Passo Fundo (BRA), 25 September 2012 – Brazilian riders were in formidable form at the FEI Americas and South American Jumping Championships 2012 on their home turf in Passo Fundo when scooping all the team gold medals and three of the four individual titles on offer. Chile’s Alexandre Imschenetzky was the only one to break their grip when topping the Pre-Junior Individual Championship in which the host nation had to settle for bronze.
The busy event took place at the Centro Hipico e Haras MD in Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil last weekend. It is more than a decade since Championships of this calibre were last hosted by the Brazilian National Federation, so there was great excitement in the lead-up to the event, especially after the very successful 2011 Championships which took place in Guayquil, Eduador. It was there that 15 year old Venezuelan, Emanuel Andrade, really put himself on the map before sweeping the Junior Jumping Award at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida, USA, earlier this year, taking the Low Junior Jumping title at the CSI 3-Star in Kentucky, USA and challenging strongly at the FEI World Jumping Challenge Final on home soil in Caracas before winning this summer’s Atlanta Classic.
Los Angeles, CA – The 2012 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals West kicked off at the Los Angeles International Jumping Festival at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on September 20. The final consists of four phases: flat, gymnastics, jumping, and a work off. On Thursday, the thirty-three finalists competed in Phase 1 and were split into groups of five to six riders to compete on the flat. Riders were asked to demonstrate the usual flat movements, such as the counter canter and lengthening of stride, and the judges also asked for a rein back, a turn on the haunches, and a flying change of lead. After judging all of the competitors, the judges (Chrystine Tauber and Bernie Traurig) asked seven riders to come back for additional testing.