Ocala, FL (June 22, 2011) – Fans of USEF National Four-In-Hand Combined Driver Chester Weber have been lining up to congratulate the American driver following his victory at the CAIO Vecses, an international combined driving competition held recently in Vecses, Hungary. Weber won the Four-In-Hand division against a highly competitive field of international drivers.
HRTV, The Network for Horse Sports, recently aired a show on Weber called “Holding the Reins,” and they also congratulated Weber on his recent victory. HRTV said they will re-air “Holding the Reins” in June and July with an added interview in which Weber discusses his victory in Hungary. The show is a 24-minute look at the exciting world of combined driving – which is considered one of the fastest growing sports in the industry – and features the story of how Weber grew up on a Thoroughbred racehorse farm to become one of our country’s leading drivers.
Weber has had great success both internationally and nationally and is currently the USEF National Four-In-Hand Champion, a championship he has won a record eight years in a row. The goal-oriented Weber has his sights set on being the best in the world and during the HRTV show the United States Driving Chef d’Equipe, Ed Young, discussed Weber’s ambitions. “I think we will see Chester become the World Champion,” Young said.
“Holding the Reins” not only highlights Weber’s success, but also brings to light the intriguing and challenging sport of combined driving. The sport features speed, power, agility, grace, beauty and teamwork. “There are three phases in combined driving — dressage, the cross-country marathon and the cones. The cross-country is the real showstopper. You don’t have to like horses to appreciate the marathon,” Weber said.
Weber added that he was pleased that HRTV is going to air the show again. “I thought the show was great and really showcased the sport that I am so passionate about,” Weber said. “I think if someone didn’t understand the sport before watching ‘Holding the Reins,’ they would afterward.”
Weber has been a long-time supporter of increasing the presence of combined driving in the world of equestrian sports. Weber and his horse Jamaica brought the sport front and center in 2008 when Weber was named a USEF Equestrian of Honor and Jamaica won the USEF Horse of the Year Award. “It was highly unusual for a horse that is part of team to be signaled out. Then to go on to win the Horse of the Year honor was pretty amazing,” Weber said. “Jamaica has an unusual story that drew a lot of attention, and I think the HRTV show did a great job of telling Jamaica’s story, from his near death at a feed lot in Belgium to the fact that he was part of so many winning championships. They even touched on the fact that Jamaica is now a Breyer Horse Model and even has his own Facebook fan page.”
Weber, who turned 36 during the Vecses competition, is still in Europe competing. Just two weeks after the Vecses victory, Weber won the Four-In-Hand division at the CAI- Altenfelden in Austria. The back-to-back victories are a boost to his team as they prepare to compete at Aachen in July. Weber’s ultimate goals lie in the future, at the 2012 World Championships in Riesenbeck and the 2014 World Equestrian Games in France.
For more information on Weber and his combined driving team, visit their website at www.chesterweber.com. For more information on HRTV, visit their website at www.hrtv.com.
For more information contact:
Chester Weber
chester@chesterweber.com
www.chesterweber.com
1-352-895-1139