Tag Archives: Show Jumping

A Wide-Open Contest for Jumping Glory

Canada's Ian Millar will be setting a new Olympic record across all sports when lining out in his 10th Games at London 2012. Photo: FEI/Kit Houghton.

Lausanne (SUI), 20 July 2012 – Since equestrian sport was first officially embraced by the Olympic movement a century ago, Jumping has always been the largest and most popular discipline, and the historical records tell of wonderful horse-and-rider partnerships whose names will never be forgotten. Golden heroes like Germany’s Hans Günter Winkler, Italy’s Raimondo d’Inzeo and Graziano Mancinelli, Pierre Jonqueres d’Oriola from France and America’s Bill Steinkraus are the stuff of legend, their names forever forged into the annals of their sport.

At the Beijing 2008 Olympic equestrian events in Hong Kong four years ago, the Canadians broke new ground as Eric Lamaze and the late, great stallion Hickstead helped earn the first-ever individual title for their country. It was an epic battle in which Sweden’s Rolf-Goran Bengtsson had to settle for silver with Ninja, while America’s Beezie Madden and Authentic took the bronze. All three of these riders will be in action once again at London 2012 where the Americans will be vying for a hat-trick of team titles. If they succeed, they will join Germany as the only other nation to clinch gold at three successive Olympic Games.

Continue reading A Wide-Open Contest for Jumping Glory

US Is Golden with Young Riders & Juniors in SmartPak Reining Championships

Eventing and Show Jumping Start Competition

Reining Junior Team Gold - USA Southeast on their victory lap (Waltenberry)

Lexington, KY – The Reining Team Championship competition was tightly contested today at the Adequan/FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North (NAJYRC) with Team USA South-Central claiming the top of the podium in Young Rider Competition and Team USA Southeast in the Gold position for Juniors.

The NAJYRC runs through Sunday, July 22, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. Five disciplines (a total of 9 championships for juniors and young riders) will take part in the only FEI Championship to be held annually in North America. The NAJYRC is the premier equestrian competition in North America for Junior and Young Riders, ages 14-21.

**Please be aware that tomorrow’s Show Jumping team classes for Juniors will run in the Rolex Stadium at 4:30 p.m., followed by the Young Riders competition.

Continue reading US Is Golden with Young Riders & Juniors in SmartPak Reining Championships

British to Show the Way on Home Turf at Hickstead

FEI Commercial Manager Nathalie Taylor (left) and Show Director John Farmer (right) at the draw for the starting order in tomorrow’s seventh leg of the FEI Nations Cup. Photo: FEI/Lotte Stevens.

Hickstead (GBR), 19 July 2012 – The host nation is unfazed by being drawn first to go in the penultimate leg of the FEI Nations Cup 2012 series at Hickstead (GBR) tomorrow afternoon.  A week ahead of the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games the British are in bullish form, and Chef d’Equipe, Rob Hoekstra, said today, “I am not really concerned by starting first, the riders I brought have ridden here many times and they know what they’re doing. It’s brilliant to be at Hickstead a week prior the start of the Games – riding in front of your home crowd is a great test,“ he added.

The order-of-go for the seventh leg of the series is: 1, Great Britain; 2, Netherlands; 3, Germany; 4, Ireland; 5, Sweden; 6, France; 7, Belgium; 8, Switzerland.

Experienced

The British contingent is indeed an experienced one, and includes Peter Charles who will fly the Union Jack at Greenwich Park when the Olympic Jumping competition gets underway on 8 August.  He has been selected for the Games with Vindicat, but will line out tomorrow with Nevada.  Joining him in tomorrow’s team will be Tina Fletcher, riding the Olympic reserve horse Hello Sailor, and of course no side at Hickstead ever seems quite complete unless a member of the legendary Whitaker family is included.  John Whitaker, who has enjoyed many famous days at the Sussex venue, will partner Argento while William Funnell rounds up the team with Billy Angelo.

Continue reading British to Show the Way on Home Turf at Hickstead

The 2012 Adequan/FEI NAJYRC Welcomes 261 Athletes in Five Disciplines

Young Eventers from Area II Take Part in the NAJYRC Opening Ceremonies (Brant Gamma Photography)

Lexington, KY – The 2012 Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North (NAJYRC) is proud to welcome all of the 261 young athletes that will compete in five disciplines over the next five days. The NAJYRC is held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. Today, the NAJYRC hosted the athletes, trainers, friends, and family at the Opening Ceremonies.

Five disciplines (a total of 9 championships for juniors and young riders) will take part in the only FEI Championship to be held annually in North America. The NAJYRC is the premier equestrian competition in North America for junior and young riders, ages 14-21. This year, young equestrians have come from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, and Guatemala to vie for team and individual FEI medals in the three Olympic equestrian disciplines of show jumping, dressage, eventing and the FEI World Equestrian Games disciplines of reining and endurance.

Continue reading The 2012 Adequan/FEI NAJYRC Welcomes 261 Athletes in Five Disciplines

Jamie Price Joins RateMyRiding.com

June 29, 2012 – Rising Eventing star Jamie Price has recently joined RateMyRiding.com as its newest coach. Price competes and trains in Eventing, Dressage and Show Jumping and looks forward to helping more riders through Rate My Riding.

RateMyRiding.com is an innovative website that connects riders of all levels and disciplines to industry-leading coaches. By submitting a photo or video to the coach of their choice, riders will receive a comprehensive written analysis based on their specific riding and training goals.

For the first 100 customers, submitted photos are only $14.99 and videos are $19.99.

