Tag Archives: FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs

Championships, Driving, FEI, USEF

Kathrin Dancer Places Fifth in Cones at the 2015 FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs

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Kathrin Dancer with Wimbledon and Redford (Krisztina Horváth)

U.S. Finishes Ninth

Fábiánsebestyén, Hungary – Kathrin Dancer drove accurately through the cones to finish fifth in the final phase of the 2015 FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs today with a time of 3:07.37. She led the U.S. team, consisting of Jacob Arnold and Scott Dancer, throughout the entire competition and concludes these championships with an 18th-place finish. The U.S. finished ninth overall with a score of 391.6.

“This was such a great experience. It was such an awesome team with our coaches, Michael Freund, and Thorsten Zarembowicz. Everyone who was here supporting us was amazing; it was just a relaxing environment. The rest of the nations saw that the U.S. is a contender. Our horses are only going to get better from here. These championships came a year too soon as we haven’t hit our prime. We got our foot in the door and are already thinking about the next championships and getting on the podium,” said Kathrin Dancer.

Kathrin Dancer (Woodside, Calif.) came into the cones competition with a two-day score of 190.21. She and her own and Scott Dancer’s Wimbledon and Redford moved through the cones with good finesse and kept all the balls in place, only one of five teams to do so. However, she picked up 3.69 in time penalties, which gave her a three-day score of 193.90.

“After walking the course, I knew what the trouble spots were going to be. Jacob and Scott gave me some pointers having gone before me. Going in, everything just vanished; I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. My horses are like a Labrador with a ball; they love the cones,” added Kathrin Dancer.

She began these world championships strong with a nice dressage test on Friday for a score of 60.05. This put her in 28th place after the first day. She struggled a bit during Saturday’s marathon phase after getting off to a slow start during the first four obstacles for a score of 130.16. This moved her to 29th overall.

Arnold (Snow Camp, N.C.) entered the cones competition after driving a good marathon on Saturday. However, it was not the same ending today. He and Lajos Móró’s Dax 62 and Marco Freund’s Janni 12, moved through the cones smoothly until near the end of the course. They picked up six penalty points for knocking down balls at obstacles 16 and 18 and 2.48 in time penalties for a total of 8.48 in penalties. The team finished 15th in the cones and 31st overall with a score of 201.97. A rough dressage test put them in 45th place after the first day of competition with a score of 66.49. He moved to 39th overall, with a score of 193.49, after posting a score of 127 in the marathon.

Scott Dancer (Woodside, Calif.) did not have his best days in these championships. He sat in 40th place, with a score of 195.62, coming into the cones. He and Wayne Van Niekirk’s Carumbus and Jan Greve’s Dapper moved through the cones well until they entered obstacle 11. A ball came off one cone, and the team proceeded to obstacle 12 where another came off. They also had a ball fall at 16 for a total of nine cone penalties. They added 6.82 in time penalties for a total of 15.82 penalties. He finished the cones in 44th place and placed 43rd overall with a score of 211.44. He earned a score of 62.24 in dressage, which put him in 35th place after the first phase and a score of 133.38 in the marathon.

Hungary won its second consecutive Pairs World Driving Championship with a score of 322.47. Italy came in second with a score of 340.29, and Germany finished third with a score of 357.41. Brothers Vilmos and Zoltán Lázár of Hungary finished first and second overall in the individual championship with scores of 160.12 and 166.25, respectively. This is Vilmos Lázár’s second consecutive individual Pairs World Driving title. Jozsef Dibak of Italy finished third individually with a score of 166.86.

2015 FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs Final Results

From the USEF Communications Department

Championships, Competitions, Driving, FEI

USEF Names Athletes for 2015 FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs

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Lexington, Ky. – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased to announce the combinations that will represent the U.S. at the 2015 FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs in Fábiánsebestyén, Hungary, September 10-13, 2015. The U.S. representatives will be led by Thorsten Zarembowicz as the Chef d’Equipe and Michael Freund as the coach.

The following athletes (in alphabetical order) and horses will represent the U.S. in the 2015 FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs:

Jacob Arnold (Snow Camp, N.C.) will drive Dax 62, a 2005 Westphalian gelding owned by Lajos Móró, Janni 12, a 2008 gelding of unknown breeding owned by Marco Freund, and Twilight, a 2000 KWPN gelding owned by Belle Grey Farm, LLC.

Kathrin Dancer (Woodside, Calif.) will drive Joop van den Bruel, a 2009 Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by Scott Dancer, Redford, a 1999 Hessen gelding owned by Kathrin and Scott Dancer, and Wimbledon, a 2003 KWPN gelding owned by Kathrin and Scott Dancer.

Scott Dancer (Woodside, Calif.) will drive Carumbus, a 2004 stallion of unknown breeding owned by Wayne Van Niekirk, Dapper, a 2002 KWPN gelding owned by Jan Greve, and Deniro, his own 2008 KWPN gelding.

Find out more about the 2015 FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs.

