Category Archives: Competitions

Chester Weber Wins FEI Four-In-Hand Division at The Little Everglades International Combined Driving Event

Chester Weber, with the new additions of Uniek and Splash, won the FEI Four-In-Hand Division at The Little Everglades International Combined Driving Event, a USEF Selection Trial. (Photo courtesy of Pics of You)

Dade City, FL (March 7, 2011) – Chester Weber, the eight-time USEF National Four-In-Hand Combined Driving Champion, proved during The Little Everglades International Combined Driving Event that he could add new horses to his team and still drive into the winner’s circle. Weber, with the new addition of Jane Forbes Clark’s horses, Uniek and Splash, won the FEI Four-In-Hand Division at Little Everglades, a USEF Selection Trial.

“I was pleased with Uniek and Splash and feel that they have made great additions to our depth,” Weber said, following his win at Little Everglades. “I will continue to show them in an effort to learn about them at competitions and how they react.”

Weber added that competing at Little Everglades was a great experience. “The Blanchard’s, owners of Little Everglades Ranch, and Susan Gilliland and her team did a super job organizing the show,” Weber said. “The course was considerably technical in nature and the two new horses were great on the marathon, very straight forward and easy to drive.”

Continue reading Chester Weber Wins FEI Four-In-Hand Division at The Little Everglades International Combined Driving Event

Team USA Tops $75,000 FEI Nations Cup Presented by G&C Farm at 2011 FTI WEF

Margie Engle and Indigo. Photos © Sportfot

Wellington, FL – March 4, 2011 – The 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival hosted its 10th annual $75,000 FEI Nations Cup on Friday evening, presented by G&C Farm, with an exciting victory for Team USA. Made up of Mario Deslauriers riding Urico, owned by Jane F. Clark, Margie Engle riding Indigo, owned by Griese, Garber, Hidden Creek and Gladewinds, Beezie Madden riding Coral Reef Via Volo, owned by Coral Reef Ranch, and McLain Ward riding Sapphire, owned by Ward and Bluechip Bloodstock, and led by Chef d’Equipe George Morris, the United States came out on top in the unique team competition.

After round one competition, the United States was in the lead with just four faults for their total. McLain Ward and Sapphire and Margie Engle and Indigo each delivered clear rounds. Mario Deslauriers and Urico and Beezie Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo each had four faults. Deslauriers’ score was dropped to leave the team with a four fault total.

Coming back for the second round, Ward and Sapphire jumped clear again to keep their team at the top. Engle had an unfortunate rail at the last fence with Indigo, but Madden and Via Volo pulled it out in the end to also jump clear and leave the team with just eight faults in total.

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Pablo Barrios and G&C Quivola Clear Seven Feet, Three Inches to Win $35,000 Hermès Puissance

Pablo Barrios and G&C Quivola clear the imposing wall. All photos © Sportfot

Rodrigo Pessoa Claims Blue in Two Classes

Wellington, FL – March 5, 2011 – The $35,000 Hermès Puissance was the highlight event on Saturday night, and it was an exciting show of power and scope. Pablo Barrios (VEN) was the winner after he cleared the 7’3″ puissance wall with G&C Quivola, owned by Gustavo Mirabal.

The FTI WEF’s eighth week of competition, sponsored by G&C Farm, concludes on Sunday, March 6. The Suncast 1.50m Championship Jumper Series Classic will be held on Sunday followed by the $150,000 Wellington Equestrian Realty Grand Prix, CSIO 4* at 1 p.m. The 2011 WEF will continue through April 3 and award more than $6 million in prize money.

The class started with seven entries, and all were clear in the first round. Seventh place went to Andre Thieme (GER) and Aragon Rouet, owned by Stal Hendrix when they faulted in the first jump-off with the wall at 6 feet (1.83 meters).

Three riders knocked the blocks off the top of the wall, which was set at 6’6″ (1.95m), in the second jump-off. Shane Sweetnam (IRL) and Traffic Boy, owned by Spy Coast Farm LLC, Aaron Vale (USA) and KAP LLC’s Charmer, and Benjamin Meredith (AUS) with Raylyn Farms Inc.’s Charme Z all tied for fourth place.

Continue reading Pablo Barrios and G&C Quivola Clear Seven Feet, Three Inches to Win $35,000 Hermès Puissance

HITS Ocala Veteran Tracy Fenney Wins the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, Presented by Pfizer Animal Health, as Germaine Edelmann Scores the Highest Grand Prix Finish of Her Career

© ESI Photography. Tracy Fenney and MTM Centano cruise through the course to capture their first Grand Prix win of the season in Thursday's $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, , at HITS Post Time Farm in Ocala, Florida.

