Tag Archives: dressage

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Dressage, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Media/Radio/TV Sources, National Horse Show, Phelps Media Group, Show Jumping

Dover’s World to Highlight 128th Alltech National Horse Show

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Robert Dover. Photo courtesy of Client

Wellington, FL – September 14, 2011 – Robert Dover, dressage expert and former Olympian, will host the President of the National Horse Show Association on an upcoming session of his popular radio program, Dover’s World. Mason Phelps, Jr. who also runs Phelps Media Group in Wellington, FL, will appear on the September 20th program of Dover’s World to discuss the 128th Alltech National Horse Show. Joining Phelps and Robert Dover will be Leo Conroy, co-manager of the Alltech National Horse Show and Vice President of the National Horse Show Association of America.

Tickets are already on sale for this prestigious event, and listeners can tune in to Dover’s World next Tuesday to learn all about this year’s highly-anticipated contest. Taking place this year at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, the Alltech National Horse Show will feature a wide array of both hunter and jumper events. In addition, the ASPCA Alfred P. Maclay finals will also occur during the show’s five-day run, November 2nd-6th, 2011.

“There is so much excitement in the air about the first Alltech National Horse Show to take place at the beautiful Kentucky Horse Park,” commented Dover. “I am looking forward to speaking with Mason Phelps and Leo Conroy to hear of all the latest plans in the works to make the NHS better than ever! I hope everyone will tune in this Tuesday evening, September 20th, to Dover’s World, for all the information directly from the horse’s mouth!”

“With the show being in Lexington this year, there will be no shortage of topics to discuss on Tuesday’s show,” noted Phelps. “With an abundance of hunter and jumper events as well as the Maclay Finals, the competition is going to be more engaging than ever.”

Continue reading Dover’s World to Highlight 128th Alltech National Horse Show →

Competitions, Dressage, Events, Media/Radio/TV Sources

Taking It All In Gets a Lot Easier at Dressage at Devon 2011: Devon, Pennsylvania, September 27 – October 2, 2011

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September 2, 2011 (Devon, PA) – Spectators at 2011 Dressage at Devon (www.dressageatdevon.com) will be able to add multimedia to their experience. Dressage at Devon Radio, powered by FLR Sports Radio, allows guests to enhance their knowledge and education of dressage by listening to the comments and opinions of some of the foremost experts in the world of dressage.  Spectators will also get a behind the scenes listen to critiques of the rider and horse during their performance.

Starting Friday September 30th, spectators with the credit-card sized FLR Sports Radio will be able to listen in on comments from Alison Head, Sara Schmitt, and Kem Barbosa, as well as receive special announcements and content.  On Saturday September 1st the experts will include Suzanne King, Monica Sinks and Kathy Connelly.  Sunday September 2nd will include comments and opinions by Anne Moss and several others. Visitors will be able to watch the event from anywhere on the show grounds and still listen to the exclusive commentary, available only to those with a personal receiver.

Those new to Dressage will gain a true appreciation of the sport.  Professionals will gain new insights into what goes on behind the scene in the judges’ booth.

The FLR Sports Radio receiver is a lightweight credit card-sized radio receiver that comes complete with earbuds, battery and a lanyard to hang around the neck.

Continue reading Taking It All In Gets a Lot Easier at Dressage at Devon 2011: Devon, Pennsylvania, September 27 – October 2, 2011 →

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

Strong Field Set to Vie for 2011 USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage National Championship

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Rebecca Hart 2010 National Champion. Photo by Fire and Earth Photography

Lexington, KY – A star-studded field of 22 horse-and-rider combinations is set to contest the USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage National Championship this weekend in Saugerties, NY. Held September 16-18 during the NEDA Fall Festival elite competition will be held in Grades 1a- IV. These championships are held in conjunction with the Saugerties CPEDI3*, which will host riders not only from the U.S. but also Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, and Mexico.

