Tag Archives: Kingdom of the Sun CDE

Team Weber Takes Victory Lap at Kingdom of the Sun CDE before Leaving for Europe

Photo courtesy of Pics Of You.

Ocala, FL (March 23, 2016) – The Florida Horse Park of Ocala, Florida saw local horseman and 13-time U.S. National Four-in-Hand Champion Chester Weber take the victory lap in the third leg of the ‘Triple Crown of Driving,’ the Kingdom of the Sun CDE, on March 17-20. Weber posted the win over courses by one of Great Britain’s best 4* designers, Barry Hunter. The victory set the stage for Team Weber to next head to Europe, where Weber will be driving to defend his two-time consecutive winning title in London at The Royal Windsor CAI3*.

“I was very pleased with all of the horses and the potential they are showing, especially Amadeus on the wheel in the marathon phase. He was fantastic,” said Weber after his Kingdom of the Sun CDE win. With great attention to detail, Weber arranged his and Jane F. Clark’s team of bay KWPN geldings to maximize their potential, putting Amadeus and Boy W to the lead with wheel horses Boris W and Danzer in the dressage phase. For marathon, he relied on lead horses Asjemenou and Boy W, with Amadeus and Danzer in the wheel. Then wrapping up the competition in cones, Weber arranged his team to include Boy W and Amadeus in the lead, with Boris W and Danzer bringing home the wheel.

Team Weber soared penalty-free through Hunter’s marathon course, wresting a brief opening day lead away from Pennsylvania whip Allison Stroud and never looked back, adding just 4.44 penalties to the score on the third and final day’s cones phase. This led to Weber’s victory in the Kingdom of the Sun CDE 2* Horse Teams division, with a 169.04 score overall and nearly 20 points ahead of second-placed Stroud (181.43).

The Kingdom of the Sun CDE is a premier driving competition for the Florida Horse Park, and has served as both a Selection Trial for the World Singles Championships and a ‘warm-up’ for the World Equestrian Games. For the last two seasons, the competition has served as a springboard for Team Weber gearing up for The Royal Windsor Horse Show, where Weber received first place and personal congratulations from HRH Queen Elizabeth.

Team up with Team Weber and Team Clark as they continue their efforts to qualify for the 2016 World Four-in-Hand Championships in Breda this summer. Follow news, live posts, video and photo galleries, and preferred product reviews at www.chesterweber.com.

For more information, contact:
Chester Weber
chester@chesterweber.com
1-352-895-1139

Crookston and Weber Score Selection Trials Division Wins at Kingdom of the Sun CDE

Donna Crookston and Viktor (Picsofyou.com)

Lexington, Ky. – The winter competition season in Florida came to a close over the weekend at the Kingdom of the Sun CDE in Ocala, Fla. Single Horse and Four-in-Hand drivers aiming for the 2016 FEI World Driving Championships competed in the CAI2* divisions, which served as Selection Trials. Donna Crookston climbed the leaderboard to win the CAI2*-H1 division, while Chester Weber won the CAI2*-H4 division.

Crookston (Saltsburg, Pa.) had a respectable dressage test with Viktor to receive a score of 61.96 and sit in third place following the dressage phase. She and her 2008 Dutch Harness gelding had a spectacular marathon phase, finishing first at all seven obstacles. They handily won the phase and added 81.77 penalty points to their score to sit second in the overall standings. Crookston and Viktor had a single ball down at 5C for 3.00 penalty points to win the cones phase and secure the win with a final score of 146.73.

“Our dressage is coming along nicely. He just started at the Advanced level in January, so I am quite happy with his progress so far,” Crookston explained. “Marathon was absolutely super! He is really turning into a great marathon horse; we were first in each hazard. He was also very good in the cones phase. He just turned eight in February, so he is a young, enthusiastic horse that I am very excited about.”

Barbara Chapman (Metamora, Mich.) and Meara Beval, her 2004 American Warmblood mare, finished in second place at just 0.02 penalty points behind Crookston and Viktor with a final score of 146.75. Leslie Berndl (Newcastle, Calif.) and Uminco, her 2001 Royal Dutch Warmblood gelding, rounded out the top three with a final score of 152.02.

Chester Weber (Picsofyou.com)
Chester Weber (Picsofyou.com)

Weber (Ocala, Fla.) drove some newer talent as part of his and Jane Clark’s KWPN team, but still had top performances in the CAI2*-H4 division. He and his team had a solid dressage test to earn a score of 50.16 and finish second in the phase. They had an excellent marathon performance to win the phase with a score of 114.44 and move into the overall lead. Weber and his team added 4.44 time penalties to their score in the cones phase to win the phase and claim top honors in the division.

“I was really pleased with the team. We left some fire power at home and had two new additions since January for this competition. I was happy with how the line-up performed,” Weber said. “With the World Championships being in September, it makes for a long season, so we are trying to find a balance with resting the more seasoned horses and allowing the newer horses to get more experience as part of the team. All of the horses are training very well and we plan to head to the Royal Windsor Horse Show next.”

Allison Stroud (West Grove, Pa.) and Willow Star LLC’s Dutch Warmblood team finished in second place with a score of 181.43, while Craig Grange (Delmar, Iowa) and his team finished third on a score of 228.85.

