Eventing: Chatsworth: The World’s leading riders to compete at Chatsworth

Over 500 entries have been received from 11 countries for the annual Chatsworth International Horse Trials which are to be held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 13th – 15th May.  Amongst the entries received are team gold and individual silver medallist William Fox-Pitt, Zara Phillips, Ruth Edge, Pippa Funnell, Lucy Wiegersma,  Paul Tapner, Oliver Townend, Polly Stockton, Jeanette Brakewell, Lucinda and Clayton Fredericks  and Andrew and Bettina Hoy –  to mention a few!

Chatsworth, home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, is one of the country’s most spectacular settings for a horse trial with the cross country course, designed by former Olympic silver and European gold medalist Ian Stark, running through the beautiful parkland on the banks of the river Derwent which provides great spectator viewing.

Chatsworth is now firmly established as one of the leading events in the calendar with the prestigious FEI World CupTM Eventing on Sunday being the focal point.  The finale of the FEI World Cup TM Eventing will be the Show Jumping phase in the main arena on Sunday afternoon, run in reverse order of merit.

This year the Event has chosen to support the Derwent Rural Counselling Service (DRCS) which is an independent charity and confidential counselling service based in Bakewell.

Over ten fully qualified, experienced and professionally supervised counsellors provide help for anyone experiencing personal problems such as bereavement, depression, stress and anxiety, marital, relationship and family problems.

Provisional Timetable:
Friday, 13th     8 am Gates open

9am Burghley Dubarry Young Event Horse 5 year old qualifier  2 p.m. Brocklehursts Inter-hunt Relay and a  display of Dressage to Music by Claire Llewelyn and Olympic Gold medalist Shear H20.

Saturday,  14th    8 am Gates open  8.30 am Dressage; 8.30 am Show Jumping; 9.30 am Cross Country and the special attractions
Sunday, 15th   8 am Gates open; 9.00 am Dressage; 8.30 am Show Jumping;  9.30 am Cross Country.

In addition to the three days of great equestrian sport the event hosts a huge range of special attractions that will appeal to all the family.  Be captivated by the magical performances each day by the world renowned horse whisperer Jean Francois Pignon with his famous grey horses from Calvission or enjoy the favourites including the Pony Club mounted games; Sue Carson Dressage display; Katy Cropper Sheep Dogs, Birds of prey displays; Pilsley School Maypole dancing, The Bakewell Silver Band and the Burbage Band and especially for the children Punch and Judy, face painting and a climbing wall.

Also a huge selection of quality trade stands - including country clothing, Rural crafts, fashion and equestrian products. The Farmyard and equine area has a variety of animals including a pony and a donkey.  Full catering, fast food outlets and bar facilities will be available throughout the event.

During the two weeks prior to the Horse Trials shops and businesses in Bakewell and Baslow have been invited to take part in a Shop Window Display competition  to celebrate the Horse Trials and as a way of ensuring the local community know what is going on at Chatsworth. The 2010 winner was Stewarts of Bakewell and Mr & Mrs Stewart were presented with a Hamper from the Chatsworth Farm Shop and tickets to the Event.  The competition will again be  judged by the Duchess of Devonshire.

WEG Central® - For the latest news in equestrian sport!

Eventing: Rolex Kentucky: King Crowned Champion of 2011 Rolex Kentucky CCI4* presented by Bridgestone; Halpin Takes USEF National CCI4* Championship on First Try - By Joanie Morris

Mary King and Kings Temptress.
Photo by Shannon Brinkman/USEF.

Lexington, KY - Mary King was not going to be stopped in her quest to take a Rolex watch back to Great Britain. Lying first and second after the cross-country at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Bridgestone -  with Kings Temptress and Fernhill Urco - she did not flinch in the final show jumping phase and jumped an immaculate double-clear round on both horses.

For the first time in history, the champion and reserve champion of America's only CCI4* was the same rider. King was confident and excited coming into the show jumping, and she rode with a professionalism that was inspiring.

