Tag Archives: hunter/jumper

Inclusive and Victoria Colvin Capture 2012 USEF East Coast Junior Hunter Finals Grand Championship

Victoria Colvin and Inclusive won the 2012 USEF East Coast Junior Hunter Finals Grand Championship. Photo By: Kendall Bierer/PMG

Lexington, KY – July 25, 2012 – The sweat beaded off the competitors’ brows today at the Kentucky Horse Park. It was the final day of the USEF East Coast Junior Hunter Finals, and the final determinant would be the handy round. Today’s second round course determined both Champion and Reserve Champion for each division, as well as overall High Point Mare, Reserve Grand Champion and Grand Champion. It was Victoria Colvin and Inclusive who took the prestigious Grand Championship, adding their names to the perpetual trophy.

Today’s course was designed by Bobby Murphy and involved tight inside turns, bending lines, rollback combinations, an in-and-out, and a strong hand gallop over the final oxer. The course proved difficult for many, testing both horse and rider alike with natural fences, hedges and brush.

The Small 15 & Under Junior Hunters were first in the order of go, and it was 14-year-old Victoria Colvin aboard Ovation, owned by Dr. Betsee Parker, who posted a clear comeback from yesterday’s Classic Round to receive scores 92, 90 and 88 for a total of 270 points and the blue ribbon in the Handy Round.

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Down to the Wire: With Only Six Weeks of Horse Shows Left before HITS Championship Weekend, Riders Get In on the Race to Qualify

Tracy Fenney and her leading mount MTM Centano on their way to the top during the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit in Ocala, Florida. Photos ©ESI Photography.

Saugerties, NY (July 25, 2012) – As summer horse shows get underway and HITS Championship Weekend nears, riders of both hunter and jumper disciplines have one thing on their mind – qualifying. Between both summer circuits in Saugerties, New York and Culpeper, Virginia, less than two months of qualifying remain before the Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix, Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final and HITS $250,000 Hunter Prix Final make show jumping history at HITS-on-the-Hudson September 7-9, 2012.

After 21 weeks of winter horse shows across the nation and four weeks of spring shows on the East Coast, the Preliminary Rider Rankings for all three year-end finales are beginning to take shape. Here’s a look at who’s on their way to HITS Championship Weekend:

Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix
As riders from all corners of the world ride towards the Pfizer Million, one woman commanded an early lead in the top 40 rankings. Tracy Fenney of Flower Mound, Texas collected 15 Grand Prix classes during the qualifying period and rode to victory seven times during the winter circuit in Ocala, Florida. She and her leading horse MTM Centano, owned by MTM Farm, have raked in an impressive $84,500 to assert a dominant lead.

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2nd Annual Atlanta Summerfest Just a Few Weeks Away

July 25th, 2012 – Aiken, SC based Equus Events is gearing up for its second annual Atlanta Summerfest Show series taking place August 16th-19th and 23rd-26th at beautiful Chattahoochee Hills (Bouckaert Farms) in Fairburn, GA. Well known in the eventing world, Chatt Hills will host the 2012 USEA American Eventing Championships in September and is owned by eventer Carl Bouckaert who will be competing for Belgium on the Equestrian 3 day event team at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

The facility boasts an over 8000 acre equestrian paradise filled with established pastures, lakes, and woodlands with ample room to ride all located along the Chattahoochee River. “The footing is fantastic and the stabling is exceptional,” said show manager J. P. Godard. “We are looking forward to being back this year.” The show itself holds a USEF “A” rating and will feature a $10,000 Open Jumper Classic each week and a USHJA National Hunter Derby week 1. As always, Equus Events will offer up some of the South’s finest hospitality hosting exhibitor’s parties each week as well as snacks and goodies at the ring daily.

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Submit Your Entries Online to Southeast Medal Finals Horse Show

“Southeast Medal Finals is thrilled to offer online entry via Equestrian Connect for our exciting new show this September.  This fantastic service streamlines the entry process from completion to submission, and we are so thankful to be able to pass this time saving service on to our Exhibitors and Trainers.  We are looking forward to our new partnership with Equestrian Connect!”  For more information or to try it out, go to www.equestrianconnect.com.

