Category Archives: *Featured/Spotlights

Special features, spotlights, headlines

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

FEI Children’s International Classics Final 2011

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VASCONCELLOS SCOOPS DOUBLE-GOLD FOR BRAZIL by Louise Parkes

Brazil's Sarah Vasconcellos claimed Team and Individual gold riding Cornwall Chief at the FEI Children's International Classics Final 2011 in Hong Kong. Photo: FEI/Kenneth Chan.

Hong Kong (CHN), 14 January 2012 – Brazil’s Sarah Vasconcellos clinched her second gold medal of the Championships when taking the Individual title on the final day of the FEI Children’s International Classics Final in Hong Kong today.  Silver went to the host nation’s Arianna Ladd, while South Africa’s Cameron Dawson was the well-deserved recipient of the bronze.  Vasconcellos also helped the Happy Diamonds side to gold in the Team competition, ably supported by Russia’s Nikita Pomogalova, Venezuela’s Victoria Karm and Hong Kong’s Michelle Li.

The youthful enthusiasm and sporting spirit of the competitors, all aged between 12 and 14 years, permeated the event which took place at the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Beas River Country Club – venue for the eventing discipline during the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.  The 20 competitors representing 15 National Federations – Brazil, Hong Kong, South Africa, France, Germany, Ecuador, Paraguay, Venezuela, China, Syria, New Zealand, Guatemala, Russia, Mexico and Canada – rode horses belonging to the Hong Kong Jockey Club, many of which are leased to individuals who generously permitted their mounts to take part in this important challenge.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Awards, Dressage, Events, USEF

Steffen Peters Named 2011 USEF Equestrian of the Year

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Steffen Peters, 2011 Equestrian of the Year, at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico

Cincinnati, OH – To cap off a record-setting year, dressage superstar Steffen Peters added one more record to his résumé on Saturday night at the United States Equestrian Federation’s Pegasus Awards dinner. He became the first person to score the USEF’s Equestrian of the Year title three times.

Peters (San Diego, CA) won the top honor in 2008 and 2009 based largely on his accomplishments with Akiko Yamazaki’s phenom Ravel – but in 2011, Ravel had some help. Peters capitalized on his first trip to the Pan American Games and scored Team and Individual Gold in a tremendous effort with Jen and Bruce Hlavacek’s Weltino’s Magic. From California to Aachen, Germany Peters was undefeated in 2011 with the now 9-year-old Westphalian gelding.

Both Ravel and ‘Magic’ scored at the 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF National Dressage Championships in Gladstone, NJ in September sweeping the Grand Prix and Intermediaire I divisions respectively. Peters won all six classes in the effort and secured his Pan Am spot with Magic in the process.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Phelps Media Group

Louise Serio and Castle Rock Sweep Performance Working Hunters at WEF I

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Louise Serio and Castle Rock Swept the Performance Working 3'6" Hunter division at WEF I. Photo By: SportFot

Wellington, FL – January 14, 2012 – The prestigious Winter Equestrian Festival got underway with its first week of competition at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL. Derbydown owner and trainer Louise Serio started off right, claiming the Performance Working 3’6″ Hunter Championship after sweeping the division aboard Bryan Baldwin’s Castle Rock. Serio also took home the reserve championship honors in the Pre-Green Level 2 Hunters with Aate’, owned by Bright Star 158, LLC.