Competitors will ride three different test within their grade, the horse-and-rider combination with the highest final score will be crowned 2011 USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage National Champion. The Team Test and Individual Championship Test will both count for 40% of the overall score; the final 20% of the cumulative score will be determined by the Freestyle Test.

Seven members of the Kentucky Equine Research U.S. Para-Equestrian Dressage Team that competed at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games will contest these championships. Jonathan Wentz, Kim Decker, Laura Goldman, Mary Jordan, Rebecca Hart, Robin Brueckmann, and Wendy Fryke look to utilize the experience they gained last fall in Kentucky.

Hart is among the most decorated athletes in para-equestrian competition, having represented the U.S. on both the World Championship and Paralympic stage. She prepared for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games by winning both champion and reserve honors at last year’s National Championship. She will try and claim her fifth championship in six years; she was also the winner of the 2006, 2008, and 2009 National Championships, with Jessica Ransehousen’s Lord Ludger.

Continue reading Strong Field Set to Vie for 2011 USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage National Championship →

Championships, Competitions, Dressage, Events, JRPR, USEF, USEF

Barbara “Bebe” Davis Rides Away with Reserve Championship in Inaugural National Pony Rider Championship at 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of Champions

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Barbara “Bebe” Davis and her pony Bohdjan are presented with their award by Jim Wolfe and Lois Yunkins. (Photo courtesy of Sue Stickle)

Gladstone, NJ (September 14, 2011) – The inaugural USEF National Pony Rider Championships may have been a small division at the 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of Champions in Gladstone, New Jersey, but for Massachusetts resident Barbara “Bebe” Davis it was a big experience and one she will remember the rest of her life. Competing on her pony Bohdjan, Davis captured the Reserve Championship in the new National Pony division, but also experienced the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat in one single weekend.

Riders in the USEF Pony Rider Championship are the future of dressage riders for our country, and Davis said she would use her experience at Gladstone to grow and as a stepping-stone for future national competitions. Davis grew up in Cohasset, Massachusetts, and her family bought a home in New Jersey to be close to their trainer, Dr. Cesar Parra, and his Piaffe Performance Farm.  “Bohdjan did really well the first day. We came in second with a score of 63.611% while Allison Cyprus came in first with a 63.944%, so I felt confident with such a close race,” Davis said. “During the awards ceremony my pony got scared and he never settled down the rest of the weekend and was certainly nervous during our second test and didn’t perform well. I was disappointed, to say the least, because I didn’t want to let my trainer Dr. Cesar Parra down.”

Parra, who trains Davis out of his Piaffe-Performance farm in New Jersey, praised the 13-year-old rider and said disappointment was the furthest thing from his mind. “I was really proud of Bebe. It’s very special to ride at Gladstone and coming up the hill to the arena, knowing there is a crowd of people on both sides can be intimidating,” Parra said. “Bebe handled it really well and it was a great and growing experience for her. A show like the Festival of Champions makes you a better and stronger rider mentally and no one can ever take the experience, and what you gain from it, away from you.”

Continue reading Barbara “Bebe” Davis Rides Away with Reserve Championship in Inaugural National Pony Rider Championship at 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of Champions →

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

Shelly Temple to Represent US at World Pony Driving Championships

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Shelly Temple and Cooper compete in cones at the Germany National Championship in Minden, Germany, August 2011. Photo: Bettina Ruckelshaus

For the second time in her career, US National Champion Combined Pony Driver Shelly Temple and her Morgan gelding LR Ami B-Line (Cooper) will represent the US at the World Pony Driving Championships.  This year the event is held in Lipica, Slovenia, September 22-25, 2011.

Making the US Team has been a yearlong process for Shelly, Cooper, and her navigator/husband, Fran Doto.  They and other members of the long listed drivers have been competing and training under the tutelage of US driving coach, Michael Freund.  Overa August and September several long listed drivers have trained and competed in Europe.  In August, Shelly was 5th at the German National Championship in Minden, Germany where she won the dressage and cones classes for single ponies.

