Tag Archives: Show Jumping

Jessica Springsteen Takes Martha Jolicoeur Leading Lady Rider Title at Alltech National Horse Show

Jessica Springsteen and Cincinnati La Silla, 3rd $250,000 ANHS GP. Photo by Shawn McMillen

Lexington, Kentucky – November 20, 2011 – Part of the sizzle of a breathtaking Saturday night of world-class show jumping at this year’s Alltech National Horse Show in Lexington, Kentucky, was the awarding of the Martha Jolicoeur Leading Lady Rider title.

The 2011 title was awarded to one of the nation’s fastest rising stars, Jessica Springsteen of Colts Neck, New Jersey.

The Alltech National Horse Show concluded on Sunday, November 6, after a highly successful five day inaugural run at the Alltech Arena at the world-renowned Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, site of last year’s Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

Jolicoeur’s award was presented on Saturday night, following the victory gallop for the $250,000 Alltech National Horse Show Grand Prix. Richard Spooner of California, riding Cristallo, raced to the primetime win.

Continue reading Jessica Springsteen Takes Martha Jolicoeur Leading Lady Rider Title at Alltech National Horse Show

The Rolex One to Watch – November 2011

Albert Voorn riding Eurocommerce Lexington at the CSI2* Valkenswaard (NED). Photo: SPORTFOT/Rolex

The Rolex One to Watch for November 2011 is Dutch rider, Albert Voorn. Based at Golden Dream Stables, situated approximately 45 kms from Eindhoven (NED), the 55-year-old jumped from number 342 to 225 during October – a move up the Rolex Rankings of 117 places.

The Rolex One to Watch is an initiative which identifies the rider who has made the biggest jump within or into the Top 250 of the Rolex Rankings the previous month.

Born on 23 May 1956, and brought up in Hilversum – a small town in the province of North Holland – Voorn started to ride when he was eight years old. Voorn bought a New Forest pony foal called Marinette from his own savings, which he learned to ride with the help of his neighbour when the pony was old enough. It was with Marinette that Voorn rode his first competition, and went on to compete internationally. Voorn sold Marinette to the Vermeulen family in Breukelen, and with this money he bought a three-year-old horse.

Continue reading The Rolex One to Watch – November 2011

Death of Equine Superstar Hickstead

Sensational Jumping stallion Hickstead collapsed and died in Verona (ITA) today. Photo: FEI/Kit Houghton.

Lausanne (SUI), 6 November 2011 – The fourth leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping 2011/2012 series at Verona, Italy was stopped today following the sudden death of the stallion Hickstead, ridden by reigning Olympic champion and world number one Eric Lamaze (CAN).

Drawn 22nd of the 39 on the startlist, the Canadian partnership had just completed Rolf Ludi’s 13-fence track with a single rail down in the middle of the combination when Hickstead collapsed and died.

The competition was stopped at the request of the riders, and Lamaze’s fellow-competitors gathered in the Verona arena to pay their respects to one of the greatest horses of all time, and to support their colleague in his moment of loss with a minute’s silence.

HRH Princess Haya, FEI President, added her condolences to those that have poured in since news of the horse’s death. “Hickstead really was a horse in a million and my heart goes out to Eric and everyone connected with this wonderful horse. This is a terrible loss, but Hickstead truly will never be forgotten. We were very lucky to have known him.”

FEI Jumping Director, John Roche, said, “Shortly after finishing his round of jumping Hickstead collapsed in the arena and died.  As yet the cause of death is unknown, but our deepest sympathies go out to the owners, to Eric and to all the connections of one of the greatest Jumping horses of all time. Hickstead’s presence on the circuit will be very sadly missed.”

