Dressage: Central Asian Championship: YURKEVICH AND BUIKEVICH SWEEP DOUBLE-GOLD FOR KAZAKHSTAN by Louise Parkes

FEI CENTRAL ASIAN DRESSAGE CHAMPIONSHIP 2011
Lausanne (SUI), 22 June 2011


The host nation of Kazakhstan clinched gold in both the FEI Intermediate 1 and FEI Freestyle Intermediate 1 classes at the FEI Central Asian Dressage Championships 2011 staged in Almaty over the weekend.  In a pitched battle between two seasoned riders during which good fortune swung in both directions, Sergey Buikevich claimed the Intermediate 1 title with Ispovednik while Natalyja Yurkevich squeezed ahead of Buikevich to take the FEI Freestyle Test with Don Petro.

It was a particularly satisfying result for the versatile and multiple medal-winning Buikevich, who is Vice President and Secretary General of the Equestrian Federation of Kazakhstan, Head Coach of the National Equestrian Team, an FEI Bureau Member and Chairman of FEI Group III as well as an International Jumping Judge.

The event took place in Almaty which is the former capital, and remains the largest city, in Kazakhstan.  Located on the Silk Road - the legendary network of trade routes that stretch across Asia linking East to West - the city continues to be a major centre of commerce and a meeting place for visitors from all around the world.  It has successfully staged a number of important equestrian events in recent years.

PERFECT START

In 2009 these Championships were pitched at CDI 3-Star Big-Tour level, but this time around the standard was lowered and the competitions included a preliminary FEI Prix St Georges in which Buikevich got off to the perfect start last Friday.

Judges Lyudmila Gleb, Peter Engel and Elena Kutserubova put him top of the 19-strong field that included representatives from neighbouring Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. A score of 65.658 left Buikevich almost 0.4% ahead of Yurkevich while fellow-Kazakh, Kseniya Dubovtseva, slotted into third with Darial ahead of Yurkevich again in fourth, this time partnering Atlantis.  First of the visitors into the line-up was Elena Chistyakova with Sekret who, however, was more than 5.5% behind the winning score when claiming fifth place.

JUDGING LINE-UP

The judging line-up was altered for Saturday's Intermediate 1 class, with Alla Subbotina at H, Lyudmila Gleb at C and Peter Engel at B as things got underway.  Competitors were permitted two rides in this competition, and Gleb and Engel put Buikevich and Ispovednik first while Subbotina favoured Yurkevich.  There was a strong entry of 17 horses - nine from Kazakhstan, and four each from both Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Buikevich's total score of 66.140 provided him with the coveted gold, but Yurkevich claimed both of the other two medals when Don Petro's score of 65.833 took silver and the mark of 63.114 for Atlantis was good enough for the bronze.  And the following day she would complete the set.

CLEAR VICTORY

It was a clear victory for Yurkevich and Don Petro in Sunday's Freestyle, when all three of the Ground Jury awarded strong scores to the 43-year-old rider from the Interprayz Sports Club who won the National Young Horse Championship and was ranked second on the Kazakhstan National Rankings list in 2010.  Only the technical mark from Subbotina prevented her from registering top marks across the board as her final tally of 68.000 took gold.  Yurkevich's impressive career record includes second in the Grand Prix Freestyle and Grand Prix Special at the FEI Central Asia Dressage Championships in 2007, a win in the Grand Prix and second in the Freestyle at the CDI 3-Star in 2008, plus victory in the Grand Prix and second in the Grand Prix Special in 2009.

However Buikevich was close behind when taking silver. Buikevich, who represented Kazakhstan at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Aachen in 2006 and who swept to victory with his previous ride, Volan, in both the Grand Prix Special and Freestyle at the Central Asia Championships in 2007 and again in 2009, showed the depth of his experience as he steered Ispovednik to a score of 67.958.  Buikevich also took team and individual gold at these Championships in 2003 and 2005, but this time around there was no team event so the competitors were only battling for individual honours.  Bronze in the Freestyle went to Uzbekistan's Elena Chistyakova and Sekret with a mark of 63.500.

Result:  FEI Central Asia Dressage Championships 2011
FEI Intermediate 1: Gold - Ispovednik (Sergey Buikevich) KAZ 66.140; Silver - Don Petro (Natalyja Yurkevich) KAZ 65.833; Bronze - Atlantis (Natalyja Yurkevich) KAZ 63.114.

FEI Freestyle Intermediate 1: Gold - Don Petro (Natalyja Yurkevich) KAZ 68.000; Silver - Ispovednik (Sergey Buikevich0 KAZ 67.958; Bronze - Sekret (Elena Chistyakova) UZB 63.500.

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Jumping: USEF: Young Riders: Hagen: American Ricky Neal and Transmission Finish European Young Rider Tour With CSIOY Hagen Grand Prix Victory - By Joanie Morris

Hagen, Germany - Ricky Neal saved his best performance of the U.S. Show Jumping Young Rider European Tour for the CSIOY Hagen Grand Prix. And the 19-year-old was rewarded with a major victory on Transmission. He topped a strong field of 48 competitors to take the top spot over Stephanie van den Brink and Wapper from the Netherlands and Germany's Andreas Kreuzer on Kanazia.

The top eight from the first round went forward to the jump-off and Neal flew to victory over the short course with a time of 44.62 on his 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding. He was more than a second faster than van den Brink.

The U.S. Young Rider team tied for third with Germany in the CSIYO Nations Cup. Catherine Pasmore on My Boy 18, Karen Polle on What Ever 11, Reed Kessler on Onisha and Jessica Springsteen on Vornado van den Hoendrik put in a solid effort in Saturday's challenging Nations Cup to finish on 24 faults. Pasmore jumped a clear first round, and then had one rail in the second. Polle picked up 12 faults in each leg. Kessler had four faults in round one and bounced back with a clear round in the second and Springsteen added eight in each leg. The Netherlands won on an impressive score of four and Great Britain finished close behind on eight.

Michele Grubb served as Chef d'Equipe.

The U.S. riders picked up ribbons throughout the week, all the results are available here:
http://www.equi-score.de/index.php?mod=mod_hagena.t.w.2011

Eventing: Luhmühlen: Dibowski is flawless at Luhmühlen in HSBC FEI Classics™

FEI PRESS RELEASE
Lausanne (SUI), 19 June 2011

Andreas Dibowski, a valuable member of Germany’s teams for many years, was at his consistent best in a tense finale at Luhmühlen, presented by E.ON Avacon (GER), and seized victory with a flawless Jumping round on Euroridings Butts Leon to gain his first points in the 2011 HSBC FEI Classics™.

“I have been riding here for 22 years, so the pressure to win was building,” said Dibowski. “Nowadays, it is so close at the top of the sport that you cannot allow mistakes. The Jumping course was well built, but asked enough questions, as it should in the modern sport.