View complete results.

By Kathleen Landwehr

Clean Sweep as Team Weber ‘Danzes’ to Victory at Kingdom of the Sun CDE

Photo courtesy of www.picsofyou.com.

Ocala, FL (February 24, 2015) — Eleven-time U.S. National Four-in-Hand Team champion Chester “Mr. Dressage” Weber of Ocala, Florida returned as reigning champion to the Florida Horse Park in Ocala for this year’s Kingdom of the Sun CDE on February 20-22. Weber, who scored an unprecedented 30.89 in last year’s Kingdom of the Sun CDE dressage phase for horse teams, this year made a clean sweep of all three phases of its CAI2* Horse Team division and introduced the public to a new rising star on the Team Weber roster: Danzer.

“I was pleased with our clean sweep at Kingdom of the Sun,” Weber said. He was happy with his choice in horses and roles leading up to the 135.92 overall score that clinched his win. “We used Ultra and Splash in the lead in dressage, and Danzer and Boris in the wheel. In marathon and cones, Danzer and Ultra went in the lead, and Senate and Boris were in the wheel.”

“Danzer is a newcomer to our program, and I was very pleased with him and the promise he shows,” said Weber after the Kingdom of the Sun CDE.

Boris, as Team Weber fans will recognize, was among the horses owned by Weber and Jane Clark who were a part of Weber’s Individual Silver medal-winning 2014 World Equestrian Games (WEG) team during the marathon and cones phases. Prior to the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France, Weber had earned two Individual Silver medals and a team Bronze driving for the United States in World Equestrian Games competition, and also became the first American driver to win the Aachen CAIO4*.

“We only had one horse — Boris — from our WEG marathon and cones team, and still had a great show demonstrating our depth,” Weber said. The team posted a 35.12 score in dressage, were penalty-free through marathon (96.10), and added just 4.70 to their overall score after cones to remain unchallenged by closest contender, Misdee Wrigley-Miller of Kentucky, who drove to reserve with a 197.04.

“Now we have to decide who we will take to Live Oak,” said Weber, looking ahead to the Live Oak International Combined Driving and Show Jumping event, March 19-22, hosted by the Weber family at its equestrian estate in Ocala. “They are all ready.”

As the 2015 Live Oak International approaches, the equestrian community waits to see if Weber and his team will continue to dominate the sport of driving. Don’t miss the opportunity to catch Chester Weber on NBC HorseTalk, the radio show presented by Tack Shack of Ocala and hosted by Louisa Barton, that will do a live remote broadcast in March from Live Oak International.

Find out more about Chester Weber and the equine athletes of Team Weber by visiting www.chesterweber.com and following him on Facebook.

For more information contact:
Chester Weber
chester@chesterweber.com
1-352-895-1139
www.chesterweber.com

Chester Weber Sets New Record at Kingdom of the Sun CDE

Chester Weber on his way to a record high score in dressage. (Photos courtesy of PicsofYou.com)

Live Oak Driver Apprentice Jacob Arnold Scores Personal Best

Ocala, FL (March 7, 2014) – The Florida Horse Park in Ocala saw ten-time US National Driving Champion Chester Weber write combined driving history at its Kingdom of the Sun CDE, February 19-23, as the Ocala horseman dubbed “Mr. Dressage” set a never-before-achieved score of 30.89 in the dressage phase of the Advanced Horse Team division.

Then Weber and his team never looked back, holding their lead through the marathon and cones phases to emerge victorious on Sunday with a final 124.81 score.

Also achieving a personal best (43.20) in his dressage score at Kingdom of the Sun was Weber’s Live Oak Driver Apprentice, Jacob Arnold, who competed IJsbrand Chardon’s talented FEI prospect, Wise Guy (aka Whooper), in the Advanced Single Horse division.

Arnold, who is sponsored by Iron Spring Farm and has been competing in the Advanced divisions since 2010, was seeded fourth after the dressage phase, and was fifth overall (125.25) at the end of the three phases.

Jacob Arnold on his way to a personal best score in dressage
Jacob Arnold on his way to a personal best score in dressage

The Kingdom of the Sun CDE was an inaugural driving competition for the Florida Horse Park and a Selection Trial for drivers wishing to represent the US in the World Singles Championships in Hungary this September.

It was also a good preparatory event for Team Weber, who is keeping an eye on the prize of representing the United States this summer at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy.

Weber was named an Equestrian of Honor and candidate for the USEF Pegasus Awards Equestrian of the Year, after recognition by the USEF with its 2013 Becky Grand Hart Award for international success in a non-Olympic discipline. The nomination stemmed from Weber’s exceptional victories at the Little Everglades CDE and Live Oak International CDE, before going to Europe where he won the Saumur CAI-4A and Caen CAI-A4, and produced third-place finishes at CHIO Aachen and CAI Beekbergen. Weber and his horses ended the season with an historic tenth USEF Four-in-Hand National Championship at the Kentucky Classic CDE.

Follow Chester and Team Weber at www.chesterweber.com and via Facebook.

For more information contact:
Chester Weber
chester@chesterweber.com
1-352-895-1139