Kings Temptress added nothing to her fourth-placed dressage score of 47.7, they jumped immaculately around Saturday's cross-country course and then sealed the win over today's jumping track. King took home top honors with her 11-year-old homebred mare, who is now owned by Derek Rostron Baden. Her closest competition was her stablemate, Fernhill Urco, who emerged from his first CCI4* with second-place honors after only adding eight time faults to his dressage score. The Portuguese-bred grey gelding owned by Sue and Edwin Davies and Janette Chinn, jumped an immaculate clear round and really proved himself at the level. His clear round, jumped out of order due to the proximity of the placings, gave King great confidence to know that whatever happened with the second horse, the top honors were going home with the British veteran.

Sinead Halpin of Gladstone, NJ, brought Manoir de Carneville to their first CCI4* and rose to the occasion to sit amongst two of the greatest in the game at the press conference. Owned by Carrig, LLC, the 10-year-old Selle Francais jumped for fun in the Rolex Stadium around Richard Jeffery's show jumping course and gave Halpin the 2011 USEF National CCI4* Eventing Championship on her very first try. Their score of 53.1 (they picked up 4.4 time faults on the cross-country) was good enough to move her up from fourth after cross-country to third place behind King's pair and just ahead of William Fox-Pitt, the 2010 winner for Great Britain. 

"I'm beside myself," said Halpin. "He's so proud of himself. It's really nice having a horse like that. He was a little tired walking up to the ring, and then he heard the crowd from the horses before him and he woke up, he doesn't get nervous he gets really excited."

Sinead Halpin and Manoir De Carneville.
Photo by Shannon Brinkman/USEF

Halpin is enjoying the moment with her beloved horse, affectionately known as 'Tate'. With her name added to a list of national champions that reads like the U.S. Eventing Hall of Fame, Halpin has bright plans for the future. She contested the Boekelo CCI3* last fall in Holland as part of a USEF Developing Rider program and that experience has resonated with her.

"Burghley is certainly something I've thought about," said Halpin. "I tried to keep my focus here. But that would be very exciting to do. Going to Boekelo last fall was huge. I would be thrilled to go to Burghley...but after Tate goes out in the field for at least a month with no shoes." 

Halpin jumped up one place in the standings when Clayton Fredericks, riding for Australia, had one rail down on Be My Guest to drop to fourth. The 2007 winner had a foot-perfect round on the cross-country course on Saturday.

Halpin spent a stint working for Fox-Pitt after getting her initial foundation with David and Karen O'Connor. She conveyed her initial frustration that Fox-Pitt wouldn't teach her, until she realized that she needed to learn by watching him, not by having him talk her through each step. 

"I told her that I'm not going to stand on the ground and tell you what to do," said Fox-Pitt. "You have to figure it out. Eventing is a mental game. She came with all the talent in the world. But she was over-keen to be too good...she relaxed over time and has a fantastic horse. I felt very proud watching her jump today."

Fox-Pitt was also proud of his own horse. Neuf des Coeurs, a 10-year-old Selle Francais, romped through the test of his first CCI4* and jumped his way to fourth place on his score of 57. 

"He's an awfully nice horse," said Fox-Pitt. "I found him for his owners, they've been with me for a long time."

Neuf des Coeurs is owned by David and Margie Hall and Judy and Jeremy Skinner, who have been involved in the careers of a number of other of Fox-Pitt's horses.

The USEF Reserve National CCI4* Champion was Hannah Sue Burnett on Richard Thompson's St. Barths.

WEG Central® - For the latest news in equestrian sport!

Eventing: Badminton: BRITISH TRIO HAVE THE EDGE AFTER DRESSAGE AT BADMINTON By Kate Green

Ruth Edge (GBR) on Two Thyme takes the lead on Day 2 of Dressage at Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials 2011 – first leg of the HSBC FEI Classics™ 2011 © Kit Houghton/FEI

FEI PRESS RELEASE
Lausanne (SUI), 23 April 2011

Follow the action with daily radio interviews, reports from the FEI and live TV coverage on FEI TV (Cross-Country and Jumping - 24 & 25 April).


