Tag Archives: equestrian disciplines

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

USEF Network Coverage of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival Starts Tomorrow

Leave a comment

Lexington, KY – USEF Network coverage of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival begins tomorrow night with the $55,000 Nespresso Battle of the Sexes. This event is the first in the “Saturday Night Lights” series of events and features Charlie Jayne and Georgina Bloomberg captaining a team of all male jumpers and all female jumpers, respectively. The team of women will be defending their title for a sixth straight year. The men’s team has never won the Nespresso Battle of the Sexes.

USEF Network live coverage continues on Sunday with the $30,000 Mar-a-Lago Grand Prix.

Over the course of the winter USEF Network is scheduled to broadcast 16 classes live from the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival. A full broadcast schedule is available here.

Continue reading USEF Network Coverage of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival Starts Tomorrow →

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

Rodrigo Pessoa and HH Let’s Fly Win $30,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 1

Leave a comment

Holly Orlando and Quotable Top Green Conformations Hunters

Rodrigo Pessoa and HH Let's Fly. Photo © Sportfot

Wellington, FL – January 10, 2013 – Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa and HH Let’s Fly galloped to victory in the $30,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 1 on the second day of competition at the 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) on Thursday. After kicking the year off with a second place finish in last weekend’s inaugural $100,000 Trump Invitational Grand Prix, the duo is off to the races with a win to start their winter circuit.

Week one of FTI WEF runs January 9-13, sponsored by The Mar-a-Lago Club. The week will feature a full schedule of exciting hunter/jumper competition, including the $55,000 Nespresso Battle of the Sexes exhibition class as the start of the “Saturday Night Lights” series and fun events like the Jump for HomeSafe fundraiser. Highlights of week one include the $25,000 Suncast 1.50M Championship Jumper Classic on Saturday afternoon and the $30,000 Mar-a-Lago Club Grand Prix on Sunday. The 2013 FTI WEF runs through March 31 featuring 12 weeks of world-class competition.

Continue reading Rodrigo Pessoa and HH Let’s Fly Win $30,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 1 →

Dressage, FEI, FEI, Show Jumping

FEI Bureau Withdraws World Cup Finals 2015 Hosting Rights from Guadalajara

Leave a comment

Lausanne (SUI), 10 January 2013 – The FEI Bureau has this week withdrawn the hosting rights for the FEI World Cup Jumping and Dressage Finals in 2015 from Guadalajara (MEX). The organisers have been unable to meet in full the requirements imposed by the FEI Bureau when the Finals were allocated to Guadalajara at its meeting in June of last year.

“The FEI truly appreciates the efforts that the Guadalajara organisers put in to try and meet all the requirements,” FEI Secretary General Ingmar De Vos said, “but as they were unable to fulfill them within the agreed timeline, the FEI Bureau was left with no choice but to withdraw the Finals. In spite of this set-back, we hope that the Mexican Federation will consider hosting a major FEI event in the future, as we are very keen to see a world class equestrian event organised in the region.”

Guadalajara and Las Vegas (USA) both put in bids to host the 2015 Finals, but although Guadalajara is no longer involved, hosting rights will not automatically be transferred to the American city.

Continue reading FEI Bureau Withdraws World Cup Finals 2015 Hosting Rights from Guadalajara →

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

Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro Reclaim World Number One Status

Leave a comment
Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro are the leading combination of the FEI World Dressage Rankings (Kit Houghton/FEI)

Lausanne (SUI), 10 January 2013 – Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro, the first British combination to head the FEI World Dressage Rankings, have started the New Year in style by reclaiming the top spot.

Thanks to their masterful performance in the fifth leg of the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage on home ground at London Olympia in December, and a world record score in the Grand Prix at the same event, the double Olympic gold medallist and her 10-year-old Dutch warmblood gelding are once again world number one with 2,943 points.

The Dutch combination of Adelinde Cornelissen and Jerich Parzival, the London 2012 Olympic silver medallists, are in second place just 37 points behind the leading duo on 2,907.

There are no other changes in the Top Ten, with Germany’s Helen Langehanenberg and Damon Hill NRW holding onto third (2,731) followed by another British duo – Laura Bechtolsheimer and Mistral Hojris – still in fourth place on 2,555 points.