Over the years, Serio and Castle Rock have won many coveted titles, including WEF’s 2011 WCHR Pro Hunter Classic and 2010 USHJA International Hunter Derby. This week they returned the arena and were unstoppable. The duo claimed the first place prize in all of the Performance Working 3’6″ Hunter classes, and were eventually honored with the championship tricolor.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Dressage, Events, Phelps Media Group

European Champion Carl Hester to Compete at World Dressage Masters Palm Beach

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Carl Hester and Uthopia. Photo by Leslie Bliss

Wellington, FL – January 13, 2012 – Organizers of the World Dressage Masters Palm Beach presented by International Polo Club Palm Beach received confirmation on Thursday that Great Britain’s Carl Hester has accepted an invitation to compete at the 2012 WDM Palm Beach, which takes place from January 26th to 28th, 2012. Hester led the British Dressage Team to a historic gold medal at the 2011 European Dressage Championships, and went on to win individual silver riding the nine year old stallion Uthopia. Hester’s exclusive appearance at the WDM Palm Beach will be his first time competing on American soil since he was a member of the British Dressage Team that won a silver medal at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

“We are thrilled that Carl has accepted our invitation to attend the 2012 WDM Palm Beach,” says Noreen O’Sullivan of Wellington Classic Dressage. “We already have an impressive group of world class horses and riders, and the addition of Carl’s name to that list is exciting news for the WDM’s presenting sponsors, for the organizers, and of course for the spectators.”

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*Featured/Spotlights, Awards, Breeds, Community/Charity, Dressage, Eventing/H.T., Events, Show Jumping, USEF

Neville Bardos and Sjoerd Named 2011 Horses of the Year by the USEF

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Horse of the Year Neville Bardos (Photo Courtesy of USEA)

Cincinnati, OH – For the first time ever, the USEF crowned two horses with its highest honor, one from an International Discipline and one from a National Discipline. Neville Bardos and Sjoerd were named 2011 Horses of the Year at tonight’s USEF annual Horse of the Year celebration. Honored for their accomplishments in 2011 their roads through the last 12 months, while both exceptional, have been very different.

Videos of all of the Horses of Honor are available here: http://www.usefnetwork.com/featured/USEFAnnualMeeting2012.

Neville Bardos – Eventing

He shouldn’t have lived. But he did. He shouldn’t have returned to his life as an event horse. But he returned better than ever. Trapped in a burning barn for 45 minutes, Neville Bardos made a miraculous recovery from injuries sustained in a fire that claimed the lives of six other horses at his rider Boyd Martin’s barn in West Grove, PA. The now 13-year-old Australian Thoroughbred gelding won the USEF National CCI3* championship in 2009 and was 10th at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games – leading the U.S. effort. But his life changed dramatically in the early hours of Memorial Day in 2011. Martin pulled him out of the burning barn to safety. Neville Bardos was left with horrific injuries due to massive amounts of smoke inhalation and the subsequent damage to his throat.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Show Jumping

Round 1 of $30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series Goes to McLain Ward and Oh’ D Eole at WEF

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Castle Rock and Louise Serio Sweep CWD Performance Working Hunter 3’6″ Championship

McLain Ward with Oh D'Eole. Photos © Sportfot

Wellington, FL – January 12, 2012 – Olympic gold medalist McLain Ward (USA) was able to beat a field of 39 competitors to take the first round victory in the $30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series at the 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival. He and Oh’ D Eole triumphed in the jump-off over Charlie Jayne (USA) on Chill R Z and Darragh Kerins (IRL) with Hot Wheels. Today’s grand prix marked the start of an exciting show jumping season, where riders will compete over 12 weeks to win bonus money in the $100,000 FTI Consulting Rider Challenge.

The first week of the FTI WEF runs through Sunday, January 15, and is sponsored by Surpass. The 2012 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of competition that conclude on April 1, 2012, and they will be awarding more than $6 million in prize money through the circuit. The highlight jumper class in week one is the $30,000 Surpass Grand Prix on Saturday, January 14, at 7 p.m.