A trio of British girls head the leaderboard after the Dressage phase at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials (GBR), the first leg of the HSBC FEI Classics™ 2011.

Ruth Edge (GBR), in pole position with the excellent score of 33.3 penalties on the 17-year-old Two Thyme, winner at Luhmühlen in 2007, is no stranger to the limelight in this phase – indeed, she regularly wins national titles in this discipline.

“There’s always a lot of pressure on me here and I’m anxious not to let anyone down because it’s a lot of work to get this horse here,’ she said. “But he was awesome today and belied his age. As he’s older, I hadn’t done much work with him this week and, as a result, he felt physically fresh.”

Piggy French (GBR), second, had the distinction of scoring the only 10 of the competition, awarded by Ground Jury President Anne-Mette Binder (DEN) for her halt on Jakata, and it was greeted by a deafening roar of approval from the packed stands.

“I can’t stop crying,” exclaimed French, who said she was shaking with excitement. “I’m so proud of the horse and I couldn’t believe how much the crowd was behind me. I knew Jakata was capable of that sort of mark, but I was only realistically expecting something around 41.”

The 21-year-old Laura Collett (GBR), who so impressed on day one, is still in third place, and there are five Britons in the top 10, but the home crowd had perhaps their biggest thrill as the final rider of the day, 55-year-old Mark Todd (NZL), a triple Badminton winner, swept into close contention with a brilliant performance on NZB Land Vision.

Todd, who acquired the grey gelding by Broadstone Landmark from Oliver Townend (GBR) last year, anticipates that the 10-year-old should cope with tomorrow’s Cross-Country test, although it is his first attempt at this level.

“He got a bit uptight in his test, so I couldn’t go for it as much as I would have liked, but it’s his first time in a big atmosphere and he’s still relatively inexperienced,” commented the New Zealander.

There was disappointment at the withdrawal of two key British riders, Kristina Cook, whose European Champion Miners Frolic has a swelling on the wither, and Pippa Funnell, who reported Redesigned to be not 100% sound, but a thrilling contest is assured with six nations represented in the top 10 and just 1.5 of a penalty covering the riders placed 12-20th.

Much interest surrounds the trio of Canadian riders who took the world by storm when winning team silver at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ last year and who have been brought by their team trainer David O’Connor to contest Badminton for the first time.

Selena O’Hanlon (CAN), 30, is lying equal 10th on the Swedish-bred Colombo, a horse sent to her for rehabilitation. “It feels surreal to be here,” she said.  “Colombo is 17, but he was the fastest across country at the World Games and was as sound as anything afterwards, which is a sure sign that we can keep going forward. The footing here is incredible, and once I get past fences 7-8, which are super upright and make my stomach turn, I shall be attacking.”

Results
1 Ruth Edge/Two Thyme (GBR) 33.3
2 Piggy French/Jakata (GBR) 36.0
3 Laura Collett/Rayef (GBR) 36.5
4 Mark Todd/NZB Land Vision (NZL) 36.8
5 Emily Baldwin/Drivetime (GBR) 39.7
6 Marina Köhncke/Calma Schelly (GER) 39.8
7 Oliver Townend/Ashdale Cruise Master (GBR) 40.5
8 Aoife Clark/master Crusoe (IRL) 42.2
9 Susanna Bordone/Carrera (ITA) 43.0
10 = Ingrid Klimke/Butts Abraxxas (GER) 43.3
10= Selena O’Hanlon/Colombo (CAN) 43.3

WEG Central® - For the latest news in equestrian sport!