Continue reading Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro Reclaim World Number One Status →

*Featured/Spotlights, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Show Jumping, Training/Clinics, USEF

2013 George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session Wraps Up

Leave a comment
Training Session participants with George Morris (Amy Serridge/USEF Archive)

Lexington, KY – The seventh annual George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session presented by USHJA and Adequan wrapped up Sunday January 6, 2013 with riders putting the skills they learned over the week to the test. Participants had the unique opportunity to train with legendary horseman and former U.S. Show Jumping Chef d’Equipe George Morris during the Training Session held January 2-6.

Over the five-day Training Session riders took part in daily mounted sessions which included flatwork, gymnastics, work without stirrups, and jumping a course. In addition to the mounted sessions, the 12 rising stars in equestrian sport learned valuable lessons in stable management and veterinary and farrier care. The unmounted sessions were taught by industry experts including Anne Kursinski, Dr. Tim Ober, Dean Pearson, and Dr. Deb Bennett.

On Sunday, riders tackled a Steve Stephens designed course that they had helped set the previous afternoon. The final day of the Training Session allowed for participants to put together all of the skills and lessons learned from the week, once again under the meticulous guidance of Morris.

Continue reading 2013 George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session Wraps Up →

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

Shane Sweetnam Wins First Two Classes of the 2013 WEF

Leave a comment

Opening Press Conference Held for 2013 FTI WEF, Highlights of Winter Circuit Discussed

Shane Sweetnam and Solerina. Photo © Sportfot

Wellington, FL – January 9, 2013 – The 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) hosted its opening day of competition on Wednesday, January 9, at the beautiful Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL, with big wins for Ireland’s Shane Sweetnam. Sweetnam kicked things off with a bang in back to back victories in the first two classes of the circuit in the International Arena.

Sweetnam won the $8,000 G&C Farm 1.45m speed class aboard Sweet Oak Farm’s Solerina and then went on to take top honors in the $6,000 Spy Coast Farm 1.40m jump-off class aboard Spy Coast Farm, LLC’s Eregast Van’t Kiezelhof. Laura Chapot also had a win on day one riding Mary Chapot’s Zealous in the $6,000 Spy Coast Farm 1.40m Speed Challenge.

Week one of FTI WEF runs January 9-13, sponsored by The Mar-a-Lago Club. The week will feature a full schedule of exciting hunter/jumper competition, including the $55,000 Nespresso Battle of the Sexes exhibition class as the start of the “Saturday Night Lights” series and fun events like the Jump for HomeSafe fundraiser. Highlights of week one include the $30,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 1 on Thursday, the $25,000 Suncast 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic on Saturday afternoon, and the $30,000 Mar-a-Lago Club Grand Prix on Sunday. The 2013 FTI WEF runs through March 31 featuring 12 weeks of world-class competition.

Continue reading Shane Sweetnam Wins First Two Classes of the 2013 WEF →

Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Jennifer Wood, Show Jumping

$55,000 Nespresso Battle of the Sexes Kicks Off 2013 “Saturday Night Lights” on January 12

Leave a comment

Wellington, FL – January 7, 2013 – Equestrian Sport Productions (ESP) looks forward to kicking off the 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) season with its first week of competition coming up on January 9-13, 2013, sponsored by The Mar-a-Lago Club. The week will feature a full schedule of exciting hunter/jumper competition, including the $55,000 Nespresso Battle of the Sexes exhibition class as the start of the “Saturday Night Lights” series and fun events like the Jump for HomeSafe fundraiser.

The 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) will host an opening circuit press conference held on Tuesday, January 8, at 1 p.m. at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. The press conference will include Equestrian Sport Productions CEO Mark Bellissimo, FTI Consulting Chairman Dennis Shaughnessy, and rider representatives.

Food and drinks will be served at the press conference, which will be open to all media who would like to hear about schedule highlights and news for this year. Media planning to attend can also pick up their credentials at the press conference.

