Aachen, Germany (June 20, 2011) – American Four-In-Hand Combined Driver Chester Weber put in a brilliant performance at the 2011 World Equestrian Festival CHIO Aachen, earning the highest results of his career at Aachen with a win in Dressage and finishing in the third place in the individual standings. Weber, the eight-time USEF National Four-In-Hand Combined Driving Champion, is now tied for first place in the standings for the FEI World Cup qualifications after 9 of 14 competitions.
Following his victory at the prestigious CHIO Aachen, Weber, the 2008 World Champion silver medalist, wrote on his Facebook page to thank and update his many fans in the United States. “Thanks to everyone for the support. We had our best results at Aachen ever. One first, two seconds, one fifth and one seventh place finish. In the combination we ended third!”
Weber, who competed as an individual for the United States, made headlines across the globe during his second dressage test, when he piloted Para, Senate and Jane Clark’s Splash and Uniek to a first place victory with a total score of 34.69. Exell earned a 37.12 in the second dressage test to place second. While Weber had two canter mistakes in the dressage test, he kept his cool and persevered to win. “When I made the mistakes I said to myself ‘bring them back and just go again’ and it went well from there,” he said.
During his winning dressage test, Weber scored an impressive 193, 203, 194, 196 and 193 from the judges. His dressage score helped him win the Prize of Martello Immobilienmanagement GmbH & Co. KG. “This was the first time I scored under 40 penalty points with my two new leader horses and I am very pleased with that,” Weber said. Ed Young, the United States Driving Chef d’Equipe, said Weber drove a wonderful test and described it as “beautiful.”
At Aachen, each four-in-hand team competed in five competitions whether competing on a team or as an individual. The first dressage test counted for the individual classification and the second dressage test counted for the team classification and was compulsory for individual drivers. The first cones competition counted for the individual classification, the marathon counted for both the individual and the teams and the final cones competition counted for the teams and was once again compulsory for the individuals.
Weber ended the competition with a score of 137.76, behind Boyd Exell’s winning score of 126.73 and IJsbrand Chardon’s second place finish of 133.73. “I am very pleased with the talent that Uniek and Splash have brought to my team,” Weber said. “I was also pleased with my marathon and thought it went well. I am happy with my third position.”
Weber said he was also thrilled to be tied with Exell for first place in the FEI World Cup standings. “We compete all year with our goals in mind, and our standings are right where we want to be,” he said. Weber and his team are now turning their attention toward their next goal: CAI Riesenbeck, in Riesenbeck, Germany, July 21-24. For more information on Weber and his combined driving team, visit their website at www.chesterweber.com.
For more information contact:
Chester Weber
chester@chesterweber.com
www.chesterweber.com
1-352-895-1139