Chester Weber finished third overall in individual four-in-hand driving competition at CHIO Aachen (Shannon Brinkman)
Aachen, Germany – A full day of competition at CHIO Aachen Saturday included eventing cross country, the four-in-hand driving marathon, and a full schedule of dressage and jumping competition. Strong performances in every discipline were highlighted by a second place finish for Caroline Roffman in the CDI-U25 Freestyle and a third place overall for Chester Weber in the CAIO-4 individual competition.
Driving
After a trying final phase of individual CAIO-4 competition Saturday, Chester Weber (Ocala, FL) once again proved to be one of the world’s foremost four-in-hand drivers. Behind a team he co-owns with Jane Clark, Weber steadily and successfully navigated the Wohnwelt Pallen Marathon course in Aachen on his way to a third place overall finish.
A stunning first place dressage test on Thursday, a fifth place finish in Friday’s cones phase, and a 14th place finish Saturday earned Weber a spot on the podium with an overall score of 125.78. Leading the pack was reigning FEI World Champion Boyd Exell of Australia on a score of 118.46, and in second was The Netherland’s Koos de Ronde with an overall score of 124.81.
Driving a team of horses leased from de Ronde was American Jimmy Fairclough. Fairclough (Newtown, NJ) was 20th in the marathon and ended up in 23rd place overall.
Though Saturday concluded the individual CAIO-4 competition, the final phase of team competition awaits Weber and Fairclough on Sunday. With the team dressage and marathon phases complete, final placings will be determined by the Prize of H&T Automotive Components obstacle (cones) competition. Currently, the U.S. team of Weber and Fairclough sits in fifth place.
Dressage
U.S. dressage riders had top performances against stiff competition at the 2013 CHIO Aachen. Steffen Peters and Legolas 92 were the top U.S. pair in the CDIO5* Grand Prix Special with an eighth place finish. Caroline Roffman and Sagacious HF had an impressive showing in the CDI-U25 Grand Prix Freestyle claiming second place honors. In the CDI4* Small Tour Shelly Francis and Danilo were tenth in the Intermediaire I Test.
Caroline Roffman (Wellington, FL) and Sagacious HF performed a wonderful Grand Prix U25 Freestyle for the Preis der Liselott und Klaus Rheinberger Stiftung class. The pair did a daring compilation of movements timed well to their music, especially the piaffe and passage. With Hyperion Farm, Inc.’s 14-year-old Royal Dutch Warmblood gelding, Roffman executed two tempi flying changes around the corners and along the short side of the arena, as well as one-handed two tempi flying changes on the centerline. The pair was rewarded with a 76.275% to finish in second place.
Eventing
Cross country day proved to be influential at the Aachen CICO3* at the 2013 CHIO Aachen. Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister tackled the final phase with determination and finished in tenth place in a field of world-class horses and riders. The Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team finished in seventh place after unfortunate results plagued them throughout the day. Though a disappointing end, the horses and riders come away with valuable experience that will serve them well when they next contest an international competition on such a grand stage.
Coudray (Ojai, CA) and Ringwood Magister had a stellar round over Rüdiger Schwarz’s cross country course with 35 jumping efforts. The pair made light work of the extensive, challenging course. Adding 14.8 time penalties to their dressage score, she and Jatial Inc.’s 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding finished in tenth place with a score of 57.8.
Jumping
Saturday morning was the final leg of the Sparkasse Youngsters Cup. Laura Kraut and Stars And Stripes’ Bonito R gave it their all, but finished with 12 faults. They finished with a total of 14 points which was good for 21st place overall in the Sparkasse Youngsters Cup.
In the Prize of AachenMünchener, Kraut (Royal Palm Beach, FL) piloted A. Le Bon & F.X. Le Bon’s Jubilee d’Ouilly to a four fault round and a 13th place finish.
Kraut’s fellow U.S. rider Beezie Madden (Casenovia, NY) will look to find success Sunday in the CSIO5* Aachen highlight class, the Rolex Grand Prix. She and Abigail Wexner’s Cortes ‘C’ will be first on course tomorrow. You can hear what she has to say about the Grand Prix and CHIO Aachen on USEF Network.
Follow the 2013 U.S. Teams here.