Tag Archives: Fidelity Blenheim Palace Int’l Horse Trials

Eventing/H.T., USEF

USEF Land Rover Grant Recipients Earn Top 20 Finish at Fidelity Blenheim Int’l HTs

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Phillip Dutton and Fernhill Cubalawn on the cross country (Libby Law Photography)

Woodstock, England – The Fidelity Blenheim International Horse Trials CCI3* came to a conclusion on Sunday with the influential final show jumping phase. Leading the American effort were USEF Land Rover Competition Grant Recipients Phillip Dutton and Fernhill Cubalawn, who earned a top 20 placing in their first CCI3* together.

Dutton (West Grove, Pa.) and Tom Tierney and Simon Roosevelt’s 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding entered the final phase in ninth place but lowered the final three poles on course, resulting in 12 faults. The pair finished in 17th place on a score of 62.2.

“It’s only our fourth event together, and it was a really good weekend to get to know each better. He just got a little low there through the final three fences, so we’ll work on combinations back home,” stated Dutton after the show jumping.

Additionally, the Olympic and World Championship veteran finished in 36th place on a score of 96.6 with Tom Tierney and Ann Jones’ nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, Fernhill Fugitive, after collecting eight faults in the final phase. Katherine Coleman (New Orleans, La.) and her own 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare, Courage Under Fire, finished with 22 faults in the show jumping to close out the weekend on a score of 112.2 in 41st place.

Great Britain earned the top three spots as Francis Whittington and Easy Target collected the winner’s spoils on an overall total of 38.3, with William Fox-Pitt and Freddie Mac claiming second place on a score of 42.0, and Jodie Amos rode Wise Crack to third-place honors with a score of 46.8.

By Helen Murray

Learn more about the Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials here.

Follow the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team here.

Competitions, Eventing/H.T.

Dutton Climbs the Leaderboard Cross Country Day at Fidelity Blenheim Int’l Horse Trials

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Phillip Dutton and Fernhill Cubalawn (Libby Law Photography)

Woodstock, England – Phillip Dutton and Fernhill Cubalawn made a sizable jump up the leaderboard following a proficient trip across the country on Saturday at the Fidelity Blenheim International Horse Trials. On a day where Eric Winter’s difficult CCI3* track caused a shuffle of the standings, the USEF Land Rover Competition Grant Recipients jumped clear picking up 3.2 time faults to stand in ninth place heading into the show jumping on a score of 50.2.

Dutton (West Grove, Pa.) only began riding Tom Tierney and Simon Roosevelt’s 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding this summer and was extremely impressed with his performance on Saturday. Before moving into the Olympic and World Championship veteran’s barn, Fernhill Cubalawn was campaigned at the three-star level by Alexandra Green.

“He’s a new ride for me, and I’m still getting to know him, so for him to come out at this level and do it relatively easily, I was really happy,” said Dutton. “It’s a challenging course that doesn’t walk super hard, but there’s bits to do all the way around. Cuba handled it like a total pro, and he surprised me a bit at the start box, being totally relaxed and with his ears flopping around. He felt great at the end and was still full of gallop. All credit goes to the horse and how he’s been educated by Alex Green, and I think he’s a good horse for the future.”

With Tom Tierney and Ann Jones’ nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, Fernhill Fugitive, Dutton lays in 38th heading into the show jumping on a score of 88.6 after collecting 20 jumping penalties and 15.6 time faults on Saturday. Just behind them in 39th are Katherine Coleman (New Orleans, La.) and her own 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare, Courage Under Fire, who collected 20 jumping and 7.2 time penalties to now stand on a two day total of 90.2.

American young rider Jacob Fletcher (North Little Rock, Ark.) was eliminated on the cross country after parting company with his own, Frank Fletcher, and Fletcher Farms’ nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, Atlantic Domino.

Great Britain’s 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Team Silver and Individual Bronze medalist William Fox-Pitt leads the field after the cross country with Freddie Mac on a score of 38.0.

By Helen Murray

Learn more about the Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials here.

Follow the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team here.

Competitions, Dressage, Eventing/H.T.