Eventing: USEF: David O'Connor Recommended by Eventing Eligible Athlete Committee and Eventing High Performance Committee to be the Next US Eventing Chef d'Equipe/Techincal Advisor

From the USEF Communications Department
Lexington, KY - The Eventing Eligible Athlete Committee and Eventing High Performance Committee have unanimously recommended David O'Connor to be the Eventing Chef d'Equipe/ Technical Advisor to succeed Capt. Mark Phillips in 2013. The recommendation will go to the USEF High Performance Working Group before being presented to the USEF Executive Committee.

The search for Capt. Phillips replacement began in 2010. Nine applications were received by the Search Committee. The Committee shortlisted two applicants: O'Connor and Leslie Law.  

The USEF hosted an Open Rider Forum at the Red Hills Horse Trials on March 13 where both O'Connor and Law made presentations and answered questions from the floor. The Search Committee then confirmed their recommendation of both O'Connor and Law to the Eventing Eligible Athlete Committee and the Eventing High Performance Committee.  

After the forum at Red Hills, the Eventing Eligible Athlete Committee met three additional times to review all eligible applicants and decided to conduct another round of interviews. They met with the two shortlisted candidates (O'Connor and Law) again at the Fork Horse Trials on April 7 and held a telephone interview with British-based Australian Andrew Hoy.

The depth of quality of the applicant field was impressive - it included some of the biggest legends in the sport and after extensive research, thorough discussions and candid interviews the Eventing Eligible Athlete Committee unanimously voted to recommend O'Connor. On April 15, the Eventing High Performance Committee voted to unanimously to endorse this recommendation. The High Performance Working Group and the Executive Committee will meet to review this recommendation.

O'Connor has extensive knowledge of the sport in the U.S. and across the globe. He was the Individual Eventing Gold Medalist at the Sydney Olympic Games and he coached the Canadian Eventing Team to Team Silver at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. O'Connor has proven leadership skills having served as the President of the USEF and the Chairman of FEI Group IV since his retirement from International competition in 2004. On the field of play he is renowned for producing top results from both horses and riders.

Identifying a Chef D'Equipe/Technical Advisor now will allow for a smooth transition for the riders and the eventing program when Mark Phillips retires in 2012.  Phillips has successfully led the program since 1994, having won medals at four Pan American Games, four World Equestrian Games and four Olympic Games.

WEG Central® - For the latest news in equestrian sport!

Eventin: BLENHEIM TO HOST LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC EVENTING TEAM QUALIFIER

Clayton Fredericks (AUS) riding Walterstown Don at Fidelity Blenheim Palace Horse Trials 2010 © John Britter Photography

FEI PRESS RELEASE
Lausanne (SUI), 7 April 2011

The FEI has announced that the Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials (8-11 September 2011) will be hosting the London 2012 team Eventing qualifier for Africa, Middle East, South East Asia and Oceania (FEI Olympic Groups F and G).

Blenheim, which began in 1990, is firmly established in the Eventing calendar attracting international champions and over 60,000 spectators every year.

The venue is also synonymous with Olympic qualification. In 2003, Blenheim hosted the Asia-Pacific Championships as a qualifier for the 2004 Athens Olympics and a second Olympic qualifier in 2007 for the 2008 Beijing Games.

With Canada, New Zealand, USA, Germany and Belgium teams already through to London 2012 with host nation Great Britain following the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2010 in Kentucky, the likes of Australia, Japan and South Africa will be going all out at Blenheim to clinch Olympic qualification.

The team competition will run as part of the CCI 3* class, with just one nation from Groups F and G earning a qualifying spot for London 2012.

“We expect the venue to be packed to the rafters with fans eager to see Olympic hopefuls perform so close to London 2012,” explained Mandy Hervieu, Event Director for the Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials.

“The Olympic qualifier will run within our existing CCI 3* class, taking in the cross country course designed by Eric Winter and built by David Evans’ team who were responsible for the Beijing Olympic course in 2008.”

“We are thrilled that Blenheim, with its historic links to the Olympics and strong roots in Eventing, will be hosting this London 2012 qualifier,” said Catrin Norinder, Director - Eventing & Olympic at the FEI.