“We haven’t had the best weather this weekend, but we have had the very best conditions, thanks to the new all-weather arenas. It is important that the first rider to go gets the same conditions as the very last.”

Dibowski, who has indicated that he may take his Luhmühlen winning ride to Burghley (GBR) in September, shoots into fourth place in the HSBC FEI Classics™, in which the top five riders at five CCI4*s will share a prize pool of US$330,000. Dibowski is now in behind Mary King (GBR), whose eighth place at Luhmühlen on the gallant Apache Sauce gave her a few extra points, Piggy French (GBR), fourth, and Badminton winner Mark Todd (NZL).

French, the Cross-Country leader, had indicated that Jumping may not be Flying Machine’s best phase, and two rails down dropped them below German riders Sandra Auffarth, who had a dream CCI4* debut to finish second with just one fence down on Opgun Louvo, and Frank Ostholt on Little Paint in third.

“I’m not kicking myself for hitting a fence because it is very easy to make a mistake,” said Auffarth. “My horse does not have any weaknesses and does not fight his rider. He is a great character.”

Clear Jumping rounds were in short supply today – only five in all from the 28 finishers – and the other main beneficiary was Clayton Fredericks (AUS), whose clean round on Dunges Laurent Rose elevated him three places to fifth and also to sixth place on the HSBC FEI Classics™ leaderboard with two events, Burghley and Pau, still to go.

Paul Tapner (AUS), who was lying ninth after Cross-Country, withdrew Stormhill Michael before Jumping.

Sandra Auffarth (left) who secured the HSBC Training Bursary worth US$1,000 at the third leg of the HSBC FEI Classics™ today in Luhmühlen. She was presented with the HSBC Bursary Prize by Ulrich Sprenger (right) - Hamburg Branch Manager. Photo: Peter Nixon/FEI.

HSBC Training Bursary
Sandra Auffarth’s outstanding CCI4* debut on Opgun Louvo, a young horse she has produced herself, gained her the HSBC Training Bursary worth US$1,000. Her achievement opens up the exciting prospect of a possible place in the squad for the forthcoming HSBC FEI European Eventing Championship at Luhmühlen (25-28 August) at which Germany, as host nation, will be entitled to field 12 riders.

“It’s amazing! It has been my dream to ride here and I thought it would never happen,” 24-year-old Auffarth said. “This award is great for young riders. For me it’s especially great because I can now invest in specific training and, who knows, in the future I might even be able to finish in first place! I’ve been lucky to do so well here and now, with the Europeans, I have another goal to work towards.” Auffarth’s family breeds Jumping horses and she also competes in this discipline.

About the winner

Andreas Dibowski, 45, lives locally to Luhmühlen at Egesdorf with his wife and children and is one of Germany’s hardest working and most consistent competitors. After a spate of second placings at CCI4*s, he finally scored a popular victory at Pau (FRA) on FRH Fantasia last year and finished second in the HSBC FEI Classics™, counting a second place at Badminton on Euroridings Butts Leon and third place at Luhmühlen on FRH Fantasia.

Euroridings Butts Leon, a 14-year-old gelding by Heraldik XX, has been his team horse for the last three championships, winning Olympic team gold in Hong Kong (CHI) in 2008. Dibowski was also a member of the winning German team at the FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen (GER) in 2006.

“I am lucky to have to another championship horse,” Dibowski said.  “The HSBC FEI Classics is very important for our sport, and I will talk with my owners in the next couple of days and decide if we will go to Burghley.”

Final results
1 Andreas Dibowski/Euroridings Butts Leon (GER) 40.0 + 0.0 + 0 = 40.0
2 Sandra Auffarth/Opgun Louvo (GER) 39.0 + 0.0 +4 = 43.0
3 Frank Ostholt/Little Paint (GER) 35.3 + 6.8 + 4 = 46.1
4 Piggy French/Flying Machine (GBR) 37.2 + 1.2 + 8 = 46.4
5 Clayton Fredericks/Dunges Laurent Rose (AUS) 47.2 + 0.0 + 0 = 47.2
6 Dirk Schrade/Hop and Skip (GER) 45.2 + 0.0 + 4 = 49.2
7 Oliver Townend/ODT Master Rose (GBR) 48.2 + 0.0 + 4 = 52.2
8 Mary King/Apache Sauce (GBR) 46.0 + 0.0 + 8 = 54.0
9 William Fox-Pitt/Macchiato (GBR) 46.2 + 0.0 + 8 = 54.2
10 Andrew Nicholson/Armada (NZL) 51.5 + 0.0 + 8 = 59.5

Full results on www.luhmuehlen.de

HSBC FEI Classics™ Leaderboard in 2011 (after 3 out of 5 events)
1 Mary King (GBR) 28 points
2 Piggy French (GBR) 20 points
3 Mark Todd (NZL) 15 points
4 Andreas Dibowski (GER) 15 points
5 Sandra Auffarth (GER) 12 points
6 Clayton Fredericks (AUS) 12 points
7 Sinead Halpin (USA) 10 points
8 Frank Ostholt (GER) 10 points
9 William Fox-Pitt (GBR) 10 points
10 Oliver Townend (GBR) 9 points

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Eventing: Luhmühlen: French and her Flying Machine speed to pole position at Luhmühlen in HSBC FEI Classics™

Piggy French (GBR) and the aptly named Flying Machine galloped through the worst of the weather to take over the lead at the third leg of the HSBC FEI Classics™ 2011 at Luhmühlen, presented by E.ON Avacon. (Photo: Peter Nixon/FEI)

FEI PRESS RELEASE
Lausanne (SUI), 18 June 2011

Piggy French (GBR) galloped through pouring rain on her appropriately named 10-year-old Irish gelding Flying Machine to take the lead after Cross-Country at Luhmühlen, presented by E.ON Avacon (GER), the third leg of the HSBC FEI Classics™.

The leaderboard has changed substantially and now the cost of just one Jumping fence covers the top four riders, ensuring a thrilling day’s sport tomorrow. French is highly competent in this phase, but she has no margin for error if she is to score her longed-for first CCI4* victory.

“I have not managed to run the horse as often as you would like to before a four-star, but the shock treatment seems to have worked!”, said French. "I am very excited about how he coped with it all. I am lucky to have many lovely horses to ride and when you have a day like this, it’s a bonus. The rain was unbelievable, and my gloves were heavy with water so I got rid of them, but it was no better without them!"

The home side’s Sandra Auffarth (GER) had the ride of her life to move up a place to second on the nine-year-old Selle Francais Opgun Louvo, the horse she rode into third place in the 2009 Young Horse Championships at Le Lion d’Angers (FRA). The German rider was making her four-star debut and it will be quite a story if she snatches victory tomorrow – and she says her horse is a good jumper.