Continue reading Round 1 of $30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series Goes to McLain Ward and Oh’ D Eole at WEF →

*Featured/Spotlights, Community/Charity, Diana de Rosa, Hunter/Equitation, Show Jumping, Washington Int'l Horse Show

Sophie & Katherine Make Horse Jump Out of Cupcakes and Bake One Ton Creation

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DC CUPCAKES: ONE TON CUPCAKE Premieres Monday, January 16 at 10 PM (ET/PT) on TLC

Sophie and Katherine build the Cupcake Jump at the Washington International Horse Show. Shawn McMillen Photography

Sophie and Katherine, the sisters who own Georgetown Cupcake, have a huge order from the Washington International Horse Show to make a full-sized horse jump out of cupcakes. Horses jumping over cupcakes? Why yes! The country’s leading indoor metropolitan horse show is just a few blocks away from Sophie and Katherine’s Georgetown Cupcake shop. A special jump made from the now famous sweets was a surprise addition to an exciting evening of world-class show jumping competition. Tune in to see if any of the horses, riders or fans got to eat one!

At the same time, the sisters attempt to break the world record for largest cupcake. With the help of Mommy and Sophie’s nuclear engineer husband Steve, they set out to bake a one ton cupcake, first finding an oven huge enough for all 2000 pounds of homemade batter, and then baking it to perfection.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Show Jumping

2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival Hosts Opening Press Conference

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The panel of Michael Stone, Mark Bellissimo, Louise Serio, Christine McCrea, Rodrigo Pessoa and Hunter Harrison spoke about the 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival at the opening press conference. Photos © ManciniPhotos.

Wellington, FL – January 10, 2012 – The 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) hosted its opening press conference on Tuesday afternoon at the White Horse Tavern in Wellington, FL. A large crowd of local, national, and international media were in attendance to hear the latest news on the 12-week competition, which begins tomorrow. The FTI WEF will host thousands of the world’s best horses and riders on January 11 – April 1 at the beautiful Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in what has become the world’s largest and longest running horse show.

This afternoon’s press conference was hosted by Equestrian Sport Productions’ (ESP) CEO Mark Bellissimo and President Michael Stone, with additional commentary from top hunter rider and trainer Louise Serio, Pan American Games Show Jumping Individual and U.S. Team Gold Medalist Christine McCrea, Wellington Equestrian Partner Hunter Harrison, and Olympic Show Jumping Gold Medalist Rodrigo Pessoa.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Show Jumping, Training/Clinics, USEF

2012 George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session Concludes after Five Informative Days

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Jacob Pope jumps Anthony D'Ambriosio's course. Photo from Amy Serridge/USEF Archive

Wellington, FL – The sixth annual George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session presented by the United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) and Adequan concluded Saturday at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL. Held January 3-7, participants honed their riding skills and learned valuable lessons in overall horsemanship.

Learn more about the riders

Due to a severe cold, Morris, the legendary horseman and U.S. Show Jumping Chef d’Equipe, was unable to teach the training session sponsored by The Dutta Corporation, Farnam, Practical Horseman, and Equestrian Sport Productions. However, Morris’ protégés Anne Kursinski, Kent Farrington, McLain Ward and Beezie Madden stepped in to conduct the morning mounted sessions.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Dressage, Events, Phelps Media Group

World Dressage Masters Palm Beach Announces Change to Line-Up

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Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro. Photo courtesy of British Dressage

Wellington, FL – January 6, 2012 – Organizers of the World Dressage Masters presented by Axel Johnson Group have been informed that the stallion Totilas and his rider Matthias Rath of Germany will be unable to attend the WDM Palm Beach presented by International Polo Club Palm Beach, which is set to take place January 26th to 28th.

“I received a call this morning from Paul Schockemöhle, one of the owners of Totilas,” said WDM Palm Beach organizer Noreen O’Sullivan of Wellington Classic Dressage. “I am very sorry to announce that Totilas will not be able to compete in this year’s World Dressage Masters Palm Beach. The owners feel the horse has just returned to light work after an injury and would not be ready for this event. We have already invited Totilas and Matthias to our 2013 WDM event. The owners and Matthias were very disappointed they would not be able to attend this year’s WDM Palm Beach but also said they look forward to accepting our invitation for next year if the horse is going well.”

Continue reading World Dressage Masters Palm Beach Announces Change to Line-Up →