“As well as the usual international Eventing stars that religiously compete at Blenheim, spectators will be treated to some of the best riders from Oceania, South East Asia, Africa  and the Middle East, who will be battling it out to qualify for the Olympic Games.”

“Our riders will be giving it their all at Blenheim to qualify for London 2012,” said Grant Baldock, Chief Executive Officer of Equestrian Australia. “It was the first time our Eventing team did not go through at the World Equestrian Games. With our Eventing High Performance Programme and recently appointed Eventing National Performance Director Prue Barrett our main focus is the Olympic qualifier. We aren’t thinking about the Olympics at this stage - we are focused on the qualifier.”

London 2012 Qualification
The FEI will progressively publish all relevant information on London 2012 qualifications here.

London 2012 - Equestrian timetable
London 2012 will mark the 100th anniversary of equestrian sport in the Olympic movement.

The Olympic Opening Ceremony on 27 July will be followed by 12 days of equestrian competition, with the world’s best athletes competing for six gold medals in the Olympic disciplines of Eventing, Dressage and Jumping.

Eventing opens the Olympic equestrian events on 28 July with two days of Dressage, followed by Cross-Country on 30 July and two rounds of Jumping on 31 July to decide the Team and Individual medals.

The following nations have already earned their place for the London 2012 Olympic equestrian events, having qualified at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Kentucky last year. Joining host nation Great Britain are:

Eventing - Canada, New Zealand, USA, Germany, Belgium
Dressage - The Netherlands, Germany, USA
Jumping - Germany, France, Belgium, Brazil, Canada and Australia

Fidelity Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials
Further information on the event can be found and advance bookings made here.

WEG Central® - For the latest news in equestrian sport!

USEF News: This Week in International Disciplines From the USEF Communications Department

April 5, 2011 

Dressage

This week, at the final CDI-W in the United States, Jan Ebeling secured his trip to the 2011 Reem Acra World Cup Final with Rafalca. The pair won the Grand Prix at the Festival of the Horse CDI-W in Burbank, CA on a score of 69.298%. Guenter Seidel and U II were second with 65.830% and Shannon Peters rounded out the top three with Odyssey on a score of 65.766%. Ebeling kept the winning going, scoring again in the Grand Prix Freestyle. He was the only rider to receive marks above 70 from all five judges, making his final score 73.025% with Rafalca. Kathleen Raine was second on Breanna and Alisa Wilson and Weltclassiker was third. In the Grand Prix Special, Shannon Peters found her way to the top of the leaderboard. She rode Odyssey to a score of 64.208%, beating Seidel and U II and Barbi Breen-Gurley on Octango.

On the small tour - Steffen Peters continued to produce an exciting new star in Weltino's Magic. The pair swept the division winning the Prix St Georges, the Intermediaire I and the Freestyle. The Prix St Georges marked their narrowest margin of victory, as Guenter Seidel kept Peters working for his prizes. Weltino's Magic scored 75.395% to win, and Seidel and Sundayboy scored 73.596%. Ebeling was third, this time with Sandrina.  In the Intermediaire I, Peters and Weltino's Magic scored even better, this time a 77.237% over Seidel and Sundayboy who finished on 75.000%, Peters was also third on Pallas. Weltino's Magic then dominated the Freestyle, scoring 79.417%. Ebeling and Sandrina were second. Jessica Wisdom was third with North Forks Cardi.

All the results are available here: http://www.cornerstonedressage.com/results/2011_5.pdf

Driving

In Portugal, at the CAIP-B 4 Lezirias-Samora Correia, American Four-in-Hand Pony Driver Laurie Astegiano drove to second place in her division. Astegiano, who lives in Roussac, France, was second following the dressage phase and won the Marathon. She finished twelve points behind Belgian Mia Allo but Astegiano and her team were well clear of third place finisher Gilles Moussu of France. Astegiano is vying for a spot on the U.S. Team at the Pony World Driving Championships. 

