Todd Minikus and Little Annie in the $40,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, at HITS Culpeper.
SAUGERTIES, NY (August 24, 2010) — Todd Minikus and Little Annie, owned by Todd Minikus LTD, captured Sunday’s $40,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, to highlight the Winston National at HITS Commonwealth Park in Culpeper, Virginia.
The win marked Minikus’ eighth Grand Prix needed to become eligible for the Pfizer Million and he now enters the top 20 of the Eligible Rider Rankings at number 17.
Minikus, of Loxahatchee, Florida, and Little Annie were one of 25 horse-and-rider combinations to ride the course designed by Jerry Dougherty of Bokeelia, Florida, which saw six pairs advance to the jump-off.
“I thought Jerry [Dougherty] did a great job setting the course and getting six clean,” said Minikus.
Individual gold medallist Marcelo Chirico (URU) takes centre stage on the podium, flanked by Mario Gamboa (COL), who took silver, and bronze medallist Dalma Rushdi H Malhas (KSA) after a thrilling finish to the YOG Equestrian Events in Singapore. (Photo: IOC)
24 August 2010 – Marcelo Chirico (URU) and Links Hot Gossip were the stars in Singapore today, clinching individual gold in a jump-off against Mario Gamboa (COL), who had to settle for silver, while Dalma Rushdi H Malhas (KSA) won out in a six-way jump-off for the bronze on another scorching day – inside and outside the YOG Jumping arena.
All riders from Sunday’s first individual round, with the exception of Maria Victoria Paz (ARG) who was eliminated, went forward to today’s second round. They were jumping in reverse order of merit, which meant that the nine riders with clears in Sunday’s competition were last into the arena today.
Course Designer John Vallance (AUS) upped the degree of difficulty for today’s individual final and this was reflected in the number of clear rounds. The obstacle that caused most grief was fence 4, a Liverpool, with wings made in the image of the Singapore Flyer, which was on a related line from the double.
24/08/2010 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Over fifty show jumpers including many of the World’s top 30 show jumping riders will be arriving in Rio in the next 48 hours to compete for 620’000 Euro in show prize money and to decide who will head the GCT rankings and carry off the winner’s share of the One Million Euro Bonus. Each rider may count their seven best GCT Grand Prix results toward this end and the top prize is just short of a staggering 317’000 Euro. Currently the leader is Marco Kutscher but he is being pressed by Marcus Ehning and Jos Lansink, any of whom could take the title. Edwina Alexander is currently fourth. This is believed to be the biggest single purse ever awarded in the sport of show jumping and means that if a rider wins both the GCT Rankings title and the GCT Grand Prix of Brazil they could walk away with the best part of half a million Euro. World Number One Kevin Staut will be among the riders trying to prevent the current top three walking away with both prizes. The Bonus breakdown is below and the details of the rider list and show classes can be found on the show’s own site at www.aoihs.com. Other relevant information can be found at www.globalchampionstour.com.
23 August 2010 – For the first time in history a female athlete from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has competed at an Olympic event. Dalma Rushdi Malhas, a member of the Saudi Youth Olympic Games Team, participated in the Equestrian competition this week. Her participation has been facilitated by the FEI working in conjunction with the IOC to widen the participation quota.
Dalma competed in the two rounds of the Team competition hors concours (out of competition) as she was not part of an official team, picking up 16 faults in the first round and then going clear in the second when she was first into the arena. She had her first taste of full Olympic competition yesterday in the opening round of the individual, completing with just four faults. She is now in equal 10th place going into tomorrow’s individual final, the equivalent of one fence behind the nine riders on zero who are battling it out for individual glory.
FEI President, HRH Princess Haya said, “We in the FEI are enormously proud to have one of our athletes record this historic event.”
French rider Melody Theolissat won gold in the Seven-Year-Old division at the 2010 FEI World Young Endurance Horse Championships in Compiegne, France riding Padichah du Paon. Photo Credit: Gilly Wheeler.
FRENCH DOMINATE PODIUM AT FEI WORLD YOUNG ENDURANCE HORSE CHAMPIONSHIPS
100th Anniversary of Compiègne celebrated in style
23 August – French riders were in sparkling form when taking all three medals in the Eight-Year-Old division, while only Spain’s Monica Comas Molist stopped them from doing the same in the battle for the Seven-Year-Old honours at the FEI World Young Endurance Horse Championships at Compiegne, France. Cecile Totain, Laetitia Goncalves and Roman Lafaure secured a clean sweep for the host nation in the senior 160 km section for the eight-year-olds, while the Spaniard separated gold medallist Melody Theolissat and Clementine Manoha as the home runners also flexed their muscle in the seven-year-old class run over 130 km.
This prestigious fixture, filled with the oysters-and-champagne lifestyle that has long been associated with this particular endurance venue, might be considered a “jolly” affair by some, but that couldn’t be further from the reality. Compiègne is a tough, competitive track requiring skilled and tactical riding and, of course, a talented horse. It is well-recognised as one of the toughest courses on the International circuit but, some years ago, the course was modified and the competition was run over flatter terrain with speed being the main focus. Last year the track was modified again, reintroducing more technical aspects of the sport.
This FEI World Championships attracts the cream of the crop of young endurance horses and often those that will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. The 2010 event was no exception, with representatives across the two categories from Sweden, Belgium, Spain, USA, Argentina, Qatar, Portugal, Slovakia, Germany, Great Britain, Brazil, the Netherlands and of course, a strong contingent from the home nation of France.
Georgina Bloomberg and Fiedi 3 won the $30,000 Bluegrass Festival Grand Prix Victory at the Bluegrass Festival Horse Show. Photo By: Rebecca Walton/PMG.
