and President, Lilo Fore, from the USA.
Continue reading USA Dominates Dressage at Pan American Games
Washington, DC – October 17, 2011 – Polish your boots and spiff up your horses because The Washington International Regional Horse Show & Zone 3 Finals starts this week. This popular show is the sister event to the Washington International Horse Show, the country’s leading metropolitan indoor horse show, held the following week at Verizon Center in downtown Washington, D.C. In addition to being a top show in its own right with a broad selection of classes for riders of all levels, the WIHS Regional Show offers several last-minute ways to qualify for the big event at Verizon Center.
Lexington, KY – October 18, 2011 – The Alltech National Horse Show, 128th edition, now just two weeks away from its grand debut at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, announced today that it will pay tribute to men and women in uniform, with a special ticket package on Thursday. November 3rd.