Shelly acknowledges the team aspect of combined driving: “I am thankful for the USEF’s support and the training and instruction from Michael Freund over the past year.  Michael’s coaching has been instrumental at improving all aspects of my driving.  I also appreciate the support of the individual donors and corporate sponsors whose products keep Cooper health, fit, and in top form: Kentucky Equine Research, Kombat Boots, Purina feeds, Omega Fields, ThinLine, Leather Therapy, and Charles Owens.  This is truly a team sport and I couldn’t be competing next week in the World Championships without the generosity of sponsors and all the great people who have donated to Team Catalyst.”

Other members of the USEF World Pony Driving Team are Miranda Cadwell, Jennifer Matheson, Wendy O’Brien, Laurie Astegiano, and Allison Stroud.  Suzy Stafford will compete as an individual.

U.S. Coverage will be available here: http://www.usefnetwork.com/coverage/archives.aspx.

More information is available here: http://www.lipica.org/en/enter-page/305?id=113.

To follow Shelly and Team Catalyst World Championship efforts, visit http://catalystdriving.blogspot.com/.

Competitions, Dressage, Events, FEI, FEI, Show Jumping

Lyon (FRA) to Host FEI World Cup Jumping and Dressage Finals in 2014

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Lausanne (SUI), 14 September 2011 – Following the withdrawal last week of Guadalajara’s (MEX) bid to host the FEI World Cup Final Jumping in 2014, the FEI Bureau has today allocated the FEI World Cup Jumping and Dressage Finals 2014 to Lyon (FRA). The French city was one of two bidders for the 2014 Finals.

“We very much regret that Guadalajara was not able to comply with the FEI requirements within the timeframe and we understand that they need some more time to put on a perfect event. They are now working on a bid for the FEI World Cup Final in 2015 and we look forward to receiving it,” said FEI Secretary General Ingmar De Vos.

“We are delighted to give the 2014 FEI World Cup Finals in both Jumping and Dressage to Lyon and look forward to spectacular sport in France.”

The FEI World Cup Jumping and Dressage Finals 2014 will run from 16-20 April.

Media contacts:
Grania Willis
Director Media Relations
grania.willis@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 42

Malina Gueorguiev
Manager Media Relations
malina.gueorguiev@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 33

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

Steffen Peters and Ravel Close the 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions with a Clean Sweep of the Grand Prix National Dressage Championship

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Steffen Peters and Ravel. Photo: SusanJStickle.com

Gladstone, NJ – Steffen Peters went six-for-six at the 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions at the USET Foundation Headquarters. First, he swept the Intermediaire I on Weltino’s Magic (earning a place on the team for the Pan American Games in the process) and then dominated the Grand Prix National Dressage Championship on Ravel – scoring 77.660% in the Grand Prix, 80.083% in the Grand Prix Special, and 81.100% in the Freestyle to average 79.247% to win by more than six percentage points.

On a day when the nation remembered September 11, 2001, the national anthem played proudly in Gladstone, NJ.

Akiko Yamazaki and Four Winds Farm’s 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding cruised to a title that they last won in 2008. Ravel was tired after putting in a tremendous effort in the Grand Prix Special on Friday but America’s dressage superstar hung in there and, despite some mistakes, what he did well – he did very well.

“Interesting, obviously a little tough on the finish line,” said Peters. “There was the one piaffe that didn’t happen and that makes me not think about the other movements that were good… the changes and pirouettes were better than Aachen.”

Ravel always tries, but Peters knew based on how well behaved his superstar was in the prize giving, that the horse is ready for a vacation. He has had a busy few years, competing and winning at the biggest shows across the globe.

Continue reading Steffen Peters and Ravel Close the 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions with a Clean Sweep of the Grand Prix National Dressage Championship →

Championships, Competitions, Dressage, Events, USEF, USEF

Endreson Sweeps National Junior Dressage Championship at 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm USEF Dressage Festival of Champions

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Kya Endreson and Pik L. Photo: SusanJStickle.com

Gladstone, NJ – The results of the 2011 National Junior Dressage Championship remained unchanged as Kya Endreson and Pik L swept both the Team and Individual Tests to win Endreson’s very first National Championship title.

