Lincourt Gino and Peter Leone at Old Salem Spring Horse Show. Photo by Parker/Russell The Book LLC
Wellington, June 7, 2012 – Peter Leone and Monica Carrera’s Lincourt Gino have consistently been in the money at important Grand Prix events this spring. Last week, Leone and Gino were fifth in both the $25,000 and the $75,000 Grand Prix at HITS on the Hudson in Saugerties, NY.
“Gino just keeps feeling better and better,” confided Leone. “Unfortunately, I made a mistake in the jump-off on Sunday. At least I lost trying to win rather than trying to place.”
Lincourt Gino is an Irish Sport Horse that performs as well on grass as he does on footing. Gino and Leone won the G&C Farms 1.45m Open Jumpers in March and were second at the $50,000 Live Oak Derby and Fifth at the G&C Farms Jumper Derby at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival with the fastest time. Gino also recently won the Level Sevens at Garden State and was second in the Old Salem Spring $20,000 Speed Derby.
Wellington, FL – June 4, 2012 – The much-anticipated book, Peter Leone’s Jumping Clinic: Success Strategies for Equestrian Athletes by Peter Leone and Kimberly S. Jaussi, PhD, is now available for purchase. Go to http://www.lionsharefarm.com to purchase your copy today.
This must-have book explores every aspect of riding, from the basics of correct use of aids to the psychology of approaching a World Cup course.
The book employs diagrams, exercises and anecdotes, as well as photos featuring riders such as McLain Ward, Richard Spooner, Margie Engel and Georgina Bloomberg, as models demonstrating concepts from the text.
“Presented in a thoughtful, detailed yet simple style, this book will improve your riding and horsemanship whether you are beginning your riding journey or trying to improve your current skill level,” lauded McLain Ward, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist.
Devon, PA – It was another glorious day at the Devon Horse Show and 15 horses lined up for the $50,000 Idle Dice Open Jumper Stake in the storied Dixon Oval at the 2012 Devon Horse Show. This afternoon’s class served as the second half of the third USEF Observation Event for the U.S. Show Jumping Team for the 2012 Olympic Games. Fourteen combinations, 13 of which are vying for a trip to the 2012 London Olympic Games, tested Michel Vaillancourt’s track and only two horses managed to leave up all of the jumps.
Charlie Jayne (Elgin, IL) cruised to an exceptional clear on Pony Lane Farm’s Chill RZ adding just one time fault to seal the victory over the difficult course.
“I thought the course was big,” said Jayne. “I thought the course was as technical as two nights ago. I thought it was hard and that the jumps came up quick. I thought the water came up quick and that lie was very difficult. I thought you needed some stamina; I think it was a big round two nights ago and it was bigger today. By the last line, I think your horse really needed some energy left. I couldn’t have asked much more from my horse; he was amazing all week.”
SAUGERTIES, NY (June 1, 2012) – Two of the top-five slots in today’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, were captured by one man. Jeffery Welles of Brewster, New York rode two horses to clean rounds and won the class aboard Noel Love Gross’ Merlin, while finishing fourth on Aries, also owned by Gross.
Ken Krome of Westminster, Maryland presented riders with a challenging 13-obstacle course, which included 16 jumping efforts and its fair share of technical turns and bending lines, as well as a tight time-allowed. The track included three double combinations – a two-stride and two one-strides. The jump-off began with the return of fence nine from the first round – an airy vertical – and was followed by six more obstacles, including the first one-stride combination.
The jump-off welcomed five pairs back into the ring and Peter Leone of Greenwich, Connecticut kicked things off with an eight-fault round to finish in fifth. Welles returned second in the order to post the first clear round and set the Great American Time to Beat at 42.92 seconds aboard Aries.
2012 Show Jumping European Young and Junior Rider Tour Team (USEF Archive)
Reims, France – Four members of the 2012 Show Jumping European Young Rider Tour went to task in Nations Cup competition Friday afternoon at the CSIOYJ Reims. The U.S. entered the two-round competition in an enviable position having drawn fifth of six teams to contest the 1.45m track. The team of Alise Oken, Annie Cook, Chloe Reid and Lydia Ulrich capitalized on their strong draw to jump to second place honors.
Leading the U.S. effort in France were Cook and Ulrich who both jumped double-clears in the Nations Cup competition. Cook (Woodside, CA) guided Signe Ostby’s Banba to two fault-free efforts as the second U.S. rider in each round. As the anchor rider, Ulrich (Rochester, NY) stared down the face of pressure to also produce a double clear performance with Beth Congel and Up The Creek Farm’s Santos Utopia.
The U.S. team entered the second round of competition tied for third place with the Dutch team on a score of eight faults. In the first round, Oken (Charlotte, NC) and Hi Hopes Farm’s Kaid Du Ry provided the drop score with a twelve fault performance. However, they recovered to produce a clear in the second round, allowing the U.S. to add no faults in that final round. Riding in her first Nations Cup Reid (Washington, DC) displayed composure and poise jumping two eight-fault rounds with Chloe D Reid LLC’s Toulon.
Pictured left to right - Jeroen Dubbeldam, Gerco Schroder, Rob Ehrens (Chef d'Equipe), Marc Houtzager and Leon Thijssen. Photo: FEI/Valeria Streun.
St Gallen (SUI), 1 June 2012 – A nail-biting last-to-go round from Gerco Schroder and Eurocommerce New Orleans clinched victory for The Netherlands at the FEI Nations Cup in St Gallen, Switzerland today.
