Pessoa and HH Palouchin Dominate in $32,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Classic

Rodrigo Pessoa and HH Palouchin. Photo © Sportfot

Wellington, FL – March 28, 2012 – The FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival began the 12th and final week of competition today with the $32,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Classic. Rodrigo Pessoa (BRA) and HH Palouchin, owned by Double H Farm, are familiar faces in the winner’s circle and were able to speed to victory in today’s class. Richard Spooner (USA) and Molly Ohrstrom’s Billy Bianca were second, while Darragh Kerins (IRL) and Hot Wheels finished third.

Sponsored by FTI Consulting, Inc., the final week of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival will feature the highlight grand prix of the season, the $500,000 FTI Consulting Finale Grand Prix, CSI 5*, on Saturday, March 31. The USHJA International Hunter Derby will host the top 25 on the grass field at The Stadium on Sunday, April 1.

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Impressive Field Set to Contest CEI3* 160km Team Trial

Lexington, KY – This weekend the United States’ top endurance riders will vie for a chance to represent the U.S. at the 2012 FEI World Endurance Championship. Saturday, March 31st riders will compete in the CEI3* 160km Team Trial held at the Priefert Ranch in Mt. Pleasant, TX. Every attempt has been made to replicate the course and environment of the upcoming Championship at these Trials. Saturday’s race is expected to be an excellent showing of the nation’s finest endurance horses.

In accordance with the selection procedures, upon completion of the Team Trial, the top 20 horses in addition to any wild-cards granted by Chef d’Equipe Emmett Ross, will be named to the Long List. The 2012 FEI World Endurance Championship will take place August 25, 2012 in Euston Park, Thetford (GBR).

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Charlotte Jacobs Finishes WEF Circuit with High Junior Jumper Championship

Charlotte Jacobs and Cyrina Z winning the $10,000 High Junior Jumper Classic. Photo By: SportFot

East Aurora, NY and Wellington, FL – March 28, 2012 – The winter show season has come to a close for young rider Charlotte Jacobs of North Star Ventures, but during her last week of competition she captured top honors in the jumper and equitation rings. Over the past 11 weeks, Jacobs competed at the Winter Equestrian Festival aboard her talented string of mounts under the tutelage of Missy Clark and John Brennan of North Run. During Week 11, Jacobs won the High Junior Jumper championship aboard her newest horse, Cyrina Z.

During Saturday’s speed class, Jacobs piloted Cyrina Z to a fault free effort that claimed the second place honors. On Sunday, the pair stepped it up for the $10,000 High Junior Jumper Classic. With a beautiful, clear first round they advanced to the jump-off with three other riders. They lowered the height of just one fence and their four-fault score led the way to earn the blue ribbon victory. Jacobs and Cyrina Z’s excellent performance throughout the division was eventually honored with the High Junior Jumper Championship.

Continue reading Charlotte Jacobs Finishes WEF Circuit with High Junior Jumper Championship

Erynn Ballard Wins Hunter Championship during Week Eight of WEF

Erynn Ballard and Timber Ridge were in the winner’s circle during the eighth week of the 2012 Winter Equestrian Festival after being victorious in the Sanctuary hunter divisions. (Photo courtesy of Sportfot.com)

Wellington, FL (March 27, 2012) – Erynn Ballard, a Canadian rider and trainer, cruised to victory in the Regular Conformation Hunters aboard Timber Ridge during the eighth week of the 2012 Winter Equestrian Festival, capturing the championship in the division. The Sanctuary Equine Sports Therapy & Rehabilitation Center, a world-class rehab and conditioning facility located in Ocala, Florida, sponsors the Regular Conformation Hunters as well as the First Year Green, Second Year Green and Green Conformation classes.

Ballard is one of Canada’s most talented equestrian show jumpers and trainers. She has become one of the most recognized names in the industry due to her consistent wins in the show ring as well as her exceptional training methods. Ballard trains out of her Looking Back Farm in Ontario, Canada.

Other Sanctuary sponsored champions during week eight of the Winter Equestrian Festival included: Peter Pletcher who won the First Year Green Championship on Westbrooke; Shawn Casady aboard Paul Stuart, winners of the Green Conformation Hunters: and Christa Endicott who captured the Second Year Green Championship on Come Monday.

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Leslie Howard Rides to the Top of the 1.30m Leaderboard on Tampa Bay Classic’s First Day

Leslie Howard and Goed Zo took the lead in the 1.30m Open Jumper class on the first day of the Tampa Bay Classic. Photo By: Kendall Bierer/PMG

Tampa, FL – March 28, 2012 – The Tampa Equestrian Series began their two-week horse show this morning at the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center with the Tampa Bay Classic, bringing in many of the top jumper riders to vie for the coveted championship honors. The competition was intense as competitors raced against the clock beneath the shade of the Covered Arena, attempting to prove themselves in the 1.30m Open Jumper class, but it was Leslie Howard aboard Goed Zo who posted a target time that proved resilient.

The course this afternoon was designed by Michel Vaillancourt of Canada, built to both challenging and technical for horse and rider alike. It featured a liverpool, a vertical-vertical-oxer triple combination and a oxer-vertical double combination. Only five riders posted clear rounds, demanding a grueling jump-off where time was one of the biggest factors. The short course included a tight right rollback, the double combination, and the liverpool.