Lexington, KY – August 22, 2010 – It was a beautiful and sunny Kentucky afternoon, for the final day of the Bluegrass Festival Horse Show. Today riders competed for top prizes during the jumper divisions in the new Indoor Ring at the picturesque Kentucky Horse Park. The highlight event of the day was the $30,000 Bluegrass Festival Grand Prix where Georgina Bloomberg and Fiedi 3 stole the show after completing an incredible double clear-effort with a blazing jump-off time of 40.83 seconds.
Today’s class featured a course designed by Richard Jeffery of Bournemouth, England. The first round included an oxer-vertical double combination and a vertical-vertical-oxer triple combination, with numerous bending lines.
Six riders were able to show perfection over the technical first round track and advance to the short course. For the shortened tiebreaker test, they began by jumping a wide oxer in the corner and then made a right turn to the double combination before galloping to the end of the ring to jump a single vertical. Next they made a left turn to another oxer and then had a long gallop to an oxer-vertical bending line. Riders finished by galloping home off the left lead over a tall, single vertical.
The individual medal winners at the 2010 FEI Junior European Eventing Championships at Bad Segeberg, Germany - (L to R): Silver medallist Celina Nothofer (GER), gold medallist Alina Meister (GER) and bronze medallist Tim Rogers (GBR).
GERMAN JUNIOR EVENTERS SWEEP TO VICTORY
23 August 2010 – German youngsters continued their extraordinary run of form through the 2010 sub-senior FEI Championship calendar as the Junior squad claimed the team title as well as individual gold and silver at the FEI Junior European Eventing Championships in Bad Segeberg at the weekend. In command from the outset, the winning team completed 15 points clear of the silver medallists from France, while Italy claimed bronze ahead of Ireland. And in the individual rankings the formidable strength of the German challenge was set in stone as the home runners filled five of the top six placings.
A total of 74 competitors from 16 nations lined out at the German venue from 19 to 22 August, and 2009 bronze medallist, Celina Nothofer, demonstrated her determination to improve on her result of 12 months earlier when stamping her authority on the dressage arena with the leading score of 35.20. However time penalties on the cross-country course would rob her of the ultimate accolade and she had to settle for silver as team-member Alina Meister, lying second after dressage, overtook her when adding nothing to her first-phase score of 39.00. Individual bronze went to Tim Rogers, the only member of the British team to escape penalty on cross-country day.
Emily Baldwin (GBR) and Drivetime in action en route to victory in the HSBC FEI World Cup event at Haras du Pin (FRA), the penultimate competition in the 2010 series. (Photo: Jehan de Monléon/FEI)
22 August 2010 – Britain’s Emily Baldwin spearheaded a competitive international field to win her first ever HSBC FEI World Cup event, at the inaugural Haras du Pin (FRA) CIC3*-W, the penultimate competition in the 2010 series.
Baldwin, 29, and her 14-year-old Dutch-bred Drivetime, are an experienced combination and are renowned for producing elegant, expressive Dressage tests, so it was no surprise to see them lead this phase.
They slipped to fourth with a handful of Cross-Country time penalties, but then regained the top spot with a clear Jumping round to finish just 2.2 penalties ahead of Belgium’s Karin Donckers on Lamicell Charizard.
Baldwin and Drivetime, by Zuidhorn, are now heading for the Pau CCI4* (FRA) in November, the last of the five 2010 HSBC Classics. “I’m absolutely thrilled,” said Baldwin. “It’s my biggest win to date. I have won a CIC3* before, but not an HSBC FEI World Cup event. My horse is quite a character in the stable yard anyway, and now he will be very pleased with himself!”
Mohamed Abdalla (EGY) acknowledges the crowd’s support after jumping a clear with Buzzword in today’s individual competition for a share in the lead going into Tuesday’s Final. (Photo: IOC)
22 August 2010 – Another steamy day in Singapore greeted competitors and spectators for round 1 of the Youth Olympic Games Individual Jumping Competition, with all the riders going back to zero scores for a brand new start after the Teams medal decider.
Singaporean precision meant that the first competitor from Chile rode into the arena today at exactly 9.30am, ready to jump the course presented by international Course Designer, John Vallance (AUS). The fences were a little higher and wider, with oxers looking squarer than those for the Team Competition. This is appropriate now that the horse and rider combinations have got to know each other better and should be able to handle the elevated degree of difficulty. Distances in the course were very even and fair with a flowing line. A triple combination was also included to test the riders.
There were nine clear rounds in today’s competition, with most of them being ridden very smoothly and effectively. Competitors who went clear were Marcelo Chirico (URU), Thomas McDermott (AUS), Mohamed Abdalla (EGY), Timur Patarov (KAZ), Dominique Shone (CAN), Guilherme Foroni (BRA), Samantha McIntosh (RSA), Wojciech Dahlke (POL) and Mario Gamboa (COL).
August 21, 2010 – Lexington, KY – Hunt Tosh waited in anticipation after his final round. He’d dominated the first round and after a powerful second round he thought there was a chance this night could be his. It wasn’t until the scores went up that he knew he’d become the winner of the second annual 2010 $100,000 The Chronicle of the Horse/USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals.
It was August 21, the night everyone had been anxiously waiting for, and there were only two more rounds to go before Tosh’s victory was secured. Being held in the lovely venue of the indoor arena at the Kentucky Horse Park only added to the thrill and for a touch of class and tradition, black tie dress was asked.
Those who placed in the top 25 after the qualifying round, held August 20, battled it out in a Classic Hunter round to determine the top 12. Winner of the qualifier Scott Stewart, 2nd place Jennifer Alfano, and 3rd place Liza Boyd were among the few showing. The high scores these riders obtained in the previous round would not help them here. At the start of the second round all points were erased. Everyone started with a clean slate.