Continue reading $55,000 Nespresso Battle of the Sexes Kicks Off 2013 “Saturday Night Lights” on January 12 →

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

A-T Children’s Benefit Horse Show and Spy Coast Farm Young Horse Show Series Finals

Leave a comment
Aaron Vale and Zippo II. Photo © ManciniPhotos

Wellington, FL – January 8, 2013 – Equestrian Sport Productions hosted its A-T Children’s Benefit Horse Show on January 3-6, 2013, at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, FL, with a full schedule of hunter/jumper competition. The week featured a $25,000 Grand Prix and $10,000 Welcome Stake along with hunter, jumper and equitation divisions throughout the week. At The Stadium show grounds, a successful second edition of the Spy Coast Farm Young Horse Show Series Finals was held in the VanKampen Arena with increased entries and some of the country’s best young sport horses.

Aaron Vale and Zippo II Blaze to Victory in $25,000 A-T Benefit Grand Prix

On Saturday evening, the International Arena at PBIEC saw 43 horse and rider combinations in the $25,000 A-T Benefit Grand Prix. Competing under the lights, exhibitors jumped a course set by Anthony D’Ambrosio of Red Hook, NY. Seven entries were able to clear the course to advance to the jump-off and three completed double clear rounds to earn top honors.

Continue reading A-T Children’s Benefit Horse Show and Spy Coast Farm Young Horse Show Series Finals →

Events, Phelps Media Group, Training/Clinics

Karen Lloyd and USET Foundation Host Dinner for George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session

Leave a comment
The USET Foundation and Karen Lloyd hosted the George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session dinner. Photo By: Carrie Wirth/PMG

Wellington, FL – January 7, 2013 – On Saturday night, the participants, parents and supporters of the George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session gathered with the USET Foundation and Karen Lloyd, who graciously hosted a dinner at her lovely Palm Beach Polo home in Wellington, FL. This year’s riders participated in a five-day clinic at the Palm Beach International Equestrian center with former U.S. Chef d’Equipe George H. Morris. The 12 riders selected for the clinic included Gabrielle Bausano, Olivia Champ, Meg O’Mara, Jacob Pope, Dana Scott, Cathrine Tyree, Claudia Billups, Stephen Foran, Ana Forssell, Frances Land, Abigail McArdle and Kilian McGrath.

Following the dinner, USET Foundation Executive Director Bonnie Jenkins congratulated the riders and their parents for earning their way into the session. “It is an incredible honor and you all have simply put yourself on the radar for great things in the future,” said Jenkins. “The USET Foundation’s mission is promoting international excellence, supporting athletes and building for the future. Clearly this week was building for the future. Certainly the future is very, very bright.”

Continue reading Karen Lloyd and USET Foundation Host Dinner for George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session →

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

They’re Back! Trainers Converge on Florida for 2013 Dressage Season

Leave a comment
Dr. Cesar Parra and his Grand Prix mount, Van the Man, arrive in Florida for the winter dressage season. (Photo courtesy of Dr. Cesar Parra)

Wellington, FL (January 7, 2013) – Every year, Wellington, Florida becomes a mecca for the who’s who in the world of dressage, the new year kicks off with the arrival of hundreds of riders and trainers, their horses and dreams for the season. We caught up with four riders who just settled in for a season of one of the world’s largest international and national dressage circuits. We caught up with George Williams, Chris von Martels, J. J. Tate, and Cesar Parra.  In between unpacking we got them to share their plans with us.

USDF President George Williams, who leads the charge at Elizabeth B. Juliano (Betsy’s) Havensafe Farm (Middlefield, Ohio and Wellington, Florida), shared with us his plans for the 2013 show season: “We arrived (in Florida for the winter) in November with eight horses. The four horses we plan to compete are Cleopatra, a 10 year old Hanoverian slated for the small tour, the amazing Big Tyme, Betsy’s 11 year old Belgian warmblood. They will continue their small tour success.  We also have Riccidoff, a 7 year old Hanoverian who is just starting small tour, and our youngster, Horizon, a 5 year old Oldenburg who is competing at second level.  Coming from Northern Ohio, the best thing about Florida has to be the weather! We really like the proximity of the shows to the farm and the variety of dates and venues. It will also be wonderful to watch competitions, conferences, forums, etc. This year, our goal is to work toward confirming all of the horses at their appropriate level.”

Continue reading They’re Back! Trainers Converge on Florida for 2013 Dressage Season →