At FEI
Grania Willis
Director Press Relations
Email: grania.willis@fei.org
Tel: +41 787 506 142

Malina Gueorguiev
Manager Media Relations
malina.gueorguiev@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 33

2011 America’s Favorite Equestrians – and the Winners Are…

WESTPORT, CT – November 5, 2011 – Jenny Belknap Kees, Chairman of the Board of The EQUUS Foundation and John Long, President of the United States Equestrian Federation, announced “America’s Favorite Equestrians” for 2011representing the disciplines of Driving, Dressage, Endurance, Eventing, Jumping, Para-Dressage, Reining and Vaulting at their Victory Celebration on Friday, November 4, 2011, at the Alltech National Horse Show in Lexington, Kentucky.

The program was established by the two organizations to recognize the heroes in our equestrian sport and to build grass roots support within the equestrian community for the many worthy causes supported by The EQUUS Foundation on behalf of horse welfare and the people who benefit from the horse’s unique ability to empower, teach and heal.

“One of the best actions we have taken in recent years is to partner with The EQUUS Foundation,” said John Long. “We look forward to continuing to build our relationship in the future.”

Continue reading 2011 America’s Favorite Equestrians – and the Winners Are…

Ten Medals for Equestrian Team USA at the 2011 Pan American Games

The U.S. Sweep in Dressage (Photo: Rick Mitchell)

It was an epic adventure in Mexico for the United States Equestrian Federation’s Dressage, Eventing and Jumping Teams. They won a record 10 medals across the three disciplines and cemented a solid foundation for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Bookended by double Gold medalists Steffen Peters, who rode the Hlavacek’s Weltino’s Magic to record scores in the dressage ring at the Guadalajara Country Club, and Christine McCrea, who jumped five immaculate rounds on Windsor Show Stables’ Romantovich Take One at the same venue 10 days later, the U.S. won at every turn.

The dressage team of Peters, Heather Blitz, Marissa Festerling and Cesar Parra got the winning going – they cruised to Team Gold over Canada and Colombia – and then reinforced it with a sweep of the individual medals for Peters, Blitz and Festerling. The standard was extraordinary and with each test, a new challenge was handed over. Personal bests were the order of the day for the freestyles, Blitz and her Paragon made Olympic veteran Peters work for every point, after they wowed the crowd at their first Team Championship. Festerling commandeered a terrific Bronze medal effort out of a very energetic Big Tyme and also stood on the podium for the second time at her first championship.

Continue reading Ten Medals for Equestrian Team USA at the 2011 Pan American Games

USEF Open Forum for Jumping to Be Broadcast LIVE on Monday, November 7, 2011

Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) will host an open forum for the jumping community on Monday, November 7, 2011, at the Kentucky Horse Park Visitor’s Center’s South Theater.

The forum will take place from 8:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. ET, and will be broadcast live on the USEFNetwork.com. Howard Pike will moderate the open forum which is designed to provide a sounding board for members interested in the sport of show jumping. Forum participants will tackle issues in the sport today. Primary goals are to explore opportunities to grow the sport and to build strong and internationally competitive teams to represent the U.S. on the world stage. Anyone invested in the sport is welcome and encouraged to attend and to be heard.

This Forum will be the first in a series of gatherings scheduled in coming months. The United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) will host the next forum at the USHJA Annual Meeting on Monday, December 5, 2011, from 1:30-3:00 pm in New Orleans, LA.

Please make time to participate in this most important discussion regarding the future of the sport. You may log into the Forum at http://www.usefnetwork.com/featured/JOF2011/.

For more information, contact Sally Ike at sally.ike@usef.org or (908) 326-1156.

Bengtsson Reigns Supreme in Lyon

Rolf-Goran Bengtsson and Casall La Silla are pictured during the prize-giving presentation with Mr Phillipe Schaeffer, Director General Rolex France. Photo: FEI/Kit Houghton.

Lyon (FRA), 30 October 2011 – Sweden’s Rolf-Goran Bengtsson galloped to victory in the third leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Western European League 2011/2012 series in Lyon, France this afternoon.  Riding Casall La Silla, the man who so deservedly won Individual gold at the FEI European Jumping Championships in Madrid, Spain last month snatched the lead at the halfway stage of today’s nine-horse jump-off and couldn’t be caught.

