Caledonia, IL (August 5, 2010) – Combined Driver Chester Weber is gearing up for the World Equestrian Games the best way he knows how: by competing in and winning the Four-In-Hand at the Iron Horse Combined Driving Event at Sherwood Farms, in Caledonia, Illinois. Despite an issue in the marathon phase, Team Weber captured the overall championship with 152.2 points followed by Josh Rector with 170.58 points.
Weber said his team’s success at Iron Horse did include some bad luck, which occurred on the marathon. “We strive for our personal best and this was an example of being dealt lemons and making lemonade,” Weber said. “In the first obstacle in the marathon, Para my left wheel horse, somehow got his left front leg over Reno’s trace. Reno is the left leader, in front of Para. Olof, one of the two navigators on the carriage, got down and quickly resolved the problem in 25 seconds. The horses were unharmed and we proceeded to win the next three hazards.”
Weber said despite the marathon incident, Team Weber’s confidence remains unshaken. “This kind of thing can happen and we are reviewing the video with our team, including David Freedman our harness maker, to insure that any necessary adjustments are made so we do everything within our control to insure it will not happen in the future. With that said, this kind of thing can happen and negating the risk altogether is impossible.”
During the Iron Horse competition, Team Weber was victorious in the dressage phase with a score of 39.25. “With the replacement of Reno with Rolex I believe it will be on par with what that team was able to achieve this spring and two years ago. This is Reno’s second score under 40,” Weber said. “Dressage has historically been our strength and I believe that this year’s results are evidence that the fundamentals of our program remain strong. As for the cones, I drove a new combination of horses and am pleased with their performance given the challenges associated with the saturated footing in places on the course.”
Weber said Iron Horse was part of his personal road to WEG and that WEG will be his next complete show. Team Weber will take part in a team training session at the beginning of September in New Jersey. “We also may go to the Laurels and do the dressage and cones three weeks before the games,” Weber said.
Eight-time USEF National Four-In-Hand Champion, Weber is a veteran of two previous World Equestrian Games. Earlier this year Weber made the decision to spend the summer training in the United States instead of in Europe. “Competing at competitions like Iron Horse helps keep the team sharp and gives us a chance to compete without the stress of traveling back and forth to Europe before the World Equestrian Games.”
For more information on Weber, visit his website at www.chesterweber.com.
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Chester Weber
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