Bob Bell & James LaLa
SEMF Producers

Equestrian Connect and Southeast Medal Finals make entries even easier by permitting exhibitors to submit entries electronically through Equestrian Connect for the Southeast Medal Finals horse show. Imagine: no printing and mailing. And you can wait until the last minute without expensive overnight delivery charges.

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Victoria Colvin and Inclusive Lead the Way during East Coast Junior Hunter Finals

Victoria Colvin and Inclusive lead USEF East Coast Junior Hunter Finals on day one of the Kentucky Summer Horse Show. Photo By: Kendall Bierer/PMG

Lexington, KY – July 24, 2012 – The Kentucky Horse Park was filled with anticipation as the top Junior riders in the nation gathered for the first day of the Kentucky Summer Horse Show to vie for the championship honors in the 2012 USEF East Coast Junior Hunter Finals. The entire year of competition has led to this point in their Junior careers, with some continuing their dream to ride to the top of the ranks, and others keeping their fingers crossed as this year marks their final chance for the prestigious honor. After four divisions of competition, the lead is currently held by the Victoria Colvin and Inclusive, who posted the high score during the classic round in the Small 15 and Under Junior Hunter division, as well as the under saddle.

The skies threatened rain as riders arrived to walk the classic hunter course designed by Bobby Murphy of Lexington, KY. The opening round started with an option consisting of two natural brushes, one with a wider track, and the other providing a more straight-forward bend to the second obstacle, a natural vertical set near the in gate. Riders then continued forward in a bending line over an oxer, and with a right turn, they approached the difficult vertical-oxer combination. Although many took the short line with trepidation, the challenged continued as they were faced with another vertical-oxer line shortly after coming off of the outside turn. Bending from the second oxer, they took approached another oxer, and then finished on a diagonal over the seven-stride vertical-oxer line.

Continue reading Victoria Colvin and Inclusive Lead the Way during East Coast Junior Hunter Finals

Kristen VanderVeen Defends Her Title in the $50,000 Parker Adventist Grand Prix

More Than $6,000 Raised for Wildfire Relief

Kristen VanderVeen defended her title in the $50,000 Parker Adventist Hospital Grand Prix. Photos: Flying Horse Photography

Parker, CO — Six weeks of fantastic competition and wonderful events at the Colorado Horse Park (CHP) were capped off with a weekend to remember. There was truly something for everyone, including pony rides and face painting for military families during the second annual Military Appreciation Day; equestrian safety and the distribution of free helmets during the Parker Adventist Hospital Helmet Fitting; and the Wildfire Relief Fundraising Auction spearheaded by Liliane Stransky and her Step by Step Foundation that raised more than $6,000 for the victims of the Waldo Canyon fire. The day concluded with world-class competition in the $50,000 Parker Adventist Hospital Grand Prix.

Kristen VanderVeen, of St. Charles, IL, defended her title as reigning champion of the biggest Grand Prix of the Colorado Summer Circuit. On her horse Bull Run’s Zino Platinum, VanderVeen led the victory gallop for the second year in a row. Bull Run’s Zino Platinum is an 11-year-old Holsteiner (Accorodo) and has been with VanderVeen for about a year and a half.

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Leslie Howard Steals the Victory in the Desjardins Speed Derby at International Bromont

Leslie Howard et Lennox Lewis 2. Credit: Normand St-Jacques

Bromont, July 24, 2012 – American rider Leslie Howard, who won the first FEI Open Jumper 1m50 this week, presented by the Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport, enjoys victory again in the Desjardins Speed Derby, winning with a comfortable six-second margin.

A high-energy course

The Speed Derby’s course, built in two rings, added a challenge for the horses by using the walkway to cross over. Twenty-two horse/rider teams participated, including Leslie Howard, a serious competitor where speed is involved; as well as St-Eustache rider François Lamontagne, renowned for his love of speed.