Dutton Leads American Effort at Fidelity Blenheim Palace Int’l HTs following Dressage

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Phillip Dutton and Fernhill Cubalawn (Libby Law Photography)

Woodstock, England – USEF Land Rover Competition Grant Recipients Phillip Dutton and Fernhill Cubalawn lead the way for the U.S. following the first phase of the Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials. The pair, which were the second competitors into the ring on Thursday morning, earned a dressage mark of 47.0 from the Ground Jury of Christina Klingspor, Andrew Bennie, and Ciska Van Meggelen-Peek and head out onto the cross country in equal 20th place.

Dutton (West Grove, Pa.) began riding the 11-year-old Holsteiner, owned by Tom Tierney and Simon Roosevelt, this summer and has quickly begun to form a partnership with the horse. The Olympic and Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games veteran believes that there is a bright future ahead for Fernhill Cubalawn.

“I’m very pleased with him; he’s such a workman. He goes in and is the same in the warm-up as he is in the main arena, which means I can start to trust him a bit more,” commented Dutton after his test.

On Friday, Dutton rode Tom Tierney and Ann Jones’ nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, Fernhill Fugitive, to a score of 53.0 to stand 40th after the dressage.

Dutton is joined in Blenheim’s CCI3* competition by compatriots Jacob Fletcher and Katherine Coleman. Fletcher (North Little Rock, Ark.) and his own, Frank Fletcher, and Fletcher Farms’ nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, Atlantic Domino, stand in 45th place after the dressage with a score of 54.2, while Coleman (New Orleans, La.) lies 70th after scoring 63.0 with her own 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare, Courage Under Fire.

Australia’s Andrew Hoy and Cheeky Calimbo lead the field heading into cross country on a score of 34.0.

By Helen Murray

Learn more about the Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials here.

Follow the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team here.

Eventing/H.T., USEF

Dutton and Fernhill Cubalawn Ready for Fidelity Blenheim Palace International HTs CCI3*

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Woodstock, England – The Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials is set to host elite eventing combinations September 11-14 in a competitive CCI3*, as well as in eight- and nine-year-old CIC3* competition. The U.S. will have four shots at claiming top honors in the CCI3* this week, as a group of promising combinations headlined by USEF Land Rover Competition Grant recipients, Phillip Dutton and Fernhill Cubalawn, look to showcase their talents.

Dutton (West Grove, Pa.) began riding Tom Tierney and Simon Roosevelt’s Fernhill Cubalawn this summer, but the pair has quickly forged a partnership. In their second competition together, they were victorious in the CIC2* at the Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials in July and then went on to finish second in a competitive Advanced division at the Millbrook Horse Trials. Before moving into the Olympic and World Championship veteran’s barn, the 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding was campaigned at the three-star level by Alexandra Green.

Dutton will also ride Tom Tierney and Ann Jones’ nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, Fernhill Fugitive, in Blenheim’s CCI3*.

Rounding out the American entries this weekend are Katherine Coleman and Jacob Fletcher. Coleman (New Orleans, La.) will ride her own 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare, Courage Under Fire, while Fletcher (North Little Rock, Ark.) is set to ride his own, Frank Fletcher, and Fletcher Farms’ nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, Atlantic Domino.

Dutton and Fernhill Cubalawn will be the first U.S. combination in the dressage and heads down centerline on Thursday at 9:07 am BST, with Fletcher and Coleman going back-to-back in the afternoon at 2:00pm BST and 2:07pm BST, respectively. Dutton will then ride Fernhill Fugitive at 11:07 am BST on Friday.

By Helen Murray

Learn more about the Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials here.

Follow the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team here.

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Dressage, Eventing/H.T., Events, Show Jumping, USEF

Land Rover Awards $50,000 in Performance Grants to the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team

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Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister. Photo: www. stockimageservices. com

After a hugely successful early fall campaign for the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team, six riders will receive Land Rover Performance Grants based on their performance at the 2011 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials or the 2011 Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials.

2011 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (CCI4*) – Northampton, UK
Boyd Martin led the American effort with the Neville Bardos Syndicate’s Neville Bardos at the Burghley CCI4*. The pair finished seventh, earning a $10,000 Land Rover Performance Grant in addition to the $15,000 base grant which they received prior to their trip to the UK as part of the Land Rover Competition and Training Grant initiative. Their $10,000 Land Rover Performance Grant was based on their top 10% finish at a CCI4*.

“It was fantastic gesture for Land Rover to reward Neville with the $10,000 bonus thanks to his top finish at Burghley,” said Martin. “A huge international trip like this amounts to thousands of dollars in expenses, and this performance grant will be going directly toward offsetting a lot of the costs for Neville’s trip to England. Land Rover has absolutely made my dream of competing at Burghley a reality with their grants.”

