Thursday, April 14, 2011

Dressage: USEF: USEF Hosts Dressage Observation Session in California


From the USEF Dressage Department 
Lexington, KY - Dressage riders on the West coast had their opportunity to work with USEF Technical Advisor, Anne Gribbons in the first USEF Observation Session held in California in 2011 on April 5 and 6. Steffen and Shannon Peters kindly hosted the session at their Arroyo Del Mar training facility in San Diego, CA. Over two days, Gribbons worked with each combination individually, fine tuning movements with the veteran pairs and introducing new training techniques to the up-and-coming riders.

The following combinations were invited to participate: Steffen Peters with Ravel and Weltino's Magic, Shannon Peters with Flor de Selva and Odyssey, Kim McGrath on Winslow,  Cyndi Jackson on Strauss, David Blake with Catapult, Mette Rosencrantz with both Finally and Taison, Kathleen Raine on Breanna, Alisa Wilson riding Weltclassiker and Guenter Seidel with both U II and Sundayboy.
USEF Technical Advisor Anne Gribbons with Cyndi Jackson and Strauss
Photo USEF Archives
Cyndi Jackson traveled from her home base in Glendale, AZ with Nikki Sochi-Flach's Strauss, currently campaigning at the Prix St. Georges level.

"I thoroughly enjoyed my sessions with Anne, having both a trainer's perspective combined with the eye of an international judge was extremely helpful," said Jackson. "She gave us some good exercises for getting more air time in my one tempis and in helping me get Strauss' piaffe more on the spot."

The Observation Session followed a weekend of competition at the Festival of the Horse CDI-W where Gribbons was on hand to observe all combinations work through their tests. Shannon Peters and Odyssey had a stellar weekend, taking third in the Grand Prix and winning the Grand Prix Special. The pair then worked with Gribbons on both days of the session.

"It was super helpful to have Anne here both for the show, and the days after, to really go over the tests and improve upon things we needed to make better," said Peters.

Eventing: Rolex Kentucky: NBC Sports and USEFNetwork.com to Feature Live Coverage from the 2011 Rolex Equestrian Championships Presented by Land Rover

Lexington, KY - For the first time in the history of the Rolex Kentucky CCI4*, NBC Sports and USEFNetwork.com will team up to provide LIVE coverage of the 2011 Rolex Equestrian Championships presented by Land Rover, April 28 - May 1.

With the support of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and Equestrian Events, Inc., organizer of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Bridgestone, NBC Sports will broadcast the final show jumping rounds LIVE, alongside taped highlights of the dressage and cross-country phases on Sunday, May 1, from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. EDT. Leading up to the live finale, USEFNetwork.com will offer live, wall-to-wall coverage of the dressage and cross-country phases as well as the early show jumping rounds.



Broadcast Schedule:

April 28:     LIVE Dressage on USEFNetwork.com
April 29:     LIVE Dressage on USEFNetwork.com
April 30:     LIVE Cross-Country on USEFNetwork.com
May 1:        LIVE Show Jumping on USEFNetwork.com (off air from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. EDT)
                    LIVE Show Jumping and highlights on NBC Sports, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. EDT

The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Bridgestone, is part of the HSBC FEI ClassicsTM. It features the world's best horses and riders vying for their share of $250,000 in prize money as well as a shot at the $350,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing, which is awarded to any rider who wins the Rolex Kentucky, Mitsubishi Motors Badminton and Land Rover Burghley Four Star Events consecutively. (The term "consecutively" shall not be limited to wins which occur within the same competition year or same calendar year.) The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event will crown the 14th USEF National CCI4* Champion. The only Four Star event in the Western Hemisphere, Rolex Kentucky draws 50-100,000 spectators and is seen by millions more on worldwide telecasts.
Past winners of Rolex Kentucky include Olympic Medalists David and Karen O'Connor, Kim Severson and Phillip Dutton, New Zealand's Blyth Tait and Nick Larkin, Pippa Funnell and William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain and Andrew Hoy, Clayton Fredericks and Lucinda Fredericks of Australia.

Further information on the 2011 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Bridgestone, is available at the Rolex Kentucky website: www.rk3de.org.