Leslie Howard, third in the order of go, posts a round with 4 penalty faults in 124.40 seconds, a time that will prove hard to beat. First contender to execute a clear round, Nathalie Mathers and her mount Windline lead the class with a respectable time of 126.53 seconds. François Lamontagne’s entry on Carriere Z almost took away the lead, posting the best time without penalty faults, until an unfortunate bar fell 2/3 into his round. With 119.28 seconds, he posts the second best time of the event. Leslie Howard’s return on her second mount, Lennox Lewis 2, marks a turning point: with a time of 120.30 seconds and a clear round, she takes possession of first place.

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Laura Chapot and Quointreau Un Prince Capture the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix at HITS-on-the-Hudson IV

Linda McBurney shines in the $10,000 Marshall & Sterling Child/Adult Jumper Classic

©ESI Photography. Laura Chapot and Quointreau Un Prince on course in the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix

SAUGERTIES, NY (July 24, 2012) – The weather proved perfect for competition at HITS-on-the-Hudson IV this weekend and was highlighted by Sunday’s $50,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health. As 22 entries made their attempt to capture Sunday’s big stake, Laura Chapot and Quointreau Un Prince, owned by Laura Chapot & McLain Ward emerged as the winners.

International course designer Olaf Petersen, Sr. of Paehl, Germany set the course and had nine horse and rider combinations advance to the jump-off.

Chapot, of Neshanic Station, New Jersey, had two mounts in the jump-off and also earned the fourth-place ribbon aboard Mary Chapot’s Umberto. Earlier in the week, Chapot and Quointreau Un Prince had scored a third-place finish earlier in the week in the $10,000 Brook Ledge Open Welcome and a seventh-place finish in Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, which helped prime them for a strong finish on Sunday.

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The Twentieth Anniversary of the Charleston Classic – That’s a Wrap!

Paige Parker pilots Champlain Sovereign over an obstacle in the $25,000 KnickerDoodles Pony Hunter Derby.

July 22, 2012 – The twentieth anniversary of the Charleston Classic closed yesterday with a bang with the $25,000 KnickerDoodles Pony Hunter Derby.  This was the second installment of the largest pony hunter purse in the country and the ponies were out in full force!  Twenty five pony and rider combinations tackled the course designed by Allen Rheinheimer and Joe Carnicum which saw Paige Parker riding Champlain Sovereign, owned by The Hill Farm, in the winner’s circle with a combined score of 176 points.  In second place was Bergen Sanderford riding Center Ice, owned by Maria Yzerman, with a total score of 162, and third place honors went to Grace Gresset riding her own Daisy Due Blue with a combined effort of 156 points.

“This is only the second time we have offered this class and we were very pleased with the turnout.  It was a great way to celebrate our twentieth anniversary of the Classic Company,” said Bob Bell, President of Classic Company.

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Shawn Casady and Zubantos Earn Individual Junior Show Jumping Silver Medal at NAJYRC

Shawn Casady and Zubantos won the Individual Junior Show Jumping Silver Medal at the 2012 NAJYRC. Photo: Kenneth Kraus/PhelpsSports.com

Lexington, KY – July 23, 2012 – Rising junior talent Shawn Casady and Elm Rock LLC’s Zubantos were the winners of the Individual Junior Show Jumping Silver Medal during the 2012 Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North (NAJYRC). After earning just four faults over the first five rounds of the competition, they advanced to the jump-off where another clear round over the technical track was good enough to claim the Individual Silver Medal.

Eighteen-year-old Casady showcased consistency and accuracy with the eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood Gelding Zubantos, lowering the height of just one fence throughout the five rounds of the prestigious event. “Zubantos is still young, but he’s a great guy, careful and scopey,” stated Casady. “I’ve been so fortunate to ride this horse.”

Trainer Ken Smith added, “This was an exciting accomplishment for all of us. Shawn rode great throughout the whole competition. Zubantos is a super brave horse, scopey and careful. He has really benefited from Shawn’s accurate riding this year.”

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