Sinead Halpin rode Manoir de Carneville to a 15th place finish at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials and will receive a $5,000 Land Rover Performance Grant for their top 20% finish at a CCI4*. Halpin’s trip to her first European CCI4* was funded by the USET Foundation’s Jacqueline Mars Grant.

2011 Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials (CCI3*) – Woodstock, UK
Tiana Coudray jumped up to a second place finish with Ringwood Magister at the Blenheim CCI3*, marking a return to form for the California combination. They will receive a $10,000 Land Rover Performance Grant based on their top 10% finish. Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen finished fifth and Will Faudree and Pawlow were eighth, which also marked a top 10% finish for both combinations. They will also receive an additional $10,000. Both Faudree and Montgomery received Land Rover Competition and Training Grants to fund their trip, as did Phillip Dutton, who finished 12th on Mighty Nice. Dutton and Mighty Nice finished in the top 20% at Mighty Nice’s first CCI3*, meaning that they receive a $5,000 Land Rover Performance Grant.

Competitions, Eventing/H.T., Events, FEI, Olympic Games

Japan Secures Olympic Eventing Qualification for London 2012

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Japan secures qualification for Eventing at London 2012 at the Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials (GBR). Photo: Fiona Scott-Maxwell/FEI.

Lausanne (SUI), 12 September 2011 – Japan has secured qualification for the Olympic Eventing next year following the London 2012 Eventing Team Qualifier for Asia-Pacific nations which took place at the Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials (GBR) from 8-11 September.

New Zealand, led by Clarke Johnstone, finished first in the team competition, but they are already qualified for London 2012 after claiming team bronze at last year’s Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky (USA). The battle for the remaining slot was between Japan and Australia.

Japan fielded five riders, but their first, Yoshiaki Oiwa, was eliminated with a Cross Country fall. But Kenki Sato, Takeaki Tsuchiya and Atsushi Negishi all went clear and, at the end of Cross Country day, Japan had a four-penalty lead over Australia.

Australia became vulnerable after Lucinda Fredericks fell on the Cross Country and Bill Levett had a run-out, but the Australian their problems worsened when Brook Staples was eliminated for two refusals in the Jumping phase.

Japan’s best-placed rider, Kenki Sato, who was 16th overall in the CCI*** at Blenheim on Chippieh, said: “It’s a miracle. This is a dream come true for our country, and for my family, to qualify for the Olympics and go to Greenwich. I owe everything to my horse, and to Michael Jung [the German world champion with whom he is based] who trains me.”

Continue reading Japan Secures Olympic Eventing Qualification for London 2012 →

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Eventing/H.T., Events, USEF

Coudray Leads the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team as They Jump Their Way into the Top 10 at Fidelity Blenheim International Horse Trials

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Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister. Photo: Stockimageservices. com

Lexington, KY – With three riders in the top 10, the Land River U.S. Eventing Team had everything to play for in the show jumping on the final day of the 2011 Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials in Woodstock, U.K.

And Tiana Coudray played the game the best for the U.S. throughout the week, adding nothing to her dressage score of 49.4 to finish second on Jaital, Inc.’s, Ringwood Magister, a 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding.

“Today it was pretty much textbook,” said Coudray after the show jumping.

The California native has had a rough spring. After falling at their first CCI4* at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Bridgestone in April, they then struggled at the Luhmühlen CIC3*, but Coudray made the decision to stick it out in England over the summer and regain the form that saw her win the Jersey Fresh CCI3* with her flashy grey in 2010.

She found it at Blenheim.

“I am so, so pleased,” said Coudray. “It’s extra special because things have been so tough for quite a while. I was a pretty good way to finish off the season.”

Continue reading Coudray Leads the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team as They Jump Their Way into the Top 10 at Fidelity Blenheim International Horse Trials →

Competitions, Eventing/H.T., Events, USEF

Coudray Leads the Way for the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team at the Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials

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Lexington, KY – The Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team served notice today at the Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials that their next generation of horses and riders are going to be very competitive on the world stage. Four of the six American starters completed the cross-country in the top 14. Piggy French occupies the top two spots on Lemington Lett Dance and DHI Topper W for Great Britain adding nothing to her dressage mark on either horse to take over the lead from dressage winner Bettina Hoy who finished with 7.6 time penalties.

