*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Driving, Events, FEI, FEI

Excellent Exell to the Fore Again in Budapest

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Boyd Exell (AUS), winner of the fourth FEI World Cup Driving 2011/2012 qualifier held in Budapest (HUN) this weekend. ©Rinaldo de Craen/FEI

Budapest (HUN), 4 December 2011 – Just a week after his first FEI World Cup victory of the season in Stockholm, Boyd Exell (AUS) repeated that winning performance by scoring at the fourth leg of the FEI World Cup Driving 2011/2012 in Budapest, Hungary today. Exell stayed ahead of home driver and favorite Jozsef Dobrovitz (HUN) and Stuttgart-winner Koos de Ronde (NED).

Change of horse
It was by no means a certainty that Exell would win again, however. One of his experienced leader horses, the 17-year-old gelding Spitfire, did not pass the first horse inspection due to a minor injury in his foot and Exell was forced to put his spare wheeler horse Clinton Star in the lead of his four-in-hand. Exell put Clinton Star to the test in the warm-up competition and the prizegiving ceremony on the first day, when he finished second behind Koos de Ronde. Exell’s gamble paid off and Clinton Star got even faster in today’s FEI World Cup Driving competition and contributed to the Australian’s second victory of the season. Following wins in 2008 and 2009, this was Exell’s third win in Budapest. Local hero Jozsef Dobrovitz, from the nearby village of Vecsés, was cheered on by his enthusiastic home crowd in the Laszlo Papp Arena and drove his team of Lipizzaner horses to a well-deserved second place.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Dressage, Events, FEI, FEI, USEF

Leibler and Watson 108 Prepare for the FEI Young Rider World Cup Dressage Final in Germany

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Isabelle Leibler and Watson 108 National Young Rider Dressage Championships (SusanJStickle.com)

Lexington, KY – Isabelle Leibler and her own Watson 108 have arrived safely in Germany and have begun diligently preparing to represent the US at the FEI Young Rider World Cup Dressage Final. Leibler (Greenwich, CT) and the 14-year-old Westphalian gelding arrived early this week in Kronberg im Taunus. They will be based at Schafhof, the renowned training and breeding center of Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff, Klaus Martin Rath, and Matthias Rath, prior to heading to Frankfurt for the competition.

Leibler and Watson 108 were invited to represent the US at the 2011 Finals after posting the highest average in the FEI Young Rider Freestyle Test at CDI-Ys during the qualifying period. This pair landed in Germany after a strong 2011 campaign that included winning a team Bronze medal and two Gold medals, individual and freestyle, at the Adequan/FEI North American Junior and Young Riders Championships presented by Gotham North. Additionally, they were crowned National Young Rider Dressage Champions at the 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of Championships.

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Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Show Jumping

Shane Sweetnam and Little Emir Win $31,000 G&C Farm 1.45m FEI Class at Holiday and Horses

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Shane Sweetnam and Little Emir won the $31,000 G&C Farm 1.45m FEI ranking class. Photo © ManciniPhotos

Wellington, FL – December 2, 2011 – Irish rider Shane Sweetnam and Spy Coast Farm LLC’s Little Emir galloped to victory in the $31,000 G&C Farm 1.45m FEI ranking class on Friday at Equestrian Sport Production’s Holiday and Horses event. The pair stopped the clock in 42.90 seconds to edge out Katie Dinan and Grant Road Partner’s Nougat Du Vallet, who were the only other combination to make it to the jump-off. Dinan and Nougat Du Vallet finished second with their time of 45.10 seconds.

Anthony D’Ambrosio set a challenging course for the 33 entries in today’s class and just the two riders were able to jump clear. An oxer to vertical double-liverpool combination caused problems for many, and a tight time allowed caught several others. Sweetnam and Dinan finished first and second, followed by three riders with time faults.

Emilie Martinsen of Denmark finished the course with one time fault in 84.76 seconds to place third on Carisma. Margie Engle and Pauly Du Breuil, owned by the Garbers, Engles and Lea Allen, had one time fault in 84.93 seconds to finish fourth. Jessica Springsteen and Stone Hill Farm’s Vornado Van Den Hoendrik had three time faults in 86.22 seconds to place fifth. Columbia’s Daniel Bluman and Fatalis Fatum had the fastest four fault round in 77.50 seconds to take home sixth place honors.