“I’m excited to work with Rate My Riding because it gives riders a chance to learn from professionals that they may otherwise not have the opportunity to connect with,” said Price.

Continue reading Jamie Price Joins RateMyRiding.com

Entries for London 2012 Olympic Equestrian Events Unveiled – AMENDED

Lausanne (SUI), 16 July 2012 – An unfortunate error occurred in the list of Olympic Eventing entries issued to media on 14 July. Argentina was named originally, but did not in fact qualify any riders in Eventing. The number of nations taking part in Eventing is therefore 22.

An amended version of the press release is available below. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Athletes from 40 countries on six continents will compete in the equestrian events of the London 2012 Olympic Games, which get underway on 28 July. The list of entries validated by the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is now available on the FEI website here.

Continue reading Entries for London 2012 Olympic Equestrian Events Unveiled – AMENDED

UPDATED: Entries for London 2012 Olympic Equestrian Events Unveiled

Lausanne (SUI), 14 July 2012 – Athletes from 40 countries on six continents will compete in the equestrian events of the London 2012 Olympic Games, which get underway on 28 July. The list of entries validated by the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is now available on the FEI website here.

Continuing the Olympic tradition, Jumping is the strongest discipline with 26 nations represented, but Dressage – for the first time – has the same number of nations taking part as Eventing, 23 for each discipline.

Seven nations – Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the USA – will be represented by teams in all three Olympic equestrian disciplines of Jumping, Dressage, and Eventing. Four countries – Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, and host nation Great Britain – have qualified the maximum number of 13 riders.

Continue reading UPDATED: Entries for London 2012 Olympic Equestrian Events Unveiled

Sweden Wins Through in Three-Round Thriller at Falsterbo

Jens Fredricson’s brilliant jump-off performance with Lunatic clinched the honours for Sweden in today’s sixth leg of the FEI Nations Cup 2012. Photo: FEI/Lotta Gyllensten.

Falsterbo (SWE), 13 July 2012 – Sweden snatched victory in the sixth leg of the FEI Nations Cup 2012 on home turf at Falsterbo today. As the competition progressed it seemed that glory was destined for France for the second week in succession, but in the best tradition of top Nations Cup competition it was unpredictable to the very end, and the result came down to a three-way, third-round race against the clock.

And it was London-bound Jens Fredricson who clinched it for the host country, in confident and convincing style, riding his super-fast 14 year old gelding, Lunatic.  This was Sweden’s fourth FEI Nations Cup victory on home soil in the last 10 years and the host country fielded its full team of Olympic riders, although not all were partnering their Olympic mounts.

Great Britain slotted into runner-up spot when William Funnel’s pathfinding jump-off time with Billy Angelo was almost three seconds off the pace and the French, who had looked sure-fire winners in the opening stages, had to settle for third as Jerome Hurel and OHM De Ponthual left a pole on the floor third time out.  “This was no Olympic Games,” said Fredricson afterwards. “You certainly can’t compare it to what we will expect in London, but it was so great to win at home in front of our own crowd and it’s the perfect result with the Olympics only a few weeks away now.”

Continue reading Sweden Wins Through in Three-Round Thriller at Falsterbo

American Gold Cup Welcomes Samshield/Animo as 2012 Sponsors

French superstar Kevin Staut competes in both the Samshield helmet and Animo riding coat

North Salem, New York – July 13, 2012 – The American Gold Cup announced today that Samshield and Animo have joined forces with this year’s event as multiple class sponsors when the American Gold Cup returns to action in September at its new home at Old Salem Farm, in North Salem, NY.

The show is scheduled for September 12th through the 16th, 2012, with the famed $200,000 American Gold Cup, CSI4*-W, a FEI World Cup Qualifying Competition, as the highlight event on the final Sunday.

With its mixture of high style and high-tech functionality, Samshield has been the helmet of choice for many of Europe’s top riders. Now ASTM/SEI approved and available for purchase in the U.S., Samshield is delighted to offer American professional and amateur riders the ultimate in fit, safety and style.

Continue reading American Gold Cup Welcomes Samshield/Animo as 2012 Sponsors

Sweden under Pressure on Home Turf in Falsterbo

(L to R) Falsterbo Show Director Jan-Olaf Wannius, FEI Commercial Manager Nathalie Taylor, British Chef d’Equipe Rob Hoekstra, German Chef d’Equipe Heinrich Hermann Engemann, Swiss Chef d’Equipe Stephane Montavon and Irish Chef d’Equipe Robert Splaine. Photo: FEI/Lotta Gyllensten.

Falsterbo (SWE), 12 July 2012 – The host nation will be feeling the heat as the sixth leg of the FEI Nations Cup 2012 gets underway on home soil in Falsterbo, Sweden tomorrow afternoon.  Drawn second-last to go, Sweden also lies seventh of the eight competing nations on the series leaderboard, sharing the same score as the bottom-placed Irish whose aggregate score has them at a slight disadvantage.  For both sides, tomorrow is a crunch clash as they attempt to pull themselves off the wrong end of the league table with only two further legs of the series remaining after tomorrow’s competition.

And today’s draw was not kind to the Irish who will be first into the ring at 14.30 local time.

The order-of-go is as follows:  1, Ireland; 2, Germany; 3, Great Britain; 4, Switzerland; 5, Netherlands; 6, France; 7, Sweden; 8, Belgium.

HANDSOME LEAD

Germany holds a handsome lead in the series after a double of wins, at Rome (ITA) in May and Rotterdam (NED) in June, and consistently good placings including runner-up spot in Aachen (GER) last week where the French came out on top.

Continue reading Sweden under Pressure on Home Turf in Falsterbo