Led by Tiana Coudray (Ojai, CA) who has returned to the form that saw her win the 2010 Jersey Fresh CCI3* last spring, she rode a determined and calculated round on Ringwood Magister to gallop into fourth place, adding nothing to her dressage score of 49.4.

The flashy 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse has had an inconsistent 2011, and Coudray has been in the U.K. since June – determined to get back on track after an unsuccessful Luhmuhlen CIC3*. She succeeded at Blenheim and delivered on the expectation that she has always had for her striking grey gelding.

“The track rode as expected,” said Coudray. “I executed my plan. It was perfectly suited for what we needed to do. My horse was amazing.”

Veteran stalwart Phillip Dutton (West Grove, PA) is having a changing of the guard within his stable, as some of his seasoned campaigners have been retired. Today, Mighty Nice proved to him and owner Bruce Duchossois how classy he is and at only 7 years old, gives them a lot to look forward to. The recipient of a Land Rover Competition and Training Grant, Dutton was pleased with his round.

Continue reading Coudray Leads the Way for the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team at the Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials →

Competitions, Dressage, Eventing/H.T., Events, USEF

Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team Dressage Success Continues at Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials

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Lexington, KY – Good fortune in the dressage ring continued for the 2011 Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team at the 2011 Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials. The final two U.S. riders drew Friday times and both of them produced very competitive efforts.

Clark Montgomery led the day for the USA with a score of 45.4. He rode Holly Becker, Kathleen Kraft and Carole Montgomery’s Loughan Glen to a score of 45.4. The CCI3* winners at the Bromont International Horse Trials in June, Loughan Glen and Montgomery received a Land Rover Competition and Training Grant to test their form in the U.K.

Montgomery and the 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse had two mistakes, keeping them from an even better score, and there was more than a 20-point differential in the judges’ marks. They sit in seventh place heading into the cross-country.

“I was very happy with Glen today,” said Montgomery. “Overall, I felt the quality of work has improved from Bromont. Unfortunately, I made a mistake in the extended trot and then forgot my halt so I am a couple of points higher than I should be. I am really looking forward to the cross-country tomorrow. The course is beautiful and the ground is perfect.”

They are less than a point and one place ahead of teammate Jules Stiller who rode a stellar test on Thursday on Headley Stud Eventing’s Enjoy Me. They head to the cross-country on a score of 46.2, just a few marks ahead of California Rider Tiana Coudray and Jaital, Inc.’s Ringwood Magister on a 49.4.

Continue reading Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team Dressage Success Continues at Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials →

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Dressage, Eventing/H.T., Events, USEF

Jules Stiller Leads the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team after Day 1 at Fidelity Blenheim International Horse Trials

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Jules Stiller and Enjoy Me. Photo: www. stockimageservices. com

Lexington, KY – Competition at the Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials got underway with 49 of the 97 competitors in the CCI3* cantering down centerline in the dressage ring. The American contingent of Will Faudree (a Land Rover Training and Competition Grant Recipient), Jules Stiller, Tiana Coudray and Aimee Chambers had a strong showing on the first day, occupying four of the top 14 placings. Great Britain’s Piggy French, fresh off a Team Bronze medal at the HSBC FEI European Eventing Championships, heads the field with Lemington Lett Dance on a score of 42.7.

U.K.-based Vermonter Jules Stiller will be looking for an improved result at the CCI3* level after a fall on the cross-country at the 2011 Bramham CCI3* last spring with Enjoy Me. They had a stellar effort on the first day and lie third on a score of 46.2 halfway through the division.  This combination was most recently placing 11th at the CIC3* at Hartpury.

“He was fantastic,” said Stiller about the 10-year-old Westphalian gelding.  “He does a good test anyway but today he did the best test he’s ever done. When I came out of the ring, Mark Phillips told me he thought I did a 38 and I was really excited, so I was a little disappointed when I heard the score but he stayed right in there which is fantastic.”

Sarah Cohen lies second on Irish Jester on a 44.0. Stiller is looking forward to making amends for the mistake she and Enjoy Me made at the horse’s CCI3* debut.

“So far the course looks really good,” said Stiller. “We had a bad fall this spring so I will be looking for a clear round and then go as fast as I can. But my goal is to give him a good ride.”

Continue reading Jules Stiller Leads the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team after Day 1 at Fidelity Blenheim International Horse Trials →