OCALA, FL (March 4, 2011) — Texas native Tracy Fenney made her return to the HITS Ocala Grand Prix winner’s circle after capturing her first victory of the season aboard MTM Farm’s MTM Centano in Thursday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health. As the legendary competitor rose to the top of the class, Germaine Edelmann, a relative newcomer at the Grand Prix level, made an impact of her own with a nail-biting, second-place finish.

Thirty-two starters challenged the course set by Course Designer Danny Foster of Canada, as seven returned for the jump-off.

“The fences were wider than usual,” explained Fenney of Flower Mound, Texas. “The course required you to come in to the combinations quiet, but you had to push hard to come out of the in-and-out and the triple.”

Fenney has had one of the most impressive careers in the history of the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit, including a victory in last year’s $100,000 DeLuca Toyota Tundra Grand Prix, presented by Great American Insurance Group. She and MTM Farm’s MTM Timon were one of the illustrious pairs to compete in the 2010 Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix and finished in the top 20. This year, she’s earned numerous ribbons throughout the Circuit and also captured a win in the $10,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix two weeks ago.

Continue reading HITS Ocala Veteran Tracy Fenney Wins the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, Presented by Pfizer Animal Health, as Germaine Edelmann Scores the Highest Grand Prix Finish of Her Career

European Horses Arrive in Florida for World Dressage Masters Palm Beach

Steffen Peters will compete with Ravel. Photo Credit: Susan J. Stickle, Phelps Media Group.

Wellington, FL – March 4, 2011 – The World Dressage Masters Palm Beach CDI5* presented by International Polo Club Palm Beach is now just five days away. The American edition of the world’s premier dressage series will begin on March 9th with the FEI Horse Inspection, followed by two days of world class competition. Five top European dressage horses arrived in Miami from Amsterdam on March 3rd. They are expected to move from quarantine to the competition venue, the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in West Palm Beach, on Saturday.

The WDM Palm Beach is the richest dressage competition in North America, with 100,000 Euros in prize money. It will take place in combination with the Wellington Classic Dressage Classic II CDI3*. Both competitions are produced by Wellington Classic Dressage.

Also now in South Florida, having arrived by air from California, is the most successful dressage horse in US history, Akiko Yamazaki’s Ravel. With his rider, Olympic medalist Steffen Peters, Ravel won the 2009 World Cup Dressage Final and two individual bronze medals at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

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Sarah Mechlin and Yes Indeed Win Gulf Coast Winter’s USHJA International Hunter Derby

Sarah Mechlin & Yes Indeed ©Flashpoint Photography

GULFPORT, MS — Mar. 5, 2011 — A very positive minded 23-year-old Sarah Mechlin of Cincinnati, OH partnered with Yes Indeed took the top spot over 50 competitors in the $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby during the fourth week of the Gulf Coast Winter Classics.

Fifty equine athletes were being braided before dawn and began lunging at 5:30 Friday morning in preparation for their first big test, the official presentation and jog before the panel of judges: Mike Rosser, Ray Francis, Betsy Perry, Tucker Erickson, and show veterinarian Juan Gamboa. Once soundness was established, riders donned Shadbelly jackets, shined their boots and mounted up for one last trip in the warm up ring before entering the arena to take on the first round course of 10 obstacles [12 efforts], comprised mostly of natural materials such as logs, brush, and gate planks, all from the creative minds of co-designers Paul Jewel and Allen Rheinheimer. Within the track riders encountered four optional fences offering a height choice up to 4’ which provide the opportunity to score bonus points, as well as bending and broken lines, an in and out, at least one line with an unrelated distance, and a fence with a long approach. The two panels of judges’ scores were combined to determine the top 12 who would be invited back for round two.

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Mario Deslauriers and Vicomte D Earn Victory in $31,000 WEF Challenge Cup Round 8

Mario Deslauriers and Vicomte D won the $31,000 WEF Challenge Cup CSIO during week eight at the 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. Photo © Sportfot

Wellington, FL – March 3, 2011 – USA’s Mario Deslauriers and Vicomte D were victorious in Thursday afternoon’s $31,000 WEF Challenge Cup Round 8 following a competitive class at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center during international CSIO week at the 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF).