Continue reading Shane Sweetnam and Little Emir Win $31,000 G&C Farm 1.45m FEI Class at Holiday and Horses →

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Dressage, Events, FEI, Olympic Games, Para-Equestrian

Record Breaking Ticket Sales for Paralympic Equestrian at London 2012

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Team USA ( Left to Right) Jonathan Wentz, Mary Jordan, Rebecca Hart, and Wendy Fryke at 2011 NEDA Fall Festival of Dressage CPEDI3*. Photo © 2011 Lindsay Y McCall

Lausanne (SUI), 2 December 2011 – Sales of Paralympic Equestrian tickets for the London 2012 Paralympic Games have broken records, with more than 40,000 tickets already sold. And there is a further opportunity for spectator numbers to increase with remaining tickets going on sale on 2 December.

The number of tickets sold to date for the 11 Paralympic Equestrian events taking place in Greenwich Park next year (30 August – 4 September) has already overtaken the previous record of 33,000 spectators that watched the Beijing 2008 Paralympic equestrian events in Hong Kong.

In total over one million tickets have already been purchased for the 20 sports at the London 2012 Paralympic Games since they went on sale this year.

“We have six days of Paralympic Equestrian competition in Greenwich Park, in a country where Para-Equestrian Dressage was pretty much born,” said Tim Hadaway, Equestrian Competition Manager at Greenwich Park, venue for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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Show Jumping, USEF

USEF Receives Six Applications for the Show Jumping Chef d’Equipe/Technical Advisor Position

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Lexington, KY – On November 30, 2011, the application period closed for the position of USEF Show Jumping Chef d’Equipe/Technical Advisor. The USEF Search Committee received six applications for this position which will become available in 2013. The Search Committee will review the applications, conduct interviews and rate the applicants. Upon completion of this phase of the process, the Search Committee will forward their ratings to Show Jumping Eligible Athlete Committee (SJEAC) and the Show Jumping High Performance Committee (SJHPC) for their consideration. The anonymity of the applicants will be maintained by the USEF throughout this process.

More information will become available, please check the USEF website for updates. For more information, please contact Lizzy Chesson at lchesson@usef.org.

Breeds, Competitions, Events, USEF

Coaches Named for the 2012 US Saddle Seat World Cup Team

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Lexington, KY – Accomplished trainers from the Saddlebred, Morgan and Arabian breeds have been selected as coaches for the 2012 U.S. Saddle Seat World Cup Team. The event will take place in Parys, South Africa, in December of 2012.

The 2012 USA Saddle Seat Team Coaches are Cindy Mugnier, Sandra Currier, Kristen Cater, and Brent Jacobs.

Cindy Mugnier owns and operates a training stable at Fox Meadow Farm in Massachusetts; she also is a USEF judge and current committee member of USEF Morgan, Saddle Seat Equitation and Saddle Seat Equitation World Cup Committees. Mugnier has served on previous World Cup selection committees and has trained many state, regional, national, and world championship riders. Mugnier is the recipient of the 2007 AMHA Cecil Brown Sportsmanship Award, Massachusetts Morgan Horse Association Woman of the Year, UPHA Chapter 14 Horseperson of the Year, and UPHA Chapter 14 Hall of Fame.

Continue reading Coaches Named for the 2012 US Saddle Seat World Cup Team →

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Dressage, Events, Para-Equestrian

United States Para-Equestrians Take to the Air for 2011 Melbourne CPEDI3* in Australia

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Mary Jordan and Sebastian. Photos ©2 011 Lindsay Y McCall

Thousand Oaks, CA – December 1, 2011 – With a Team Gold under their belt earned at the 2011 CPEDI3* in Mexico City, the United States Para-Equestrian Team takes to the air headed to beautiful Melbourne, Australia. The 2011 CPEDI3* in Werribee, Victoria, Australia begins Thursday, December 8th with a horse inspection, followed by the Team Test on Friday, Individual Test on Saturday, and finally the Freestyle competition on Sunday, December 11, 2011. This international competition will be held in conjunction with the Saddle World Dressage Festival held at the Werribee Park National Equestrian Center located southwest of Melbourne, Australia. The United States Para-Equestrian Team consists of Donna Ponessa from New Windsor, NY for Grade Ia, Rebecca Hart of Unionville, PA for Grade II, Erin Alberda of Woodinville, WA for Grade III, and Mary Jordan from Wells, ME representing Grade IV. Each rider will compete throughout the weekend against Para-Equestrian team members from Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. This competition is one more stride on the road to the 2012 Paralympics held in London, England.

