Tag Archives: Steffen Peters

*Featured/Spotlights, Awards, Competitions, Dressage, Events, JRPR

Steffen Peters and Legolas Win Rock Star Freestyle Award at Dressage Affaire World Cup

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Steffen Peters (shown here on Ravel) and Legolas won the Grand Prix Freestyle at the Dressage Affaire World Cup and they also took home the Rock Star Award from Cunningham & Cunningham Livestock, Inc. (Photo courtesy of Terri Miller)

Del Mar, CA (March 28, 2012) – Steffen Peters is well known for rocking the Grand Prix Freestyle on his champion partner Ravel, and during the Dressage Affaire World Cup at the Del Mar Horsepark Peters was back to rocking the scores – this time on his new equine partner Legolas. Thanks to a top score of 78.225%, Peters and Legolas also rode away with the Rock Star Award from Cunningham & Cunningham Livestock, Inc.

Peters has only been riding Legolas since Christmas, and the Del Mar show was their fourth competition together. Legolas is owned by Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki, who also owns Ravel. “We are thrilled that Steffen and Legolas won the Rock Star Award. It is a great thing for the United States that Steffen now has two horses competing at the top of the sport, earning such high scores,” said Sara Cunningham, of Cunningham & Cunningham.

The Rock Star Award at the Del Mar show was sponsored by Cunningham & Cunningham Livestock, Inc., located in Harriman, New York in partnership with Wilson Cunningham West of California. The Rock Star Award highlights horse and rider combinations that excel in the Musical Freestyle classes. The winners are determined by the pair’s music selection, choreography and overall presentation.

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Dressage, Olympic Games, Training/Clinics, USEF

USET/USEF Dressage Pre-Olympic Games Training Sessions Wrap Up in Florida

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George Williams, Anne Gribbons, Steffen Peters and Betsy Juliano (Photos by Brigitte Voelk)

Lexington, KY – Preparations continue for the 2012 Olympic Games for the United States’ top dressage riders with USET/USEF pre-Olympic Games Training Sessions conducted by USEF Technical Advisor Anne Gribbons and Olympian Steffen Peters. The training session schedule in Florida, which kicked off January 6-8, also included sessions February 10-12 at Walter and Mary Anne McPhail’s High Meadow Farm in Loxahatchee, FL and concluded last weekend at Betsy Juliano’s Havensafe South Farm in Royal Palm Beach, FL.

The USET/USEF pre-Olympic Games Training Sessions have given Gribbons and Peters the ability to work with the majority of the country’s top contenders; the two have a dynamic partnership that lends itself greatly to guiding both horse and rider and elevating the level of performance from both. In preparation for the inclusion of the Olympic Grand Prix Special in the team competition at the 2012 Olympic Games, the training sessions allow riders to perform the test for Gribbons, who is also an FEI 5* judge, and then review film of the tests as a group.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Dressage, Events, JRPR, Para-Equestrian, Wellington Classic Dressage

Florida Dressage Season Kicks Off with an International Flair at CDI Competitions

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Steffen Peters and Ravel during the awards ceremony following the 2012 World Dressage Masters Exquis Grand Prix Freestyle, which they won with a score of 83.70%. (Photo courtesy of Susan J Stickle)

Wellington, FL (February 7, 2012) – Thanks to the efforts of the show management team from the Gold Coast Dressage Association and the Wellington Dressage Classic Association, the 2012 Dressage season kicked off with three amazing CDI events in January and 2 Paralympic Qualifiers. With world-class dressage riders providing an air of European competition, the Gold Coast Dressage Association’s Opener CDI W/CDEDI3* January 19-22, 2012, the Wellington Classic Sunshine Challenge CDI3*/CPEDI3* January 25-29, 2012 and the 2012 Palm Beach leg of the prestigious World Dressage Masters presented by the Axel Johnson Group set the tone for a fantastic Wellington dressage season.