Her experienced compatriots, Andreas Dibowski, who has never won Luhmühlen, and Frank Ostholt, the Dressage leader, are sitting dangerously close in third and fourth.

Peter Thomsen, seventh after Dressage, had a stop on Horseware’s Parko three fences from home; Susanna Bordone (ITA) on Blue Moss and Michael Jung (GER) on Leopin both retired after refusals, and Jonathan Paget (NZL) was eliminated for a rider fall with Clifton Lush at the influential fence 21 complex in the arena.

There were 19 clear rounds, 10 within the optimum time. These included the British trio of Mary King, William Fox-Pitt and Oliver Townend, who have all been elevated into the top 10 as a result.

Follow the action this weekend with daily FEI reports on www.fei.org, plus full start lists and results from www.luhmuehlen.de and highlights on www.feitv.org.

Results after Cross-Country

1 Piggy French/Flying Machine (GBR) 37.2 + 1.2 = 38.4
2 Sandra Auffarth/Opgun Louvo (GER) 39.0 + 0.0 = 39.0
3 Andreas Dibowski/Butts Leon (GER) 40.0 + 0.0 = 40.0
4 Frank Ostholt/Little Paint (GER) 35.3 + 6.8 = 42.1
5 Dirk Schrade/Hop and Skip (GER) 45.2 + 0.0 = 45.2
6 Mary King/Apache Sauce (GBR) 46.0 + 0.0 = 46
7 William Fox-Pitt/Macchiato (GBR) 46.2 + 0.0 = 46.2
8 Clayton Fredericks/Dunges Laurent Rose (AUS) 47.2 + 0.0 = 47.2
9 Paul Tapner/Stormhill Michael (AUS) 40.5 + 7.6 = 48.1
10 Oliver Townend/ODT Master Rose (GBR) 48.2 + 0.0 = 48.2

HSBC FEI Classics™ Leaderboard in 2011 (after 2 out of 5 events)
1 Mary King (GBR) 25 points
2 Mark Todd (NZL) 15 points
3 Piggy French (GBR) 12 points
4 Sinead Halpin (USA) 10 points
5 Sam Griffiths (AUS) 8 points
6 William Fox-Pitt (GBR) 8 points
7 Niklas Lindback (SWE) 6 points
8 Clayton Fredericks (AUS) 6 points
9 Caroline Powell (NZL) 5 points
10 Oliver Townend (GBR) 5 points

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

June 16, 2011 

Dressage
At the Majestic Farm CDI1* in Batavia, OH, Olivia LaGoy-Weltz and Rifallino took home the win in the FEI Prix St. Georges scoring 68.904%. George Williams and Don Bailey came in a close second with 68.860%. LaGoy-Weltz and Williams had repeat one-two performances in the FEI Intermediaire I with a 69.868% and 68.026% respectively. LaGoy-Weltz and Williams dropped to second and third in the Intermediaire Freestyle with Tina Irwin of Canada winning with a score of 70.833%.

Please visit: http://www.foxvillage.com/FVDShowResults/(hltn5lb5r41d1c55yvbuxv45)/ClassList.aspx?sh=267&st=1 for complete results.

Driving
U.S. Pony driver Laurie Astegiano continued her European success, this time in France. She was fourth after the dressage and marathon phases at the CAIP4* at Saumur, but moved up to third place following her performance in the final Cones phase of the competition. Bram Chardon of the Netherlands and Jan Nijs of Belgium finished in first and second respectively.

Please visit www.saumur.org for complete results.

Endurance
On June 11 in Ashland, Montana, Meg Sleeper and Syrocco Harmony won the CEI1* with a time of 04:38:00. Syrocco Harmony was also rewarded with the best conditioned award. Heather Stevens and Aireagle came in second with a time of 05:44:00, while Suzanne Hayes and The Sam Man took third with at time of 05:49:01. In the CEI1* held the following day, Ellen and Eryn Rapp had a very close one-two finish with times of 05:27:59 and 05:28:02 respectively. Heather Stevens and Dangerous Kra rounded out the top three with a time of 07:49:46. Ellen Rapp's GuessWhozGotIt won the best conditioned award in the CEI1*. Kelsey Kimbler and HV Cimmarons Goliath won the CEIJY1* with a time of 05:28:03. The pair also won the best conditioned award.

Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen.
(Stockimageservices.com Photo).

Eventing
The Bromont CCI drew many U.S. riders to Canada for the weekend and all three CCI divisions were won from wire-to-wire. Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen picked up a big win in the CCI3* finishing on a score of 47. The pair maintained their dressage lead adding just a handful of time faults on their clean cross country round, and went in to the show jumping phase with a rail in hand. They had the fourth fence down, the only fault during their otherwise lovely round, enabling Montgomery to hold on to the win. Great Britain's Leslie Law rode Rehy Lux to a close second while Philip Dutton and William Penn finished third. Canadian Rebecca Howard and Roquefort won the CCI2* but Americans Hannah Sue Burnett and Harbour Pilot and Philip Dutton and Mighty Nice rounded out the top three. In the CCI1* Will Coleman and Zipp added just a few time cross country time penalties and a rail in stadium to their dressage score to win on a 47.80.

Please visit http://www.evententries.com/livescoring/64.html for complete results and www.bromont3dayevent.com for more information.

Jumping
Numerous jumping competitions took place around the globe this past week, but Spruce Meadows in Calgary had the majority of the U.S. entries.

Kent Farrington jump started the American effort in Canada on Uceko, taking top honors in the 1.60m ATA Financial Cup with a lightning fast jump-off round. Karl Cook, Leslie Howard, Kirsten Coe, and Mario Deslauriers finished seventh through 10th, rounding out the top 10 for the U.S. in the ATA Financial Cup. Richard Spooner kicked off the FEI classes with a second-place finish on Lady Like in the 1.50m Enbridge Cup, Leslie Howard and Utah were eighth and Spooner placed again, this time riding Billy Bianca to a ninth-place finish. Deslauriers and Whistler won the 1.45m Direct Energy Cup, Spooner and Quirino 3 were third, Beezie Madden was fourth on Prima, and Sarah Ballou came in 10th on Absie. McLain Ward and Coco 135 took top honors in the 1.45m ATCO Pipelines Cup over Deslauriers and Whistler who settled for second. Farrington came out on top again, but this time with Valhalla in the 1.50m Prairie Mines Cup, where Ward and Antares F also finished in ninth.

The 1.60m Spectra Energy Cup had several U.S. riders in the top 10, Ward and Vocas were second and Lauren Tisbo and Crème Brulé were third. Kyle King rode Capone I to a fourth place finish and Spooner and Apache were fifth. Uwwalon jumped to ninth for Michelle Spadone.

