Wellington, FL – January 7, 2011 – Mark your calendars now for the 2011 Challenge of the Americas.
EVENT: The Tenth Annual Challenge of the Americas Competition and Gala
WHAT: An International Musical Grand Prix Dressage Quadrille Team Challenge and Polo Extravaganza. The Challenge Gala, an elegant evening of dinner and dancing, will get underway immediately following the “The Challenge of the Americas” competition. An awards presentation will be featured and guests will have the chance to meet and socialize with riders and judges.
WHERE: The International Polo Club Palm Beach
3667 120th Avenue South
Wellington, FL 33414
WHEN: Saturday, March 12, 2011
PRESENTING SPONSOR: The International Polo Club Palm Beach
Cesar Parra, shown here with Lindner and Grandioso, recently returned from Europe where he spent time training with Hubertus Schmidt. Parra looks forward to competing on the winter dressage circuit in Florida with his students and horses. (Photo courtesy of JRPR)
Wellington, FL (January 6, 2011) – International Dressage Rider Cesar Parra has returned from a rewarding training period in Europe with a new horse in tow and his sights set on a successful winter show season with the horses and students of Piaffe-Performance Farm. Parra is looking forward to 2011 and hopes to build on a fantastic 2010 show year, which included breaking in his status as a new American citizen by winning his first National Championship at the USEF Dressage Festival of Champions.
“We just returned from training with Hubertus Schmidt in Europe, and it was amazing,” Parra said. “It is great to be there at Hubertus’, to watch him ride and get his help. It is really a wonderful riding environment and exactly what I needed — to be challenged every day and do the work I needed.”
Parra said the time spent in Europe was not only beneficial for him, but also for Grandioso, a nine-year-old Westfalen gelding owned by Michael and Sarah Davis. “Grandioso is doing awesome and is constantly improving, especially after our time spent in Europe with Hubertus. He is a huge horse, so strength is very important in order to carry himself and maintain his expressive gaits. We worked a lot on Grandioso’s piaffe with Hubertus and it is improving daily,” Parra said, adding that his goal with Grandioso is to continue his training with their sights set on the 2012 Olympics in London.
Nan Sexton and her gorgeous Lusitano stallion, Xairel do Bosque, rode away the winner of the High Point Lusitano Award at the Wellington Classic Dressage Holiday Challenge Toys for Tots Benefit Show. Sexton is joined by her trainer Carmen Franco. (Photo courtesy of JRPR)
Wellington, FL (January 3, 2010) – Nan Sexton and her Lusitano stallion, Xairel do Bosque, rang in the holidays in style by winning the High Score Lusitano Award at the Wellington Classic Holiday Challenge Toys for Tots Benefit Show. Sponsored by the Lusitano Collection, hosts of the 2011 Lusitano Collection International Horse Auction, the High Score Lusitano Award was awarded to the highest scoring Lusitano in first level through fourth level at the show.
Sexton, who rides out of Southgate Farm and trains with Carmen Franco, was thrilled with Xairel do Bosque’s win. “This was his second horse show and he hasn’t been out of the blue ribbons yet,” Sexton said, adding that she bought the seven-year-old stallion in Brazil. “I was really happy that as a young stallion he managed to handle himself with grace and he didn’t let anything disturb his focus while at the show.”
Sexton competed Xairel do Bosque in second level and said she is hoping to move him up to third level soon. “I have had some smart warmbloods in the past, but I think the Lusitanos are probably more eager to please and less headstrong than warmbloods,” she said. Sexton has purchased three Interagro Lusitanos: Acolito Interagro, Ubrique Interagro, and Versejador Interagro, and says she is looking forward to the 2011 Lusitano Collection International Horse Auction. While Xairel do Bosque was not bred at Interagro Farms in Brazil, he is related to Sexton’s stallion Acolito Interagro. Acolito is sired by Farao (JHC), who is Xairel’s grandsire. Farao (JHC) is also the grandsire of Relampago do Retiro, one of the Lusitanos to compete at the World Equestrian Games in 2010.