Results are available here: http://www.hoefnet.nl/uitslagen/2011/POR/COMPANHIA%20DAS%20LEZIRIAS/overall.pdf


Eventing

The second American CIC3* of 2011 kicked off on the West Coast last weekend, and Allie Slusher rode Last Call to top honors at the Galway Downs Event. Slusher won the dressage on a 43 and added just one rail in the show jumping to win on a 47, narrowly beating out her coach, Canadian Olympic Hawley Bennett-Awad, on Gin & Juice.  James Alliston (GBR) and his Rolex Kentucky-bound Jumbo's Jake were third on a score of 53.6.


Allie Slusher and Last Call
Josh Walker/USEA Photo
In the CIC2* Bennett-Awad took top honors on
5 O'Clock Somewhere, adding just one rail to her winning dressage score of 43.4. Anna Collier and Upper Crust D were second on 48.8, Lauren Billys and Ballingowan Ginger rounded out the top three.

The CIC1* was close throughout the weekend, and when the dust settled, Karen O'Neal was on top of the leaderboard with Rafflasia Z. Two jumping time faults were the only penalties they added to their dressage score of 47. Jolie Wentworth was second on Bratton Little John with 52.3 and Gina Miles and Sunsprite Patronus were third - they won the dressage but had two show jumps down. 

Results are available here: http://eventingscores.com/eventsr/galway/ht0411/
 

WEG Central® - For the latest news in equestrian sport!

Eventing: Britain: The Sponsored Series season opens in Lincolnshire whilst WEG Gold Medal winners shine all over the country.

Lincolnshire’s Oasby Horse Trials hosted the first of two of the eagerly anticipated youth Eventing series this year. The KBIS British Equestrian sponsored class, aimed at under 18 year olds (BE100 U-18) and the Charles Owen Pony Trials, which are part of the selection programme for riders aged 12-15 on ponies between 142 and 148cms in height.

Eventing: Badminton Entries Announced -

 

The 2011 Mitsubishi Badminton Horse Trials Entry List has been released.  To view the complete list, visit the Mitsubishi Badminton Horse Trials site or eventingday.com

WEG Central® - For the latest news in equestrian sport!

Eventing: HSBC AGREES FURTHER THREE-YEAR TERM FOR FEI CLASSICS

FEI PRESS RELEASE
Lausanne (SUI), 18 February 2011

HSBC has agreed a further three-year term as global sponsor of FEI Eventing to include title sponsorships of the HSBC FEI Classics™ until the end of 2013 and the HSBC FEI European Eventing Championships™ in both 2011 and 2013.

International Reining and World Championship Freestyle to Be Held During 2011 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event,

Presented by Bridgestone

Lexington, Kentucky, USA – February 9, 2011– Equestrian Events, Inc. (EEI), producer of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, Presented by Bridgestone, and the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) have announced that the Kentucky Reining Cup, which includes international Reining and the first-ever World Championship Freestyle, will be held in addition to this year’s event at the Kentucky Horse Park, April 28-May 1.

Eventing: British Eventing: The Baileys JAS season kicks off in style at Vale View

Event Report
19th January 2011

The 2011 Baileys JAS season kicked off at Vale View last weekend with the first of 12 qualifying rounds, under the eagle eyes of Kenneth Clawson and Caroline Moore FBHS.

“The standard was unbelievably high,” Caroline said. “It was really refreshing to see. The track jumped well although the brush at the start of the cross country section caught a few out, and in the main competitors rode in good balance on accurate lines – every year the standard gets better.”

Eventing: British Eventing Announces New BE Chairman

New BE Chairman Amanda Ratcliffe (Photo courtesy British Eventing)

Media Release
10th January 2011

We are extremely pleased to announce that the BE Board have elected Amanda Ratcliffe as Chairman of the Board of British Eventing. Amanda previously served as a co-opted Board Director from 2007 to 2008 and was re-elected in November 2010.