From the 40-strong field of world-class combinations, it was The Ukraine’s Katharina Offel and Cathleen who claimed runner-up spot ahead of Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat with Nino des Buissonnets in third, while host-nation hero Kevin Staut filled fourth place riding Zeta de Hus.

Course designer, Frank Rothenberger, produced a masterpiece – a 13-fence track that asked questions from start to finish but which produced a sparkling line-up for the second and deciding round against the clock in which rideability was tested to the very limit.

Continue reading Bengtsson Reigns Supreme in Lyon

Pan American Gold Medalist Christine McCrea Headed to Alltech National Horse Show

Christine McCrea, Individual Gold Medal at the XVI Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico will compete at the Alltech National Horse Show beginning on Wednesday

Lexington, KY – October 30, 2011 – Christine McCrea, who on Saturday powered her way to the Pan American Games Gold Medal in Guadalajara, Mexico, makes her next stop at the debut of the Alltech National Horse Show in Lexington, Kentucky, beginning on Wednesday.

McCrea, who was perfect through five rounds of world-class jumping in Mexico, picked up two Gold medals in her first ever appearance at the Pan American Games.  Her two clear rounds on Thursday in the Nations Cup were a key factor as the United States Show Jumping squad scored Gold, and in so doing, secured one of the final coveted spots at the Olympic Games in London in 2012.

In addition to McCrea, the big money Open Jumper division at the Alltech National Horse Show features nine Olympic veterans, including McLain Ward, who was also a member of the United States Gold Medal team in Guadalajara.

Continue reading Pan American Gold Medalist Christine McCrea Headed to Alltech National Horse Show

Less Than a Second Wins Gold for McCrea at 2011 Pan American Games

Christine McCrea and Romantovich Take One. Photo: Shannon Brinkman

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – In a sport of inches it came down to 7/100ths of a second. Beezie Madden (Cazenovia, NY) had led the 2011 Pan American Games since Wednesday, and when she landed over the last fence in the second round of the day it seemed Individual Gold was secure with her fifth clear round of the Games.

Until the clock stopped.

She and Coral Reef Via Volo finished with a time of 66.07, just over the time allowed of 66 seconds. That one time fault left her in the Silver medal position behind her teammate Christine McCrea (Windsor, CT) and Romantovich Take One.

It was an epic finish. There wasn’t a rail separating the top five horses going into the final round – and at the end of all the jumping, McCrea and Windsor Show Stables’ 11-year-old Dutch gelding finished up the way they started. They jumped five clear rounds over three days and ended their first Pan American Games with Team and Individual Gold on a score of .88.

Continue reading Less Than a Second Wins Gold for McCrea at 2011 Pan American Games

Awesome Americans Take Pan American Jumping by Storm

(L to R) Kent Farrington, Christine McCrea, Beezie Madden and McLain Ward. McCrea also clinched the Individual title yesterday ahead of Madden in silver-medal position. Photo: FEI/ StockImagesServices.com

Guadalajara (MEX), 30 October 2011 – American Jumping riders showed their class yesterday when adding Individual gold and silver to the team title they claimed last Thursday at the 2011 Pan-American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.  The team victory was utterly convincing, as all four riders kept a clean sheet to leave them with a final tally of just 2.90.

And yesterday Christine McCrea rose from runner-up spot to snatch the Individual title from team-mate Beezie Madden who paid a very heavy price for a single time fault in the second round of the decider.

Despite their obvious strengths, there was plenty of pressure on the US side from the outset, as the defending Olympic champions had not yet qualified for London 2012.  So Thursday’s result was more than pleasing for US Chef d’Equipe, George Morris, who, typically, was as impressed by his side’s skill in the ring as he was by what they achieved.  “It’s the way they rode. I’m an ideological horseman. I’m not interested in it unless it’s beautifully ridden,” he said after Madden (Coral Reef Via Volo), McCrea (Romantovich Take One), Kent Farrington (Uceko) and McLain Ward (Antares) delivered the goods.

Continue reading Awesome Americans Take Pan American Jumping by Storm