On June 10, Ward and Coco 135 were again victorious, this time in the 1.45m ATCO Midstream Challenge. Kirsten Coe was fourth on Vernon G, Spooner was sixth with Quirino 3, and Taylor Land was 10th on Nepal. Deslauriers and Vicomte D were then third in the 1.50m RBC Capital Markets Cup, Deslauriers was also fifth on Diablo.Spooner and Billy Bianca split the pair in fourth, and Howard and Utah were sixth.

On Saturday, in the 1.60m CN Reliability Grand Prix, Ward rode Antares F to a close victory. The pair was one-tenth of a second faster than Rich Fellers and Flexible. World travellers, Fellers and Flexible were also runners-up the previous week at the Longines Grand Prix in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Deslauriers and Urico finished fifth while Farrington and Uceko came in sixth. The U.S. riders continued their good showing in the 1.50m TransCanada Parcours de Chasse. Spooner took top honors with Billy Bianca, followed by Rich Fellers and McGuinness in second. Spooner was fourth with Lady Like and Madden rode Prima to a fifth-place finish. Deslauriers was sixth on Whistler.

Finishing up a successful week at Spruce Meadows for the U.S. riders, Farrington and Samar took home the win in the 1.50m ATCO Structures & Logistics Double Slalom, where riders compete head-to-head over identical courses in the ring together. In the finale, the 1.60m Nexen Cup Derby, Howard and Lennox Lewis 2 won, with Spooner finishing third and fifth on Apache and Cristallo respectively. Ward was fifth with Coco 135, Kyle King was ninth on Capone I, and Deslauriers rounded out the top 10 with Vicomte D. 

Please visit www.sprucemeadows.com for more information.

The American Young Riders Celebrate.
(Murray Kessler Photo).

In Europe, the U.S. Young Rider Show Jumping Team scored their first Nations Cup victory of their summer tour in Austria, triumphing over the Swiss with a total of five faults at CSIOY Lamprechtshausen. The U.S. and Switzerland were tied after the first round, each country carrying only one time fault forward to the second round. Catherine Pasmore led things off for the U.S. She had one rail in the first round on My Boy, but bounced back to jump clear in the second round. Ricky Neal picked up one time fault in round one, but had 15 faults in the second round - eventually the drop score from that round - on Transmission. Reed Kessler jumped two flawless rounds on Onisha. Jessica Springsteen rode Vornado van den Hoendrik to a four-fault effort in round two (after a first-round clear) to bring the total to five. The Swiss team kept the pressure on, but their last rider picked up 9 faults bringing their total to 10, giving the U.S. team the win.

Building on their win in the Nations Cup, the U.S. Young Rider Show Jumping Tour capped off a successful weekend with a one-two finish in the Young Rider Grand Prix. Reed Kessler took the top spot for the U.S. on Ligist, while Jessica Springsteen was second on Cincinnati La Silla. Catherine Pasmore and Karen Polle rounded out the top 10 in ninth and 10th respectively.

Full results are available here: http://eventcontent.hippoonline.de/582/582zeitplanDEU.htm

Read Catherine Pasmore's blog here: http://www.catherineusa2011.blogspot.com

In France, the CSI5* GCT Cannes was taking place. Laura Kraut and Dona Evita placed seventh in 1.45m Prix French Tours Eads and sixth in the Prix Groupe Martel RPServices. Alexandra Thornton and Blue Curacao were second in the 1.40-1.45m Prix Luxe Immo, however her biggest results came later in the week.  In the 1.40-1.45m Prix Locarama, Thornton took the top two spots with Silvana and Blue Curacao with two clean, fast rounds. Lauren Hough and Arizona Pie 9 placed eighth in 1.45-1.50m Prix Touessrok / Air Mauritius. In the Grand Prix De Cannes Massa Pneus, Hough jumped to a ninth-place finish with Quick Study.

Please visit http://results.scgvisual.com/2011/cannes/index.html for complete results and videos of the rounds. 

In Wiesbaden, Germany, more U.S. riders were competing on the European circuit. Peter Wylde finished first with Lipton De L'Othain in the 1.45m CSI4*and finished second with Unbelievable in the 1.50m CSI4*. Wylde also had strong results with Wetter in the 1.45m CSIYH1*, finishing third. In the 1.15m CSI-Amateure Springprüfung, Christi B. Israel and Olli were second while Theodore Boris and La Ina finished fourth. Israel and Cracky Z were eighth in the 1.40m CSI-Amateure Springprüfung and fifth in the 1.40m CSI-Amateure 2-Phasen-Springprüfung. In 1.15m CSI-Amateure Punkte-Springprüfung, Israel and Olli took home the win while Theodore Boris and La Ina finished third, Israel and Olli had another win in the 1.15m CSI-Amateure 2-Phasen-Springprüfung and Boris and La Ina finished fourth in the 1.25m CSI-Amateure 2-Phasen-Springprüfung.

Please visit http://www.pfingstturnier.org/pfingstturnier/ergebnisse.php?loc=pfingstturnier&uloc=ergebnisse for complete results and more information.

In De Steeg, Netherlands, Christine McCrea picked up a win with Avenir in the Club Arnhem Ambassadeurs Prijs 1.40 m two phase CSI4* at Outdoor Gelderland. McCrea, Cara Raether, and Andrew Ramsey were representing the U.S. at the competition, but McCrea and Avenir had the best results of the week.
Please visit http://results.scgvisual.com/2011/desteeg/results/results.htm for complete results.

In addition, USEFNetwork.com has added videos from the 2011 FEI Nations Cup Series Nations Cup stops in La Baule, Rome and St. Gallen.
Please visit http://www.usefnetwork.com/featured/2011FEINationsCup/ to view the videos.  

Vaulting
Sarah d'Auriol came in fifth at the CVI2* Weisbaden with a final score 8.367. Top honors went to reigning World Champion Joanne Eccles of Great Britain with a final score of 8.970.

Please visit www.pfingstturnier.org for more information.

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Reining: Youth: USEF Names List of Qualified Riders for USEF Youth Reining National Championship

From the USEF Communications Department
Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has announced the list of Youth Reining Riders who have qualified for the USEF Youth Reining National Championships to be held in conjunction with the NRHA Derby in Oklahoma City on July 2, 2011. The USEF will award Youth National Championship titles in three age categories: 13 and under, 14-18 and 19-21 age divisions.  The Youth qualified for the USEF Championships by earning points in Qualifying Classes throughout the country in 2010-2011.