Dressage rider Dana Fiore stands with her gelding Redford at the Wellington Classic Holiday Challenge Toys for Tots Benefit Show. (Photo courtesy of JRPR)
Wellington, FL (January 1, 2010) – Dana Fiore’s youthful exuberance, along with some stellar rides in the Prix St. Georges and Intermediaries I classes aboard her gelding Redford, helped her clinch the “Rider Wellness Award” at the Wellington Classic Holiday Challenge Toys for Tots Benefit Show. Sponsored by The Wellington Institute, the award is given to one rider at the show based on energy level, zest for life, weight control, muscle and body mass, stress management and anxiety control.
Fiore was thrilled with the gift certificate and products she won from The Wellington Institute and said the secret to her healthy lifestyle is staying active and riding. Fiore also stays fit by working on her palm tree farm in Boynton Beach, Florida.
“We want to congratulate Dana on an excellent season. Dana is also the perfect example of fitness and wellness,” said Juan Gonzalez, Director of Marketing for The Wellington Institute, adding that The Wellington Institute benefits riders by taking a look at their hormonal system to study their aging process.
Koos de Ronde on his way to his hat trick victory in Mechelen. Photo: FEI/Rinaldo de Craen
Koos de Ronde did it again. The Dutch golden team member of Kentucky has won the FEI World Cup Driving competition in Mechelen for the third time in a row. De Ronde beat Hungary’s Jozsef Dobrovitz with an exciting fast and clear round to put the pressure on last-to-go and wild card driver Boyd Exell. But the World Champion from Australia was unable to stay clear and left the arena with 15 penalty points. When the scores were finally tallied, De Ronde was declared the deserved winner.
Charley is back After wins in 2008 and 2009 in the Nekkerhal just 140 kilometres from his home in The Netherlands, Koos de Ronde was determined to be the best again in Mechelen. Koos was very pleased to be able to use his black horse Charley in the lead of his team again after having to replace him at Budapest due to injury. De Ronde put his team in the highest gear from the start and was the only driver with two clear rounds.
Too generous Boyd Exell, who had received one of the three wild cards from the organisers, was last to go in the Winning Round after a very fast first round. Koos had asked him to be generous before he went into the fully packed arena, but Boyd explained afterwards that he had not planned to be that generous! Boyd, who had swapped his leaders around, went too fast in tight places and knocked three balls down.
Jacksonville, FL (December 30, 2010) – The Lusitano breed was in the spotlight at the recent United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Annual Convention in Jacksonville, Florida, when an award-winning Lusitano took part in the symposium and two lucky audience members won tickets to the upcoming 2011 Lusitano Collection International Horse Auction. The auction, which will be held at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in Wellington, Florida, on February 23-26, 2011, will feature Lusitano horses from the world’s top Lusitano breeders.
Dressage rider Leah Winston showed the six-year-old Lusitano stallion Amintas Interagro, owned by Al and Sherie Zobec of Z Stallions in Palm City, Florida, in the USDF symposium. Winston has found success with Amintas in the FEI Six-Year-Old division and believes the stallion has Grand Prix potential.
“Amintas is my pride and joy,” Winston said, adding that she co-owns him with the Zobecs. “Although the level we were demonstrating was below the level he is currently competing, it was great exposure for us and the Lusitano breed. The judges for the symposium, Gary Rockwell and Lilo Fiore, treated us very fairly and helped me with some of the issues that actually carry through to the level I ride Amintas in now. Gary even commented that he is a very nice young horse and has a great work ethic, very serious and will be fun to train up through the levels. He also commented on the relationship that he feels we have developed.”
New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag is headed to the show ring with her new horse Lonestar, an 11-year-old Hanoverian. (Photo courtesy of Sue Stickle)
Wellington, FL (December 30, 2010) – New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag has mastered the literary world with her spine-tingling murder mysteries, and now Hoag is planning on mastering the show ring with her new 11-year-old Hanoverian named Lonestar. In addition to riding and competing during the winter dressage shows in Florida, Hoag is also embarking on a book tour for her newest novel, Secrets to the Grave, released December 28, 2010.
“I bought Lonestar in June of 2010 and we are still getting to know each other,” Hoag said. “So far we’ve done a schooling show and one small sanctioned show. He got a first and a second in the Intermediaire II, and I have yet to really ask him to do anything. I’ve been riding him conservatively, but still he’s been racking up a lot of 8s in his tests.”