Continue reading Leslie Howard Rides to the Top of the 1.30m Leaderboard on Tampa Bay Classic’s First Day

Steffen Peters and Legolas Win Rock Star Freestyle Award at Dressage Affaire World Cup

Steffen Peters (shown here on Ravel) and Legolas won the Grand Prix Freestyle at the Dressage Affaire World Cup and they also took home the Rock Star Award from Cunningham & Cunningham Livestock, Inc. (Photo courtesy of Terri Miller)

Del Mar, CA (March 28, 2012) – Steffen Peters is well known for rocking the Grand Prix Freestyle on his champion partner Ravel, and during the Dressage Affaire World Cup at the Del Mar Horsepark Peters was back to rocking the scores – this time on his new equine partner Legolas. Thanks to a top score of 78.225%, Peters and Legolas also rode away with the Rock Star Award from Cunningham & Cunningham Livestock, Inc.

Peters has only been riding Legolas since Christmas, and the Del Mar show was their fourth competition together. Legolas is owned by Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki, who also owns Ravel. “We are thrilled that Steffen and Legolas won the Rock Star Award. It is a great thing for the United States that Steffen now has two horses competing at the top of the sport, earning such high scores,” said Sara Cunningham, of Cunningham & Cunningham.

The Rock Star Award at the Del Mar show was sponsored by Cunningham & Cunningham Livestock, Inc., located in Harriman, New York in partnership with Wilson Cunningham West of California. The Rock Star Award highlights horse and rider combinations that excel in the Musical Freestyle classes. The winners are determined by the pair’s music selection, choreography and overall presentation.

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Last-Minute Drama in the Countdown to the Reem Acra Final

Lausanne (SUI), 28 March 2012 – With the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage Final 2011/2012 now only a few short weeks away, the line-up of riders who will represent North America and Central Europe at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands from 19 to 22 April has been confirmed.  The USA’s Jan Ebeling and Shawna Harding will fly the North American flag, while Poland’s Katarzyna Milczarek and Michal Rapcewicz have clinched the two spots for Central Europe.

In total there are four geographic regions in which horse-and-rider combinations battle it out for a place at the annual Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage final, with a variety of qualification formats.  In the Western European League, now in its second season of sponsorship by New York fashion designer Reem Acra, there is a points-for-placings system, while competitors in the Central European and Pacific regions qualify through a league final and in North America, which embraces both the USA and Canada, the result is achieved by averaging the top two results.

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Wellington’s American Express Ride for the Red Cross Raises $33,600

Robert Levine, Red Cross CEO of the Palm Beaches, accepted a check from Kim, Charlie, and Peggy Jacobs during the American Express Ride for the Red Cross in Wellington, FL. Photo By: Rebecca Walton/PMG

Wellington, FL – March 27, 2012 – The first annual American Express Ride for the Red Cross proved hugely successful, raising $33,600 for the disaster relief organization on Monday, March 26, 2012. Several of the world’s top grand prix riders gathered at Marley Goodman’s Turtle Lane Farm at 1:00 p.m. for a trail ride through Grand Prix Village. Following the tour, the riders returned to Turtle Lane Farm for a catered reception, sponsored by Marley Goodman and Charlie Jacobs.

For a donation of $1,000 or $3,000 for a group of five, anyone could join the cause to benefit disaster relief, which offered the opportunity ride with legends such as Joe Fargis, Rodrigo Pessoa, Debbie Stephens and Candice King. Sheila Burke Reynolds of Manlius, NY, Candice King of Wellington, FL and Charlie Jacobs of Boston, MA chaired the event.

“I thought today was great,” said Charlie Jacobs, whose family’s Deeridge Farm made a $10,000 donation to the cause. “We got to tour around Grand Prix Village, and I personally got to see parts I had not seen previously. Candice King was kind enough to map out an hour-long route for our group. We all came out for a great cause, and had a lot of laughs, and raised some good money.”

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The Last Week of Qualifiers Takes Place Wednesday for Dressage under the Stars

Horze Signs On as Finale Sponsor

Photo Courtesy of Client

Wellington, FL – March 27, 2012 – It is the penultimate week of Dressage under the Stars – the last week to qualify – and the competition promises to be fierce. Six horse and rider combinations have earned their place in the April 4th Finals, but Wednesday night’s competition will prove who else will vie for the championship.

Along with the excitement and rising anticipation, the crowd will be in for a spectacle as the esteemed Lusitano horse displays its elegance and beauty beneath the captivating ambiance of the night sky. The event’s producer Steve Williams is also pleased to announce Horze as the most recent sponsor of Dressage under the Stars.

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Equestrian Aid Foundation Auction Offers Spectacular Items and Raises over $35,000 during Palm Beach Dressage Derby

Carol Cohen, second from left, won the breeding to World Champion Totilas during the Equestrian Aid Foundation/Palm Beach Dressage Derby ‘Inspection Reception’ auction. (Photo courtesy of Mary Phelps)

Wellington, FL (March 27, 2012) – The fourth annual Equestrian Aid (EAF) Palm Beach Dressage Derby “Inspection Reception” Fundraiser exceeded expectations, showing just how generous the dressage community is to their fellow equestrians.  The evening of bidding raised just over $35,000 for the EAF, and included some of the most spectacular and unique auction items to date.  The Equestrian Aid Foundation’s purpose is to help equestrians who have fallen on hard times, and the auction took place Thursday, March 1st at the beautiful Equestrian Estates show grounds immediately following the FEI Jog for the famous Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI.

“The Palm Beach Dressage Derby kickoff party is a long standing tradition, with history going back over fifteen years,” said Mary Phelps, one of the key organizers and promoters of the event.  “Four years ago the kickoff party was turned over to the Equestrian Aid Foundation, and we want to thank all who have contributed to its success over the years.”  Items were on display in the elegant “Beer Garden,” a new addition to the historic show grounds.  The Equestrian Aid Foundation has delivered financial assistance to equestrians, horsemen, and equine professionals who are suffering from catastrophic illness or injuries throughout their time of need and relies on the generous funding of the equestrian community.

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