More information regarding this event, including the prize list is available here: http://www.usef.org/_IFrames/breedsdisciplines/discipline/allreining/developingYR.aspx

2011 USEF Youth Reining Championships Qualified Riders:

13 & Under
Stephen Timberlake
Rylee Justus
S. Alexandra Fuller
Olivia Hartman
Nick Taylor
Caroline Gute
Jordan Eddy
 
Age 14-18
Layla Choate
Laura Sumrall
Kayla Hillegass
Jonathan Timberlake
Samantha Hillegass
Meloney Morris
Jonathan Stepka
Taylor Kiel
Rhett Peeples
Hannah Agee
Morgan Burns
Samantha Belcher
Elizabeth Cosper
Kyndall Harper
Mc Kenzie Lantz
Javier Melo
Devin Spencer
Faythe Vest
Emily Winegar

Age 19-21
Breanne Bertrand
Erika Newman
Chloe Grey
Michael Pope
Thea Arnold
Amanda Hotz

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Eventing: Luhmühlen: HSBC FEI Classics™ leader King heads for Luhmühlen

Mary King – leader of the HSBC Rankings - is all set for HSBC FEI Classics™ in Luhmühlen with Apache Sauce © Kit Houghton/FEI

FEI PRESS RELEASE
Lausanne (SUI), 15 June 2011

The unstoppable Mary King (GBR), who moved to the number one spot in the HSBC Rankings at the beginning of this month, indicated at the start of the year that the HSBC FEI Classics™ were going to be a major goal for 2011.

The 50-year-old’s plan is certainly going splendidly so far, and she now heads to the third of the five legs, Luhmühlen presented by E.ON Avacon (GER), with a strong 10-point lead in the HSBC FEI Classics™ series over Mark Todd (NZL), who does not have a ride at Germany’s premier event which starts tomorrow (16-19 June).

King, who has had a storming season so far with a third place at Badminton and a record one-two at Kentucky, rides the veteran Apache Sauce. He is a white-faced chestnut with great character and a definite “sense of humour”, but several of King’s CCI4* placings in the past few seasons, including seventh at Burghley last year, have been thanks to the 15-year-old gelding by Endoli.

King’s compatriots Piggy French and William Fox-Pitt both have a strong interest in earning more HSBC FEI Classics™ points. Fox-Pitt, the series champion in 2008 and 2010, rides the Argentine Thoroughbred Macchiato, his winning mount here in 2008, and French, runner-up at Badminton, brings the rising star Flying Machine to his first CCI4*.

The British duo are currently lying third and sixth in the HSBC FEI Classics™ points table, in which the leading five riders at the end of the season will share a US$330,000 prize pot. Clayton Fredericks (AUS), eighth, Caroline Powell (NZL), ninth, and the 2009 series champion Oliver Townend (GBR),10th, also have rides at Luhmühlen.

German riders have their chance to get off the mark tomorrow, and the strong home side boasts three former Luhmühlen winners: the World Champion Michael Jung (2009), Frank Ostholt (2006) and Bettina Hoy (2003).

Some 50-plus riders are expected to start the Dressage on Thursday (16 June), with 13 nations represented: Australia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, Netherlands and the USA.

The site at Luhmühlen, which has been hosting Eventing championships since 1982, has had a revamp in readiness for the HSBC FEI European Eventing Championships (25-28 August), but riders hoping for Cross-Country clues may be unlucky – it is expected that Course-Designer Captain Mark Phillips and his team have a very different track up their sleeves for the big day.

Watch our HSBC FEI Classics™ Preview on FEI Youtube Channel here and follow the action at the HSBC FEI Classics™ in Luhmühlen with daily reports on www.fei.org, full start lists and results from www.luhmuehlen.de and highlights on www.feitv.org.

HSBC FEI Classics™ Leaderboard in 2011 (after 2 out of 5 events)

1 Mary King (GBR) 25 points
2 Mark Todd (NZL) 15 points
3 Piggy French (GBR) 12 points
4 Sinead Halpin (USA) 10 points
5 Sam Griffiths (AUS) 8 points
6 William Fox-Pitt (GBR) 8 points
7 Niklas Lindback (SWE) 6 points
8 Clayton Fredericks (AUS) 6 points
9 Caroline Powell (NZL) 5 points
10 Oliver Townend (GBR) 5 points

Keep up-to-date with the HSBC FEI Classics™ 2011 leaderboard here.  

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Jumping: Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series to Culminate With $50,000 Championship Final at the 2011 Alltech National Horse Show

Lexington, KY--June 13, 2011-- The 2011 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series will culminate with a $50,000 Championship Final.  The Final--the $50,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior/Amateur-Owner Championship Presented by  Sleepy P Ranch, Deeridge Farm and Chansonette Farm--will be held on Saturday, November 5 as part of the Alltech National Horse Show, 128th edition, CSI-W Lexington 4*, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, November 2 -6.

The Alltech National Horse Show will invite 20 Junior and 20 Amateur-Owner riders to compete in the horse show's Junior and Amateur-Owner Jumper Divisions, each of which will include two preliminary rounds of competition:

- The $10,000 Sleepy P Ranch Junior Jumper Welcome Speed Stake on Thursday, November 3  and the $15,000 Sleepy P Ranch Junior Jumper Time First Jump-Off on Friday, November 4  for Juniors;

- The $10,000 Chansonette Farm Amateur-Owner Jumper Welcome Speed Stake on Thursday, November 3 and the $15,000 Chansonette Farm Amateur-Owner Time First Jump-Off on Friday, November 4 for Amateur-Owners.

Following these classes, the top 15 riders in each division will be invited to compete in the Show Jumping Hall of Fame's $50,000 Championship Final on Saturday, November 5.  The Championship Final will run in the Time First Jump-Off format, and is sure to have the riders giving their all to win the prestigious title of 2011 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series Year-End Champion.

"The Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series Championship Final has been an important part of the National Horse Show for many years, and we are thrilled to host it again in 2011," said Mason Phelps, Jr., President of the National Horse Show.  "Much like the National Horse Show, the Show Jumping Hall of Fame is deeply significant in the sport of show jumping, and we are happy to continue its legacy of hosting the Series' Finals at the National."

The Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series holds classes under Grand Prix rules and specifications at more than one hundred horse shows across the country.  The Series keeps separate standings for juniors and amateur-owners in two conferences, East and West.  The Series is designed to give amateur-owner and junior riders an opportunity to compete at higher levels and serves as a proving ground for many riders who aspire to someday represent the United States in international competition.   Regular season champions are recognized at the Alltech National Horse Show and the Los Angeles National Horse Show with the year-end Championship Final at the National.

"This is extremely exciting news for the Show Jumping Hall of Fame and all the riders who compete on our Jumper Classic Series," said George Morris, President of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame.  "The Kentucky Horse Park is the home of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame and Museum and it is quite fitting to host our year-end Championship Final at the Horse Park.  We are so thankful to the National Horse Show and the championship's generous sponsors for their commitment to making this Final a top-quality event."

The Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series held its 2010 Year-End Championship at the Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament featuring the 127th National Horse Show.  Audrey Coulter and Rodenburghs California emerged as the winners, besting a field of the nation's top horses and riders who were invited to compete in the Championship based on their performances throughout the year.  Rounding out the top three at the Year-End Championship were Meg O'Mara and Sinatra IV in second place and Karen Polle and What Ever taking third place.

The Show Jumping Hall of Fame and Museum was established in 1987 and formally opened in 1989.  It was organized to promote the sport of show jumping and to immortalize the legends of the men, women and horses who have made great contributions to the sport.

The Show Jumping Hall of Fame is located at the Kentucky Horse Park.  Plaques honoring those who have been honored with induction into the Hall of Fame can be seen at the Horse Park's Rolex Stadium.  Mementos and artifacts from the sport's history are on display as part of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame collection at the United States Hunter Jumper Association National Hunter Jumper Sport Museum at the Horse Park.

Further information about the Show Jumping Hall of Fame and the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series is available at the Show Jumping Hall of Fame website at www.showjumpinghalloffame.net.

The Alltech National Horse Show, 128th Edition, will be held from November 2 - 6, 2011, at the beautiful, new Alltech Indoor Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

This year's show, designated CSI4*-W, will feature a complete schedule of 'AA'-rated hunter divisions. Also on the agenda, a big money Open Jumper division highlighted by the $250,000 Alltech National Horse Show Grand Prix, an FEI World Cup qualifying event. $100,000 will be up for grabs for the Junior and Amateur Jumper divisions, including the $50,000 SJHOF Junior/Amateur Championships, sponsored by Sleepy P, Chansonette and Deerridge Farm. The final Sunday is highlighted by the signature event of the National Horse Show, the ASPCA Alfred B. Maclay Finals, presented by C.M. Hadfield's Saddlery.

Founded in 1883 at the original Madison Square Garden, the Alltech National Horse Show is America's oldest indoor horse show, firmly established as a major fixture on the national and international sports and social event calendars.  The National Horse Show Association's primary activity is the annual production of the National Horse Show and all ancillary events. Over the years, the National Horse Show has provided financial aid to many worthwhile charities.

 Further information about the Alltech National Horse Show is available at the Alltech National Horse Show's website at www.nhs.org.

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Jumping: Young Rider: Kessler and Springsteen Take Top Two Spots in Austrian Young Rider Grand Prix By Joanie Morris

Lamprechtshausen, Austria - Building on their win in the Nations Cup at CSIOY Lamprechtshausen, the U.S. Young Rider Show Jumping Tour capped off a successful weekend with a one-two finish in the Young Rider Grand Prix. Reed Kessler took the top spot for the U.S. on Ligist, she jumped the only clear round in the jump-off for the win. Jessica Springsteen was second on Cincinnati La Silla, she had the fastest short-course round by more than five seconds, but had one rail to settle for second.

Catherine Pasmore and Karen Polle rounded out the top 10 in ninth and tenth respectively. Pasmore and Van David were a fraction faster in their four-fault first round effort, edging out their teammates, Polle on What Ever.

Jumped over a 1.45m track, the Young Rider Grand Prix featured 32 starters.

The European Young Rider Tour heads to CSIOY Hagen, in Germany, for the next week of competition June 15-18.

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Dressage: USEF: U.S. Qualifies Record Number of Horses for 2011 FEI World Breeding Championships for Young Horses in Dressage - By USEF Dressage Department

Lexington, KY - With three horses earning qualifying scores of 8.2 or better at the 2011 Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Selection Trials and four earning qualifying scores in Europe, the U.S. had a competitive list of seven - more than ever before - to choose from when considering who will make up the team for the FEI World Breeding Championships held in Verden, Germany, August 3-7.

"The number of horses that qualified this year was a true testament to the Markel/USEF Young Horse Program," said USEF Young Horse Coach Scott Hassler.  "We had impressive horses come from all areas of the country with many competing overseas and doing quite well against top quality horses.  The Young Horse Program is progressing in the U.S. just the way we hoped it would."

The U.S. is invited to field a team of four in Verden - two 5-year-olds and two 6-year-olds. This year's U.S. team will consist of a total of three (a 5-year-old and two 6-year-olds). The final team includes the 5-year-old Westphalian stallion, Florentinus (Florestan I - Lady in Red by Londonderry), owned and ridden by Jennifer Hoffman. The duo qualified by earning a score of 8.5 in Europe. The 6-year-olds include the Austrian Warmblood stallion Ratzinger (Riccione - St. Pr. St. Inschella by Pablo), also owned and ridden by Hoffman, who qualified with an 8.5 in Europe. The second 6-year-old is the Oldenburg mare, Royal Couer 2 (Royal Hit - Riva by Le Coeur), owned and ridden by Marne Martin Tucker. The pair earned a score of 8.36 in Europe to qualify for the team.

Also earning a qualifying score in Europe was Allison Brock and Shumacher (Stedinger - Wildrose by Weltmeyer) with a score of 9.0. Brock and the Westphalian gelding, owned by Fritz and Claudine Kundrun, have opted to compete at the 6-year-old International British Young Horse Championships at Hickstead instead of Verden.

Three additional riders qualified via the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Selection Trials held in Illinois, California and Virginia with the top two North American qualifiers being American bred. Emily Wagner and WakeUp (Wagnis - Maiden Montreal by Macho), a 6-year-old American Warmblood stallion owned by Wagner and bred in the United States by Beverly McLean, traveled to Verden last year and competed in the 5-year-old class. A score of 8.244 at the Central Selection Trial qualified the pair for the short list again this year.

Sabine Schut-Kery rode the 5-year-old Hanoverian stallion Sanceo (San Remo - St. Pr. Hauptstutbuch Rivera by Ramero's Son II), owned by Alice Womble-Heitmann, to a score of 8.228 at the Western Selection Trial earning them an opportunity to head to Verden.

The Eastern Selection Trials were dominated by the seventh and final pair to earn a qualifying score for Verden.  Lauren Chumley and the Hanoverian stallion Somer Hit (Sandro Hit - Rhussia by Rotspon) earned an 8.376 overall in the 5-year-old division. Somer Hit is owned by Alice Tarjan and was bred in the U.S. by Mo Swanson of Rolling Stone Farm. 

The U.S. riders have opted to stay in the states and prepare their horses for the 2011 Markel/USEF National Young Horse Dressage Championships at Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, Illinois, August 26-28. All three of these riders earned automatic spots in the championship by earning a score of 7.8 or better and by finishing in the top five overall for their age division.

Hunters: Sauguerties: Patricia Griffith dominates the $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix to highlight the hunters at HITS-on-the-Hudson III in Saugerties, New York

© ESI Photography.
Patricia Griffith on course with Lexi Maounis' Platinum in Saturday's $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, New York.