From the USEF Communications Department

Championships, Driving, FEI, USEF

US Storms to Fourth Place at 2013 FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs

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Rachael Blanchard (Rinaldo de Craen/decraen.com)

Topolcianky, Slovakia – The 2013 FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs came to a conclusion Sunday with the cones phase, as Team and Individual medals were on the line. The United States produced determined, polished efforts in the final phase to climb the leaderboard and finish in fourth place in the team standings. The U.S. completed the week on a final score of 303.25 to finish five points out of Bronze medal position. Additionally, all three American drivers finished the championship in the top half of the standings.

Leading the way for the U.S. was Misdee Wrigley-Miller (Lakewood Ranch, FL) in her second World Championship appearance. Driving her own team, Wrigley-Miller had four balls down and incurred 8.23 time penalties on Sunday for a cones score of 20.23. The 2013 USEF National Pairs Champion finished in 17th place overall with a score of 154.22.

Rachael Blanchard (Upperville, VA) closed out her championship debut with an impressive effort in Sunday’s cones. Driving a talented pair owned by Heather Briggs of Belle Grey Farm, Blanchard had two balls down but was the only competitor to finish within the time allowed earning a second place in the cones. She finished in overall 23th place with a score of 159.84.

Scott Dancer (Woodside, CA) was also making his World Championship debut and finished in 34th place overall on a score of 166.83. Driving his own team, he had two balls down and added 3.42 time penalties to finish with a cones score of 9.42.

“As you can imagine, we are elated with the fourth place finish in the Nations Cup,” said Chef d’Equipe Chester Weber. “Moreover, Rachael’s second place finish in the cones demonstrates that the future of the U.S. Pair Driving is bright.  Michael Freund (Team Coach) did a remarkable job at molding horses and drivers into this wonderful team effort.”

Hungary captured the Team Gold medal finishing on a score 260.02, with Germany earning Silver on a score of 272.86. The Netherlands narrowly edged the U.S. to earn Bronze with an overall score of 298.06. In the Individual Championship, Hungary’s Vilmos Lazar earned Gold on a score of 130.57, Sebastian Warneck of Germany took Silver with an overall total of 135.78 and Bronze when to Zoltan Lazar from Hungary with a score of 136.27.

By Helen Murray

To learn more about the 2013 FEI Pair World Driving Championships, visit: http://www.chmtopolcianky2013.sk/index.php/en.

Follow the 2013 U.S. Driving Team here.

Championships, Competitions, Driving, FEI

US Team Eighth at the 2013 FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs Following the Marathon

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Misdee Wrigley-Miller is leading the U.S. effort in Slovakia (Rinaldo de Craen/decraen.com)

Topolcianky, Slovakia – The marathon phase at the 2013 FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs saw a great shake-up of the leaderboard on Saturday. The U.S. team now stands eighth following the completion of two phases of competition on a score of 287.8.

Hungary has moved into Gold medal position on a score of 245.9, the team from Germany is now second with a two phase total of 250.7, with Austria climbing the ranks to head into the cones in third place on a score of 272.8.

Misdee Wrigley-Miller (Lakewood Ranch, FL) continues to lead the U.S. effort and stands in sixth place following the marathon with a score of 133.99. Driving her own pair of horses, the 2013 USEF National Pairs Champion accrued 93.73 penalties on Saturday, to earn 35th place on the marathon.

“We were very pleased with our drivers’ performances today,” said Chef d’Equipe Chester Weber. “They all did their very best and Misdee’s experience and courage led her to a career best marathon.”

Rachael Blanchard (Upperville, VA) and the pair owned by Heather Briggs of Belle Grey Farm produced a 52nd place marathon phase with a score of 100.08 on Saturday. They head into the cones phase in 39th place on a score of 153.84.

As the first on course for the Americans, Scott Dancer (Woodside, CA) and his pair drove to a score of 101.41 to finish the marathon in 54th place. He now stands on a two day total of 157.41 in 44th place.

In the Individual standings, Vilmos Lazar of Hungary leads on a score of 121.16, with Germany’s Carola Diener second on a total of 1233.85. Zoltan Lazar of Hungary stands third with 124.78 penalties.

By Helen Murray

To learn more about the 2013 FEI Pair World Driving Championships, visit: http://www.chmtopolcianky2013.sk/index.php/en.

Follow the 2013 U.S. Driving Team here.

Championships, Dressage, Driving, FEI, USEF

US Team Stands Fourth, Wrigley-Miller Fifth Following Dressage at FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs

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Misdee Wrigley-Miller (Rinaldo de Craen/decraen.com)

Topolcianky, Slovakia – The second day of dressage at the 2013 FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs came to a conclusion on Friday with the latter half of competitors performing their tests. Following the completion of the first phase of the championship, the U.S. stands in fourth place on a score of 94, just 0.9 of a point out of podium position.

Misdee Wrigley-Miller (Lakewood Ranch, FL) was the sole U.S. representative on Friday, charging into fifth place individually. The 2013 USEF National Pairs Champion drove her own pair to a score of 40.26 to lay less than one point out of Bronze medal position. Wrigley-Miller utilized experience gained from competing in the 2011 FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs, as well as many of Europe’s most prestigious competitions, to produce a top five finish in the dressage.