Hoag recently rode Lonestar in a clinic with World Equestrian Games star Steffen Peters. “The clinic was an excellent experience and I really enjoyed riding with Steffen,” Hoag said. “He’s so meticulous and quiet in his work with his own horses. I try to emulate that work ethic every day. He was very excited about Lonestar, who just got bigger and better as the lesson went on.”
A good friend left the barn today. I was sad to know that he wasn’t coming back. His person took a new job in another city so he had to go to a new place. I will miss his funny nicker and his terrific sense of humor.
Letting go of friends, jobs, or situations can be hard. It can hurt. But letting go is a natural part of life. Change is inevitable, so it is wise to put some perspective on the feelings and understand how to move beyond the discomfort.
Everything changes. Everything! Resistance to change can be one of the most challenging natural traits to overcome. And yet, all you have to do is relax, let go of your need for things to be a certain way, and trust that there is more going on than meets the eye. There is a plan, an order to the Universe, that we can’t possibly know. It’s that leap of faith in trusting that all is well, even when it is uncomfortable and unknown, that’s the key to letting go of our discomfort with change.
The Netherlands' Edward Gal and Sisther de Jeu won the sixth leg of the 2010/2011 Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage series in Mechelen, Belgium today. Photo: Dirk Caremans/FEI.
GAL REIGNS SUPREME WHILE MINDERHOUD TAKES MAXIMUM POINTS AND SALZGEBER FORGES AHEAD ON LEADERBOARD by Claartje van Andel
Mechelen (BEL), 28 December 2010 – The Netherlands’ Edward Gal and his mare Sisther de Jeu simply did what they set out to do at the sixth leg of the 2010/2011 Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage series in Mechelen, Belgium today when following their victory in the Grand Prix with the same result in the Freestyle. As Gal is the title defender and does not receive points in his starts, his partner, Hans Peter Minderhoud, claimed maximum points when runner-up with the mare Exquis Nadine. And Ulla Salzgeber, winner at both Kaposvar in Hungary and at Frankfurt in her native Germany this season, finished third with her chestnut mare Wakana to forge a strong lead at the top of the series leaderboard.
Gal was relieved and happy with the win. He took the rather inexperienced mare Sisther de Jeu to Olympia in London and now to Mechelen. “She is very sensitive and is not used to a lot of noise and to the crowds, but she is learning to behave better, and to relax – this definitely will be her future,” the 40 year old rider said with confidence. His Freestyle music is just like the famous Freestyle of his former ride, the stallion Totilas which has now been sold to Germany. The score was created by Dutch musician Joost Peters, who is married to Dutch dressage rider and trainer Mischa Koot, and the music cast a mysterious spell over the movements of Sisther de Jeu who began to really show what she can do during the test.
Robert Dover. Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Client
Wellington, FL – December 27, 2010 – Six time Olympian Robert Dover will host Olympic Stars for the It Gets Better campaign on his radio show, Dover’s World, on Tuesday December 28, 2010 at 6pm on WBZT (AM 1230) from Palm Beach to Miami, Florida. The program can also be found at www.DoversWorld.com, and will be streamed live there for listeners around the world. The roster for the “Olympic Stars for the It Gets Better Campaign” radio show include Olympic Stars that all happen to be out, gay, and proud champions in sport and life in general.
Featured guests on the show include Olympic Diver David Pichler, who represented the United States in Atlanta in 1996 and was named the Diving Team Captain four years later at the Games in Sydney, Australia, where he was ranked fourth in the world in the 3-meter synchronized event and ninth individually. Life was not always easy for David, and he will share how he persevered and became such a great success.
Next up is Southern Germany born Guenter Seidel, who immigrated to the United States, became a citizen, and went on to represent the U.S Olympic Dressage Team in Atlanta, Sydney and Athens. Seidel earned Bronze Medals in each of his three Olympic appearances. He will talk about his decision to leave his native land and move to California where he still makes his home, along with his long-time partner, Sean Caddell. Seidel will also discuss his sights on the 2012 Olympics in London.