Pik L is a very experienced 18-year-old Hanoverian stallion, who has been an incredible small-tour horse for nearly a decade. Endreson rode him to Team Gold at the 2011 Adequan FEI North American Junior/Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North this summer, but took her first national title at Gladstone today.

“It was awesome,” said the 16-year-old from the Outer Banks of North Carolina. “I feel so lucky to be able to ride such a great horse… he’s just so awesome and he’s helped me so much.”

Pik L’s son Pikko del Cerro HU contested the Intermediaire I National Dressage Championship this weekend, finishing eighth. Pik L’s career includes two Pan American Games and scores of wins at the Intermediaire level. He is now happily showing Endreson the ropes and their two-day score of 70.612% rewarded the only combination to go over 70% in either test.

“I feel like it went pretty well,” said Endreson. “He was a little strong at some points and he was a little tired from yesterday but he stayed with me.”

Endreson is a full-time working student at Hassler Dressage.

Continue reading Endreson Sweeps National Junior Dressage Championship at 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm USEF Dressage Festival of Champions →

Competitions, Dressage, Events, Pan American Games, USEF

USEF Names Dressage Team for the 2011 Pan American Games

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Gladstone, NJ – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has recommended the following athlete/horse combinations to the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) to represent the United States on the U.S. Dressage Team at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The USOC will make the following entry of athlete/horse combinations on Monday (they are named in ranked order):

1. Steffen Peters will ride Jen and Bruce Hlavacek’s Weltino’s Magic

2. Heather Blitz will ride her own Paragon

3. Dr. Cesar Parra will ride Michael and Sarah Davis’ Grandioso

4. Marissa Festerling will ride her own Big Tyme

The following four athlete/horse combinations have been named as ranked substitutes and will be submitted as part of the Nominated Entry:

5. Endel Ots will ride Kristin Cooper’s Toscano

6. Shawna Harding will ride her own Rigo

7. Heather Mason will ride her own Warsteiner

8. Lisa Wilcox will ride Horses Unlimited’s Pikko del Cerro HU

The 2011 Pan American Games will run October 14-30, 2011 in Guadalajara; more information about the Games is available here: http://www.guadalajara2011.org.mx/ENG/01_inicio/.

Follow the USEF Riders on the USEF Network: http://www.usefnetwork.com/featured/2011PanAmGames/.

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

Weltino’s Magic Sweeps USEF National Intermediaire I Dressage Championships

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Steffen Peters and Weltino's Magic. Photo: SusanJStickle.com

Gladstone, NJ – The top three placings in the Intermediaire I National Dressage Championship never changed throughout the week at the 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm Dressage Festival of Championship and Steffen Peters dominated with Weltino’s Magic finishing on a three day average of 78.661%.

Riding for Jen Hlavacek, Peters owned the Dick and Jane Brown Arena this morning, and to music by Seven and Five, he showed off the 9-year-old Westphalian gelding’s strengths and was rewarded with a freestyle score of 81.250%. This was the only score over 80 in this division all weekend.

“It is fairly new,” said Peters about his Freestyle. “I’ve only done three freestyles with Magic. The music is by a group called Seven and Five, it’s not too dramatic but it’s not too much like elevator music. It was fun, there are some days where it is a little more work with Magic, but today it was fun.”

Weltino’s Magic was started by Peters’ wife Shannon, who rode him to reserve championship honors in the 2008 Markel/USEF National Young Horse Championships as a 6-year-old. He is a strong horse and Peters knows that managing that strength is a major part of his job.

“He’s a powerful horse and he can be once and a while a little strong,” said Peters. “I have to be careful that I break things up a little bit (in the freestyle)… The changes have become straighter that is why I did them down the center line and the trot work is stronger than the canter work which is why I put it at the end.”

Continue reading Weltino’s Magic Sweeps USEF National Intermediaire I Dressage Championships →