The first two members of the U.S. team completed their dressage tests on Thursday. Rachael Blanchard (Upperville, VA) drove a pair owned by Heather Briggs of Belle Grey Farm to a score of 53.76 to stand 28th at the end of the first phase, while Scott Dancer (Woodside, CA) lays 35th after driving his horses to a score of 56. Both Blanchard and Dancer are making their first World Championship appearance.

Dancer will be the first American on the marathon when he sets off at 12:15pm local time. Blanchard follows him at 12:55pm and Wrigley-Miller rounds out the U.S. effort at 2:50pm.

“We were very pleased with Misdee’s top-five performance today.  Her competitive nature and exceptional composure helped lead the U.S. team to 4th place in the nations’ standings. The U.S. team is just 0.9 of a penalty point behind the Irish squad, which will equate to 4.5 seconds in tomorrow’s cross country marathon,” said Chef d’Equipe Chester Weber. “Therefore, tomorrow’s strategy will be to attack from the start to the finish. We have an experienced support team and we will do our utmost to give our drivers every advantage possible in what will promise to be a close race for the medals.”

At the end of the dressage, Germany leads the Team standings on 81.7, closely followed by Hungary on 82.4, and Ireland stands third with 93.1 points. In the Individual classification Germany’s Carola Diener leads on a score of 35.58, with Barry Capstick of Ireland in second with a 36.93, and Hungary’s Zoltan Lazar lays third on 39.49.

By Helen Murray

To learn more about the 2013 FEI Pair World Driving Championships, visit: http://www.chmtopolcianky2013.sk/index.php/en.

Follow the 2013 U.S. Driving Team here.

Championships, Competitions, Driving, FEI

Blanchard and Dancer Drive into Top 15 on First Day of the FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs

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Topolcianky, Slovakia – The United States sent two drivers into driven dressage competition at the 2013 FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs on Thursday. Rachael Blanchard and Scott Dancer performed admirably to each slot into the top 15.

Blanchard (Upperville, VA) was first into the arena for the U.S. driving the talented horses owned Heather Briggs of Belle Grey Farm. In her first World Championship appearance, Blanchard drove to a score of 53.76 to lay 11th following the first day of competition.

As the final competitor to complete his dressage test on Thursday, Dancer (Woodside, CA) guided his pair of horses to a 15th-place finish. He heads into Saturday’s marathon with a score of 56.

“I was very pleased with Rachael and Scott’s World Championship debut performance,” said Chef d’Equipe Chester Weber. “Each of them showed the mental fortitude necessary to develop into International stars.”

Misdee Wrigley-Miller (Lakewood Ranch, FL) rounds out the U.S. effort in the dressage on Friday, as she drives her own pair at 2:45pm local time.

By Helen Murray

To learn more about the 2013 FEI Pair World Driving Championships, visit: http://www.chmtopolcianky2013.sk/index.php/en.

Follow the 2013 U.S. Driving Team here.

Championships, Driving, FEI, USEF

US Team Looking Strong Heading into 2013 FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs

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Lexington, KY – The United States heads to Topolcianky, Slovakia, this week to secure a podium finish at the 2013 FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs. The U.S. will be represented by three talented drivers at the bi-annual championship, which in 2013 is hosted at the National Stud Farm Topolcianky and runs August 28 – September 1. All three members of the U.S. team were part of the fourth-place effort at CAIO Riesenbeck at the beginning of August.

Misdee Wrigley-Miller (Lakewood Ranch, FL) makes her second appearance at the FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs, having represented the U.S. two years ago in Conty, France. Wrigley-Miller and her talented horses head into these championships on strong form. In March, she claimed her first USEF National Pairs Championship before heading to Europe. Upon arriving in Europe, she had successful finishes at the CAI-A2 Altenfelden and Riesenbeck.

Scott Dancer (Woodside, CA) has quickly risen through the driving ranks. A longtime navigator for his wife Kathrin, Dancer began driving competitively himself in 2009. By 2012, he was driving among the elite U.S. competitors in the FEI Pair Horse division. This year, Dancer collected third- and fifth-place finishes at the Little Everglades CDE and Live Oak International, respectively. He then traveled to Germany, where he finished 21st individually at Riesenbeck. In Slovakia he will drive his own horses.

Rachael Blanchard (Upperville, VA) makes her international championship debut in Topolcianky and looks to utilize experience recently earned competing in Europe. In her first major international competition Blanchard not only helped the U.S. earn fourth-place honors as a team in Riesenbeck but also finished 25th individually. She will drive Heather Briggs of Belle Grey Farm’s horses.

Chester Weber will serve as Chef d’Equipe in Topolcianky.

Competition officially gets underway Thursday with the first of two days of driven dressage. Blanchard will be the first U.S. competitor, performing her test at 11:05am local time, with Dancer following her at 4:40pm local time. Wrigley-Miller completes the U.S. effort in the driven dressage on Friday at 2:45pm local time.

To learn more about the 2013 FEI Pair World Driving Championships, visit: http://www.chmtopolcianky2013.sk/index.php/en.

Follow the 2013 U.S. Driving Team here.