Wellington Classic Dressage once again hosted the World Dressage Masters Palm Beach with International Polo Club as Presenting Sponsor.  The Masters proved to be a record setting event for the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center, with dressage star Steffen Peters setting the dressage ring on fire with record breaking scores, while the number of spectators also proved to be at an all-time high. “This year’s Masters was one for the record books,” said John Flanagan of Wellington Classic Dressage, Gold Coast Dressage, International Horse Sport, and one of the organizers of the WDM Palm Beach. “The competition was amazing and a record number of people were able to watch this event live, which is a great testament to the strength of our sport in South Florida and the United States.”

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Competitions, Dressage, Events, USEF

Ravel Repeats World Dressage Masters Palm Beach Win

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Steffen Peters and Ravel (Shannon Brinkman Photo)

West Palm Beach, FL – The 2012 World Dressage Masters Palm Beach CDI4* presented by International Polo Club Palm Beach ended as it began with American dressage superstar Steffen Peters and Ravel storming to their second consecutive sweep of the event. Their dramatic freestyle was very difficult and they were rewarded by the judges with a score of 83.70% and recognized with a standing ovation from the crowd. It was a narrow victory, Great Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin gave Peters and Ravel a lot to handle but they held on by 5/100ths of a point.

“What an amazing ride,” said Peters. “Thanks again to my buddy Ravel.”

Sweden’s Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven was third on a score of 78.250% with Favourit.

Peters (San Diego, CA) and Ravel’s incredibly difficult transitions, including from canter pirouette to piaffe to walk, were seamless. Ravel’s half-pass has amazing reach at both the trot and the canter and the one- time changes on the centerline were effortless. The all-around brilliance gave this pair the edge – making them back-to-back World Dressage Masters Palm Beach Champions.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Dressage, Events, Phelps Media Group

Steffen Peters Does It Again at the World Dressage Masters Palm Beach

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Steffen Peters and Ravel, winners of the WDM Palm Beach Exquis Grand Prix Freestyle. Photo credit Sue Stickle and Marie Cobb

Wellington, FL (January 28, 2012) – Steffen Peters of the United States successfully defended his World Dressage Masters Palm Beach title on Saturday evening when he rode Ravel to his second consecutive Exquis Grand Prix Freestyle win.  But it wasn’t an easy victory. British challengers Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro came within five one hundredths of a percentage point of toppling Peters from the center of the podium.

“I had a great night with Ravel, but I watched Charlotte after our ride,” said Peters after the awards ceremony. “When she came out of the ring I went over and said to her, ‘I think you’ve won it.’ It is exciting to be that close to another of the world’s top horses and riders.” Peters and Akiko Yamazaki’s 14 year old KWPN gelding had received a score of 83.7%, which kept them ahead of Dujardin and Valegro, a ten year old KWPN gelding owned by Carl Hester and Roly Luard, by the tiniest of margins; the British pair received 83.65% for their performance.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Dressage, Events, USEF

Ravel Repeats at 2012 World Dressage Masters Palm Beach

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Steffen Peters and Ravel celebrate (Shannon Brinkman Photo)

West Palm Beach, FL – Before a packed house at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center, defending champions Steffen Peters and Ravel scored the first victory of the 2012 World Dressage Masters Palm Beach CDI4* presented by the International Polo Club Palm 81.383% in the process.

The marquis event brought some of the very best from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and Charlotte Dujardin, from Great Britain, made a hard charge at the victory with Valegro scoring 78.468 %. But Peters never flinched in the pressure of being the final rider in the ring. He impressed the judges (and gave the crowd what they came for).

“Sometimes it’s a little hard to put it into words,” said Peters after his ride. “First I have to give a big thank you to my buddy Ravel; it’s a personal best for us. It’s amazing to think he keeps getting better after all these years.”