Germany came into this third leg of the 2012 series as clear favourites following their emphatic success in Rome (ITA) last Friday. But, just as it did 12 months ago, the Swiss venue provided a classic example of what makes the sport of Nations Cup Jumping so appealing – its utter unpredictability. And in a repeat of last year’s exciting event, it was the Dutch who out on top once again.
The host nation enjoyed another great day when sharing second place with Great Britain, while team Germany finished fourth ahead of Belgium in fifth and Ireland in sixth, France in seventh and Sweden in eighth place.
Devon, PA – A small but mighty field of show jumping horses lined up to tackle the penultimate USEF Observation Event for the U.S. Show Jumping Team for the 2012 Olympic Games. Thirteen combinations from the USEF Show Jumping Long List headlined the field of 16 in the 2012 $100,000 Wells Fargo Grand Prix of Devon.
The Dixon Oval always proves a tremendous venue at the Devon Horse Show and with improvements made over the last few years, the storied competition, though steeped with history, continues to evolve into the modern age. Another chapter in its history was written this evening as McLain Ward scored his seventh Grand Prix of Devon title. The win was full of emotion as Ward (Brewster, NY) battled back from a shattered kneecap in January to fight for his spot on his third Olympic Team.
“Obviously it feels great,” said Ward after his win. “I haven’t jumped jumps that big in a while. It’s nice to be back – it was a really hard four months.”
Abigail McArdle and Cosma 20 placed sixth in the $15,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior Classic at the Devon Horse Show. Photo By: Kenneth Kraus/PhelpsSports
Devon PA – May 30, 2012 – During Junior Weekend at the prestigious Devon Horse Show, young rider Abigail McArdle showcased her skills and earned top ribbons in both the equitation and the jumper rings. She placed in the top three during three of the equitation events with Apartico, and qualified for the jump-off during the $15,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior Classic aboard Cosma 20.
The equitation classes were held at the beginning of the week, and McArdle kicked off the competition with a score of 89 in the WIHS Equitation Classic – Jumper Phase, which garnered the second place honors. She then went on to place third in the ASPCA Maclay Horsemanship Classic, as well as the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search with Apartico.
“It’s so nice to walk into the ring at Devon and in the first class lay down a trip and get a second in the Washington,” expressed McArdle. “Even though we didn’t win, we had very consistent trips in every class. There were great courses with a lot of different tests. You could have a forward line and then have to collect, and then need to make a bending line. It really showed off the relationship between Apartico and myself because we work really hard on the flat. It showed off which horses were adjustable, so that’s where all of my flatwork paid off and we could really shine.”
(Back row, L to R) - Philippe Guerdat, Chef d’Equipe Belgium; Henk Nooren, Chef d’Equipe France; Rob Hoekstra, Chef d’Equipe Great Britain; Sylve Soderstrand, Chef d’Equipe Sweden; Rob Ehrens, Chef d’Equipe The Netherlands. (Front row, L to R) - Robert Splaine, Chef d’Equipe, Ireland; Peter Stossen, President Organising Committee CSIO St Gallen; John Roche, Jumping Director, FEI; Otto Becker, Chef d’Equipe Germany; Urs Grunig, Chef d’Equipe Switzerland. Photo: FEI/Katja Stuppia.
St Gallen (SUI), 31 May 2012 – The luck of the Irish may be about to change as they have the advantage of being drawn last to go in tomorrow’s third leg of the FEI Nations Cup 2012 at St Gallen, Switzerland. Their last-place finish in Rome (ITA) a week ago has plunged them to the bottom of the series leaderboard, but Chef d’Equipe, Robert Splaine, will be hoping to do something about that when tomorrow’s competition gets underway.
The order of go is as follows: 1, The Netherlands; 2, Germany; 3, Switzerland; 4, Belgium; 5, France; 6, Great Britain; 7, Sweden; 8, Ireland.
The team managers will select their sides later today after the warm-up competition. There is a new format for CSIO St Gallen this year, with the show running over three days instead of four, and of course the centre-piece of tomorrow’s first-day action will be the FEI Nations Cup. The records show that, since it was first staged in Lucerne in 1927, Germany has won the Swiss Nations Cup more times than any other country – on 20 occasions over the last 85 years.
DEFENDING CHAMPIONS
It is the Dutch, however, who return as defending champions, having won at St Gallen in 2011. And they will be first into the ring tomorrow, after Rob Ehrens has selected his side from Gert-Jan Bruggink, Jeroen Dubbeldam, Marc Houtzager, Gerco Schroder and Leon Thijssen. Schroder and Houtzager both competed in Rome (ITA) last Friday where the team finished equal sixth with Great Britain.
Beezie Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo (Shannon Brinkman)
Devon, PA – All eyes will be on the Devon Horse Show this week as 13 of the top jumping combinations in the U.S. compete in the third of four 2012 U.S. Show Jumping Team Observation Events. Horses and riders on the USEF Long List for the U.S. Show Jumping Team for the 2012 Olympic Games will jump in Thursday’s Wells Fargo Grand Prix of Devon and Saturday’s Open Jumper Stake.
Beezie Madden will be extremely busy this week as she brings her three long listed horses to compete at the Devon Observation Event. Madden will compete Coral Reef Via Volo in the mare’s first Observation Event classes this week. The 14-year-old Belgian Warmblood and Madden teamed up to win Team Gold and Individual Silver medals for the U.S. at last year’s Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. She will also ride Abigail Wexner’s talented geldings Simon and Cortes ‘C’. Both horses had strong showings at the Observation Event in Lexington, KY earlier this month. Simon jumped to victory in the $50,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic and collected third place honors in the $75,000 Commonwealth Grand Prix. While Cortes ‘C’ finished fourth in the latter.
