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Championships, Competitions, Driving, USEF

Weber Wins 13th USEF Four-in-Hand Driving National Championship at Live Oak International

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Top Three in the USEF National Championship (Picsofyou.com)

Ocala, Fla. – The 2016 USEF Four-in-Hand Driving National Championship came to a close with the cones phase at Live Oak International. Chester Weber earned his 13th USEF Four-in-Hand Driving National Championship title after leading the competition from start to finish. The field of four competitors demonstrated great driving throughout the competition and is looking strong as the U.S. prepares for the 2016 FEI World Championship this summer.

Weber (Ocala, Fla.) and his and Jane Clark’s team displayed great skill in all three phases, winning by a 38-point margin. Weber’s team this weekend included a mix of up-coming talent Amadeus, a gelding competing in his first National Championship, and veteran experience in Para, a 19-year-old gelding competing in his 10th National Championship. Their quest for the national title began on Thursday in the International Arena with a fluid dressage test that earned a score of 45.25, putting him at the top of the leaderboard. Weber increased his lead considerably in Saturday’s marathon phase with the fastest time in six of the seven obstacles on Gabor Fintha’s course, adding 118.70 penalty points to their score. In the cones phase, Weber and his team had another winning performance. They knocked a single ball at cone six and incurred a handful of time penalties to win the championship with a score of 173.20.

“The horses were good today and I was really pleased. I think this team is going to a really competitive cones team internationally,” said Weber. Weber also spoke to the added challenge presented during the cones phase at Live Oak International which also hosts show jumping in the same arena. “This is a real test of driving every step of the course when you have an arena with show jumps in it. The course at the [World Championships] probably won’t have jumps in the area, but might have some different technical natures. There was a great atmosphere in the arena with the crowds also similar to the World Championships.”

Allison Stroud (West Grove, Pa.) has mastered driving Four-in-Hand horses after switching from a pony team less than three years ago. She and Willow Star LLC’s Dutch Warmblood team performed a harmonious dressage test on Thursday to receive a score of 53.39. In the marathon phase, Stroud drove confidently through the challenging track, adding 146.86 penalty points to her score. In the cones phase, she entered the arena with steely determination and had just one ball down and 8.36 time penalties to finish as Reserve Champion on a score of 211.61.

First-time National Championship contender Craig Grange (Delmar, Iowa) entered his first FEI event this weekend and showed great promise throughout the weekend. Marking a 66.72 in dressage, Grange boldly took on the tough marathon track, posting the second fastest times of the day through obstacles two and three. He added 155.33 penalty points, to start the final phase in third place. The cones phase proved to be a bit tricky for Grange and his team as they had five balls down and disrupted obstacle 16, requiring a pause for a rebuild. With the additional of time penalties, Grange took third place with an overall score of 258.89.

Misdee Wrigley Miller (Lakewood Ranch, Fla.) began the championship week with a solid dressage test that earned her a score of 49.49 from the ground jury, good for second place. She elected to retire during section A of the marathon phase due to a minor finger injury which she sustained earlier this season.

Suzy Stafford and PVF Peace of Mind (Picsofyou.com)
Suzy Stafford and PVF Peace of Mind (Picsofyou.com)

The FEI Four-in-Hand and Single Horse divisions this weekend served as selection trials for drivers aiming for the 2016 FEI World Driving Championships. Suzy Stafford (Wilmington, Del.) and her 2015 USEF International Horse of the Year, PVF Peace of Mind, took an early lead in the FEI Single Horse division and never looked back. Following a 43.58 score in dressage, the pair dominated the marathon phase, posting the fastest times in six of seven obstacles and adding 94.22 penalty points to their score. In the cones phase, Stafford and “Hunny” again proved their athletic prowess, leaving all the balls up and adding .85 in time penalties, winning the division on an overall score of 138.65.

Complete Results

Find out more about the Live Oak International.

From the USEF Communications Department

Championships, Competitions, Driving

Weber Claims 12th USEF Four-in-Hand Driving National Championship at Kentucky Classic CDE

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Chester Weber, 12-time USEF Four-in-Hand Driving National Champion (Picsofyou.com)

Lexington, Ky. – The 2015 USEF Four-in-Hand Driving National Championship started out cold and rainy, but was warm and sunny for Sunday’s cones phase in the Rolex Stadium at the Kentucky Horse Park. The lovely day set the stage for Chester Weber to win his 12th USEF Four-in-Hand Driving National Championship title, leading the division from start to finish during the Kentucky Classic CDE. The field of four competitors demonstrated great driving throughout the competition and is looking strong heading into a World Championship year.

Weber (Ocala, Fla.) and his and Jane Clark’s team had a fantastic week, displaying great skill in all three phases. He had a different line-up at the championship, bringing a younger, inexperienced horse, Danzer, but the team of Dutch Warmblood geldings performed well. Their quest for a national title began on Thursday in the Rolex Stadium with their signature lovely dressage test. The Ground Jury of Martha Hanks-Nicoll (USA), Marsoe LaRose (CAN), and Nikke Palsson (SWE) rewarded Weber with a score of 38.07, putting him at the top of the leaderboard. A rainy marathon day did not pose an issue for Weber and his team, as they won the marathon phase with the fastest times in five of the seven obstacles on Richard Nicoll’s course. They added 107.85 penalty points to their score to remain in the lead heading into the final phase. In the cones phase, Weber and his team had another winning performance. They knocked a single ball at cone five on Nicoll’s course for 3.00 penalty points to win the championship with a score of 148.92.

“I was really pleased with the team; they worked really well together,” Weber said. “The two I had in the wheel (Boris W and Para) I have driven a lot in the marathon in the wheel, but I haven’t really competed much with them in the cones phase; I was really pleased how they handled everything. Unfortunately I had one down that I think Danzer kicked. He is inexperienced so the way the course was set up with the two cars there and having to drive between them; he was a little not sure what the cars were doing there and lost his concentration and dropped out of the contact. Besides that I was really pleased; it all drove really to plan and pretty straightforward.”

James Fairclough (Newton, N.J.), a veteran of the Four-in-Hand division, started his week off with a fluid dressage test with his mixed team of Warmbloods, putting him in fourth place with a score of 45.54. He climbed to second place following the marathon phase after driving efficiently and having the fastest times in two of the obstacles, collecting 116.00 penalty points. Fairclough and his horses had a strong cones performance, keeping all the balls up, but adding 4.94 time penalties to their score. He collected his 18th Reserve National Champion title with a final score of 166.48.

Allison Stroud (West Grove, Pa.) has mastered driving Four-in-Hand horses after switching from a pony team less than two years ago. She and Willow Star LLC’s Dutch Warmblood team performed a harmonious dressage test on Thursday to receive a score of 45.05. In the marathon phase Stroud struggled at obstacle six, but drove confidently overall on the tough track, adding 126.90 penalty points to her score. She had balls down at nine and 11B for 6.00 penalty points to finish in third place on a score of 177.95.

Misdee Wrigley Miller (Lakewood Ranch, Fla.) also began competing in the Four-in-Hand division less than two years ago, and made a change to her team for this competition, adding a horse she’s had for just two weeks. However, she and her Dutch Warmblood geldings laid down solid performances in all three phases. Wrigley Miller earned a score of 45.44 in the dressage test after executing a lovely test. On marathon day she and her horses easily answered the questions of the course, tallying 135.78 penalty points. Wrigley Miller had balls down following the tricky turns into cones nine and 15 for 6.00 penalty points in the final phase. She finished in fourth place with a final score of 187.22.

Find out more about the Kentucky Classic CDE.

By Kathleen Landwehr