SAUGERTIES, NEW YORK (June 12, 2011) — Patricia Griffith made the most of her time at HITS-on-the-Hudson this week when she took first and second place against a field of 61 starters in Saturday's $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix. She finished first aboard Platinum and second aboard Sienna, both owned by Lexi Maounis.

“I thought it was a perfect course,” said Griffith of Katonah, New York, who is a professional at Heritage Farm. “Rian [Beals] did a great job with the course. It had a perfect mix of single and bending lines that all rode very nicely.”

Griffith had two horses in the second round, which saw the top 12 with the highest scores from the first round return. She showed first aboard Sienna and took over the lead, previously held by Jenny Fischer and Stormy Good’s Freedom’s Storm. Fischer and Freedom's Storm, the winners of last week’s $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix, finished third in the ribbons this week.

© ESI Photography.
HITS’ Lisa Engel is joined by Guillaume Jullienne of Devoucoux to present the awards to Patricia Griffith and Platinum after their win in Saturday's $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix in Saugerties, New York.

“After I showed Sienna I thought my score would be really hard to beat,” Griffith explained. “I was surprised when I returned again last on Platinum that I was able to beat my own score. This horse has been fantastic though and I’m very proud of the win.”

Earning a spot in the Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final has become Griffith’s number one goal this season. “I went to Ocala for the very first time this winter in order to get a jump-start on qualifying,” she explained. “I plan on showing all summer long here in Saugerties in order to qualify.”

The Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final has gone platinum in the eyes of countless hunter riders who compete each week. “I think the weekly Devoucoux Hunter Prix and the [Diamond Mills] Final is just a great idea,” said Griffith. “It’s totally revived the hunters. Each week it’s gotten just as much excitement as the Grand Prix and that’s saying a lot. I think this summer it will be even more exciting as we get closer to the Final. These classes have gotten a lot of well-deserved attention so far.”

Rounding out the top five in the class was David Oliynyk of Plainville, Massachusetts aboard Lori Gaudet’s Generous in fourth place and Lillie Keenan of New York, New York aboard Don Stewart’s Confidential in fifth place.

The Devoucoux Hunter Prix will return this summer at HITS Culpeper (July 6 – 17) and will feature two events. The HITS-on-the-Hudson Summer Series returns to Saugerties on July 20 for three consecutive weeks and will feature three crucial qualifiers, as riders eagerly compete for points in order to qualify for the Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final, which takes place on Saturday and Sunday, September 10-11 at HITS-on-the-Hudson.

About Devoucoux
Devoucoux, makers of fine French saddles, is proud to be the title sponsor of each and every qualifying Hunter Prix leading up to this year's phenomenal Diamond Mills $500,000 3'3" Hunter Prix Final. The Devoucoux Hunter Prix will be a featured event at all HITS horse shows this season as riders from around the country set out to qualify for the historic Diamond Mills Hunter Prix Final, which will take place September 10-11 at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, New York.

HITS, Inc. produces high-quality, international-level hunter/jumper horse shows. Based in upstate New York in the village of Saugerties, HITS has been producing shows since 1982 and is now a nationwide company with world-class circuits in California, Florida, Arizona, New York and Virginia. In 2010, HITS took the industry to new heights when it hosted the first-ever Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix. HITS will once again offer the most innovative weekend in show jumping history in 2011 when it hosts the second annual Pfizer Million and the inaugural Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final, September 10-11, at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, New York.

For more information and a complete schedule of classes and events, visit HitsShows.com. Stay connected with HITS, join us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter!

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Jumping: USEF: U.S. Young Riders Win Big in Austria By Joanie Morris

The U.S. Junior and Young Riders.
Photo USEF Archives.

Lamprechtshausen, Austria - In an incredible finish, the U.S. Young Rider Show Jumping Team scored their first Nations Cup victory of their summer tour, triumphing over the Swiss with a total of five faults.

The U.S. and Switzerland were tied after the first round, each country carrying only one time fault forward to the second round. Catherine Pasmore led things off for the U.S. - she had one rail in the first round on My Boy, but bounced back to jump clear in the second round. Ricky Neal picked up one
time fault in round one, but had 15 faults in the second round - eventually the drop score from that round - on Transmission. Reed Kessler jumped two flawless rounds on Onisha. Jessica Springsteen rode Vornado van den Hoendrik to a four-fault effort in round two (after a first-round clear) to bring the total to five.  

The Swiss weren't going to let Chef d'Equipe Michele Grubb's American squad get away easily with the win. They kept the pressure on until their very last rider went in the ring. Nicole Muller, picked up nine faults on Chansing Wind to bring the Swiss total to 10 and give the U.S. team the win.

After two runner-up efforts at CSIOY Bonheiden and CSIOY Reims, the Young Riders got their win.

The European Young Rider Tour heads to CSIOY Hagen, in Germany, for the next week of competition June 15-18.

ENDS

Full results are available here: http://eventcontent.hippoonline.de/582/582zeitplanDEU.htm

Read Catherine Pasmore's blog here: http://www.catherineusa2011.blogspot.com 

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Jumping: Saugerties: Margie Engle returns to HITS Saugerties and captures the $10,000 Brook Ledge Open Welcome and $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health

© ESI Photography.
Margie Engle and Ashland Farms' Lord Spezi on course in Friday's $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, New York.

                   SAUGERTIES, NEW YORK (June 11, 2011) — Margie Engle made a triumphant return to HITS Saugerties this week and reignited her winning streak in the Strongid C 2X Stadium when she captured both the $10,000 Brook Ledge Open Welcome on Wednesday and the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, aboard Ashland Farms’ Lord Spezi on Friday.

On Wednesday, Engle of West Palm Beach, Florida and Lord Spezi beat out 38 starters in the Brook Ledge Open Welcome, with Todd Minikus of Loxahatchee, Florida and Candy Tribble & Windsor Show Stables Inc.’s Sweetheart in second, followed by Richard Moloney of Wellington, Florida with Equinimity LLC’s Alsvid in third.

In Friday’s feature class, Engle, Minikus and Moloney were at it again as three of 42 starters on a course designed by International Course Designer Olaf Petersen Jr. of Muenchen, Germany. After the first round, ten horse-and-rider combinations returned to navigate the short course in an exciting jump-off.

Nicholas Dello Joio of Wellington, Florida returned first in the jump-off aboard his own Geledimar and set the Great American Time to Beat at 41.479 seconds. Dello Joio was joined in the jump-off by his father, Norman Dello Joio aboard Thelma Romero-Cloud’s Notre Star De La Nutria. Father and son finished third and fourth, respectively.

The all-star duo of Minikus and Pavarotti, owned by Todd Minikus, LTD., were second to jump-off and went clear with a fast time of 38.139 seconds and put a tight grip on the lead. The next six riders failed to go clear and it was starting to seem like Minikus had it all wrapped up until Engle and Lord Spezi entered the ring.