The FTI WEF’s eighth week of competition, sponsored by G&C Farm, continues through Sunday, March 6. Friday will feature the $75,000 FEI Nations Cup presented by G&C Farm at 7 p.m. The $31,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Jumpers and the $25,000 ESP Jumper Stake will be held on Saturday afternoon followed by the PRO Derby Cross at 5:30 p.m. and the $35,000 Hermès Puissance. The Suncast 1.50m Championship Jumper Series Classic will be held on Sunday followed by the $150,000 Wellington Equestrian Realty CSIO 4* Grand Prix at 1 p.m. The 2011 WEF will continue through April 3 and award more than $6 million in prize money.

The $75,000 FEI Nations Cup presented by G&C Farm, $35,000 Hermès Puissance, and $150,000 Wellington Equestrian Realty CSIO 4* Grand Prix will be available for viewing on a live webcast via the USEF Network. To view these incredible events, please go to: http://www.usefnetwork.com/wefcsio2011.

Continue reading Mario Deslauriers and Vicomte D Earn Victory in $31,000 WEF Challenge Cup Round 8

Ferrell and Moshi Make a Lasting Impression in the Green Conformation Hunters

Sandy Ferrell and Moshi are the Green Conformation Hunter Champions during the eighth week of the 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. Photo © Sportfot

Wellington, FL – March 3, 2011 – The eighth week of the 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival, which runs through April 3, is well into its second day of competition at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. The sun was shinning along with strong gusts of wind as the Green Conformation Hunters made their way into the E. R. Mische Grand Hunter Ring on Thursday morning.

Sandy Ferrell was aboard the new entry from Stephanie Riggio, Moshi, for the championship win in the Green Conformation Hunters. Riggio purchased Moshi, a seven-year-old Belgium Warmblood gelding by Quintus, around the fourth week of competition at the 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. “He’s a new ride for me, so I get to be the lucky girl, which is nice,” beamed Ferrell.

Moshi and Ferrell secured the championship honor by winning the model and the under saddle classes. The duo went on to win another over fences class and receive a second and two thirds in the division’s remaining classes.

Continue reading Ferrell and Moshi Make a Lasting Impression in the Green Conformation Hunters

Atlanta Spring – Summer – Charleston Summer

Just some updates… Atlanta Spring (March 23 – April 3) – I know so many of you are in the middle of your winter circuits but if you are planning to attend, we need to hear from you about stall reservations.   843 768 5503

Atlanta Summer (June 15-26) – Lots of new classes and much more prize money this summer.   We will have a $25,000 USHJA Hunter Derby this summer again in the Grand Prix ring. We will also have two $35,000 Grand Prix classes.  We will have several clinics including a Water Jumper Clinic, a Pony Model Clinic, and an Ask the Judge Clinic.  This will be along with the 2nd Annual Freestyle Class in the Grand Prix.  Lots planned for the Summer Show in Conyers.  The prize list will be out around the 1st of April.

Charleston Summer Classic (July 13-23) – The new schedule is on the web and the prize list will be out around the 1st of April.  This will be another fun filled two weeks on the coast.  Remember, it’s time to get your condos reserved.

We are now on Facebook: www.facebook.com/classiccompanyltd.

See you at the rings,

Bob Bell
The Classic Company, Ltd.
www.ClassicCompany.com
Phone/FAX:  (843) 768-5503
Post Office Box 1311  Johns Island  SC 29457

Ladies Reign in Devoucoux Hunter Prix at HITS Thermal, Ocala, and Arizona as Winter Show Season Heads into Final Weeks

© Flying Horse Photography. Hope Glynn and Sabrina Hellman's Woodstock in the $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix at HITS Thermal.

SAUGERTIES, NY (March 2, 2011) — The Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final is the talk of the town this season and its key to qualifying, the Devoucoux Hunter Prix, continues to be one of the most popular offerings at the HITS Winter Circuits in Ocala, Florida, Thermal, California, and Tucson, Arizona. Never before has a purse of this magnitude been offered for hunters, and never before have so many talented riders at all levels of their careers had the opportunity to aspire to such a lofty goal.

United States Chef d’Equipe George Morris was on-site at the HITS Desert Horse Park in Thermal, California this past weekend and got to witness first-hand the excitement and energy of the Devoucoux Hunter Prix.

During his visit, Morris shared in the enthusiasm that’s sweeping the sport. “Doing the Hunter Prix series at 3’3” was genius. It really crosses over to so many different riders and is sure to continue to be overwhelmingly popular. I look forward to being back in Europe and asking my European horse colleagues ‘what sort of prize money is Europe offering now?’ We are jumping for a half a million in the Hunters in the States. I can’t wait to see their faces,” Morris said with an approving smile.

Continue reading Ladies Reign in Devoucoux Hunter Prix at HITS Thermal, Ocala, and Arizona as Winter Show Season Heads into Final Weeks