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Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Show Jumping

Kick Off the Equestrian Season with the $50,000 Holiday and Horses CSI-W 2* Grand Prix This Saturday at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center

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The opening event of the winter season will happen this Saturday, December 3 at 6 p.m. at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC). Expecting a record number of entries in this year’s $50,000 Holiday and Horses CSI-W 2* Grand Prix, it is sure to be an exciting evening.

Numerous venues will be open and hosting spectators and patrons during and after the grand prix event. The Tiki Hut at PBIEC will have a DJ on hand for the evening’s festivities, and The International Club will be open to spectators at a cost of $50 per person, which will include dinner, dessert, and an open bar. Seats for The International Club can be reserved in advance or purchased at the door. Tables may also be reserved through Annette Goyette at annette@equestriansport.com.

Equestrian Sport Productions, LLC
14440 Pierson Rd., Wellington, FL 33414
561-793-5867 (phone)
561-753-0394 (fax)

Brooke Bidgood
Public Relations – Equestrian Sport Productions
brooke@equestriansport.com

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

Megan Edrick and Cadence Triumph in $31,000 Holiday and Horses Opener Grand Prix

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Megan Edrick and Cadence won the $31,000 Holiday and Horses Opener Grand Prix. Photo © ManciniPhotos

Wellington, FL – December 1, 2011 – Megan Edrick and Cadence jumped to an exciting victory in the $31,000 Holiday and Horses Opener Grand Prix CSI 2* at Equestrian Sport Production’s Holiday and Horses competition on Thursday afternoon. The win was Edrick’s fourth grand prix victory of the year with Cadence after topping a class in St. Louis this summer and recently earning back to back victories in Atlanta. The rider won her very first grand prix just last summer.

The $31,000 Holiday and Horses Opener saw 46 entries in the first round of competition showing over a course set by Anthony D’Ambrosio. Seventeen were able to clear the course without fault, and sixteen of those entries returned for the jump-off.

Andres Rodriguez was first to return over the short course and jumped clear and fast aboard Arao Enterprises’ Caballito, setting the time to beat at 38.08 seconds. Rodriguez and Caballito held the lead through fourteen rounds, almost securing a wire to wire victory, until Megan Edrick and Cadence entered the ring. Last to go in the order, Edrick and Cadence took over the top spot with a time of 37.84 seconds, pushing Rodriguez into second place.

Continue reading Megan Edrick and Cadence Triumph in $31,000 Holiday and Horses Opener Grand Prix →

*Featured/Spotlights, Dressage, Events, JRPR, Symposiums, Training/Clinics

Amerigo Sponsored Dressage Star Kyra Kyrklund Shines at NEDA Fall Symposium

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Kyra Kyrklund was the featured clinician at the NEDA Fall Symposium.

Buena Vista, VA (November 29, 2011) – World-renowned dressage trainer and rider Kyra Kyrklund, a Finnish dressage icon from West Sussex in the United Kingdom, was the featured clinician at the NEDA Fall Symposium at the UMass Hadley Farm in Hadley, Massachusetts. Kyrklund has competed in six Olympics and is proudly sponsored by Amerigo Saddles, sold in the United States by World Equestrian Brands, LLC.

“Every year NEDA brings top riders and trainers to their symposium and all of the dressage enthusiasts who attend the NEDA Fall Symposium are thrilled to be learning from the best of the best. Kyra is certainly is all that, and she is such an inspiration. It was a fantastic experience for everyone at the NEDA Symposium to be able to learn from one of the best in the world,” said Robin Moore, President of World Equestrian Brands. “Kyra is well known for her training methods and also for riding in Amerigo Saddles. At World Equestrian Brands we carry Amerigo and Amerigo Vega products and we are pleased to represent a product endorsed by Kyra.”

Kyrklund’s book, Dressage with Kyra, details Kyrklund’s unique training system, a system that has enabled her to accomplish a great deal in the dressage world. Kyrklund said she is always interested in developing better ways to communicate with horses, and she shared that knowledge with those attending the NEDA Symposium.

Continue reading Amerigo Sponsored Dressage Star Kyra Kyrklund Shines at NEDA Fall Symposium →

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