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Dressage, Events, Phelps Media Group

Steffen Peters Sets New Grand Prix Record at World Dressage Masters Palm Beach

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Steffen Peters and Ravel, Grand Prix winners at the 2012 WDM Palm Beach. Photo credit Sue Stickle

Wellington, FL (January 27, 2012) – American Steffen Peters took a step toward defending his 2011 World Dressage Masters Palm Beach title by winning the WDM Palm Beach Nürnberger Grand Prix test with a record-shattering score of 81.383%. Not only is that a personal best result in a CDI Grand Prix for Peters and Akiko Yamazaki’s 14 year old KWPN gelding, it is also the highest score ever attained in a WDM Palm Beach Grand Prix.

“I started to have the feeling I got from Ravel tonight in the last couple of weeks,” said Peters after his decisive victory over the international field of 16 competitors. “I had this feeling at a show two weeks ago in California, but I had to risk it a bit more here. Ravel feels even stronger than last year and more supple. It was a blast to ride.”

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Awards, Community/Charity, Events, USEF

USEF Annual Meeting

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Jacob Arnold, Jim Wofford, and Steffen Peters (Geoff Bugbee)

The 2012 USEF Annual Meeting in Cincinnati, OH ended on Saturday night with a Pegasus awards show that was broadcast around the world. Steffen Peters was chosen from a fantastic group of nominees and earned the night’s top prize, Equestrian of the Year, for the third time. Opting for a slideshow rather than a speech Peters thanked in pictures Ravel, Weltino’s Magic and, among many others, his wife Shannon. James C. Wofford was honored with a lifetime achievement award (you can view a video about his life and achievements here) and Jacob Arnold accepted the award for 2011 Youth Equestrian of the Year.

On demand video of the Pegasus awards, along with pictures and video from Friday’s Horse of the Year celebration, is available here on the USEF Network.

*Featured/Spotlights, Awards, Dressage, Events, USEF

Steffen Peters Named 2011 USEF Equestrian of the Year

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Steffen Peters, 2011 Equestrian of the Year, at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico

Cincinnati, OH – To cap off a record-setting year, dressage superstar Steffen Peters added one more record to his résumé on Saturday night at the United States Equestrian Federation’s Pegasus Awards dinner. He became the first person to score the USEF’s Equestrian of the Year title three times.

Peters (San Diego, CA) won the top honor in 2008 and 2009 based largely on his accomplishments with Akiko Yamazaki’s phenom Ravel – but in 2011, Ravel had some help. Peters capitalized on his first trip to the Pan American Games and scored Team and Individual Gold in a tremendous effort with Jen and Bruce Hlavacek’s Weltino’s Magic. From California to Aachen, Germany Peters was undefeated in 2011 with the now 9-year-old Westphalian gelding.

Both Ravel and ‘Magic’ scored at the 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF National Dressage Championships in Gladstone, NJ in September sweeping the Grand Prix and Intermediaire I divisions respectively. Peters won all six classes in the effort and secured his Pan Am spot with Magic in the process.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Community/Charity, Dressage, JRPR, Products/Services

Custom Saddlery Believes in Magic – Steffen Peters and Weltino’s Magic to Be Exact!

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Custom Saddlery is proud to believe in the magic of dressage rider Steffen Peters and his equine partner Weltino’s Magic. (Photo courtesy of Sheryl Ross)

Aiken, SC (January 2, 2012) – Pan Am Gold Medal winning horse Weltino’s Magic, owned by Jen Hlavacek and ridden by Steffen Peters, has a motto designed to remind people that they can achieve the highest goals they set for themselves. Magic’s motto is, “I Believe in Magic,” and his fans around the world have embraced the saying. The staff at Custom Saddlery, the saddle company that endorses Peters and his magical equine partner, is thrilled to embrace the magic of Peters and Weltino’s Magic.

“Custom Saddlery has sponsored Steffen Peters on a variety of horses over the years. Steffen now rides predominantly in our Icon Flight Saddle and we are currently in the process of making a new saddle for Weltino’s Magic. We could not ask for a higher profile or more accomplished rider then Steffen. He is a true ambassador for the sport and for Custom Saddlery. We are proud and honored to have him ride in our saddles,” said Graham Newell, Professional Saddle Fitter for Custom Saddlery.

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