© ESI Photography.
Lisa Engel and Christine Pankratz of HITS present Margie Engle and Lord Spezi with the awards for the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, New York.

“After I watched Todd go, I thought I was riding for second place,” said Engle, a former U.S. Olympian who is also the winningest Grand Prix rider of all time. “I think we all thought we were riding for second place, but I knew it had to be all or nothing and I need all the help I can get!”

Engle and Lord Spezi posted a clear jump-off in 37.410 seconds to take the lead, pushing Minikus into second place. “I’ve only been riding this horse for a short while and I just started going fast with him,” she commented. “He’s really handy and galloped up nicely for me.”

Rounding out the top five in Friday’s Grand Prix was Moloney aboard Equinimity LLC’s Let’s Go in fifth.

© ESI Photography.
Christine Pankratz joins Margie Engle and Lord Spezi in the winner's circle after the duo captured Wednesday's $10,000 Brook Ledge Open Welcome at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, New York.

Engle, who competed in the 2010 Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix, is back on course to qualify for this year’s installment, which is set to take place on September 11 at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, New York. “I hope to qualify for the Pfizer Million Grand Prix again this year,” said Engle. “I will definitely be here a lot this summer.”

As the $100,000 Purina Mills Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, approaches this Sunday to highlight the spring series of horse shows, Engle and Lord Spezi have plenty of momentum to potentially sweep the competition.

Sunday’s Purina Mills Grand Prix will be Engle’s and the rest of the High-Performance roster’s last chance this spring to capture prize money in order to qualify for the Pfizer Million before the summer circuit kicks-off at HITS Culpeper on Wednesday, July 6 for two consecutive weeks. The Culpeper shows in July will feature two more $40,000 Pfizer Million Qualifying Grand Prix and then it’s back to HITS-on-the-Hudson for three consecutive weeks of competition and six more Pfizer Million Qualifiers starting on Wednesday, July 20.

About SmartPak Equine
Founded in 1999, SmartPak Equine is the country’s largest online and catalog retailer serving the needs of the active and engaged horse owner. The patented SmartPak™ supplement feeding system has simplified the process of feeding horse supplements and medications, making it easier for thousands of riders to keep their horses healthier by ensuring their supplements are being fed correctly. SmartPak’s diverse and expansive product offering includes its own line of supplements, tack, and horse blankets as well as an extensive selection of leading brands of equine health, apparel, tack, and equipment. SmartPak is a six-time Inc. 500/5000 honoree and is the only equine company ever named to the Inc 500 list. SmartPak is backed by Waltham, Massachusetts-based North Bridge Growth Equity.

HITS, Inc. produces high-quality, international-level hunter/jumper horse shows. Based in upstate New York in the village of Saugerties, HITS has been producing shows since 1982 and is now a nationwide company with world-class circuits in California, Florida, Arizona, New York and Virginia. In 2010, HITS took the industry to new heights when it hosted the first-ever Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix. HITS will once again offer the most innovative weekend in show jumping history in 2011 when it hosts the second annual Pfizer Million and the inaugural Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final, September 10-11, at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, New York.

For more information and a complete schedule of classes and events, visit HitsShows.com. Stay connected with HITS, join us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter!

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LIVE FEED: Endurance: AL REEF ENDURANCE FESTIVAL LIVE FEED FOLLOWS AUSTRALASIAN ENDURANCE FORUM (AUS)

FEI NEWS UPDATE
Lausanne (SUI), 10 June 2011

The 150-plus delegates representing nine different nationalities at the Australasian FEI Endurance Conference and Forum have now moved onto the Al Reef Endurance Festival, which takes place in Toorbul, Queensland (AUS) 11-14 June.

All the action from the Australasian Championship, which follows the highly successful conference, can be viewed on a live feed from http://iequine.com/events/al-reef-endurance-festival.

Footage begins on Saturday 11 June at 12.30pm with vetting and a pre-ride talk later that afternoon. Sunday morning is when the action unfolds - coverage starts at 5.00am and runs all day. On Monday 13 June there will be a live feed for a series of work-outs and presentations.

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Jumping: Nations Cup: SWISS LOOKING STRONG IN PROMOTIONAL LEAGUE SERIES - by Louise Parkes

FEI NATIONS CUP™ 2011 - Promotional League Update
Lausanne (SUI), 9 June 2011

The Swiss, relegated from the Top League in 2010 but clearly on form when making a guest appearance in the FEI Nations Cup™ on their home ground at St Gallen last week, are heading the 2011 European Promotional League table after the first three legs of the series and look set for an early return to the elite level of the sport.

This year the Promotional League looks a little different, with teams from three qualifying groups entitled to battle it out for a place in the 2012 Top League.  The 12 nations which have competed in the European series so far are Switzerland, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Brazil, Australia, Austria, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Portugal, Hong Kong and Hungary, but the Swiss advantage is a slender one going into the fourth of the six rounds at Drammen, Norway next week.

OPENING LEG
The Swiss finished sixth at the opening leg in Linz-Ebelsberg, Austria early last month, and ninth at round two in Copenhagen, Denmark a week later.  However runner-up spot behind Sweden at Lisbon, Portugal two weeks ago has given them a 0.5 point advantage over the Spanish who have registered an eighth and two fifth-place finishes so far.  The Spanish put up some tremendously spirited performances when joining the Top League last season and are making a determined effort to qualify once again.

Sweden lies only 0.5 points further adrift and one point ahead of the Italians on the league table right now.  Double-clears from Erika Lickhammer (Hip Hop) and Lisen Bratt-Fredricson (Matrix), a foot-perfect opening effort from Alexander Zettermann (High Yummy) and a second-round clear from Helena Persson (Bonzai) provided the Swedes with a zero score and a clear victory at Lisbon where the Swiss side of Steve Guerdat (Ferrari), Jessy Putallaz (Kolebo des Cabanes), Martin Fuchs (Principal) and Marc Oertly (Tambur) lined up second carrying just four faults.

CLEAR PLAN
Last Friday, following his side's equal-second finish in St Gallen, Guerdat explained that there is a clear plan for the Swiss campaign as they march back to the top level of the sport.  It's a realistic one, based on ensuring plenty of back-up for the more experienced team members.  So a broader pool of riders are being given the chance to show what they can do.

"We would like to be back at the top level again soon, but on the other hand we have to be able to call on many more riders and horses than we did previously.  You can't send Pius (Schwizer) and myself to every event, we have to build up a new, bigger team slowly and carefully so that we are not always relying on the same few all the time.  We want to be really competitive when we get back to the top - and that may be next year or it could be the year after, but one way or another we will be back!" he insisted.

A total of three teams from the European series will qualify for the Promotional League final at Barcelona in September where the winning side will earn the last available place for the 2012 Top League.  Three more will qualify for the final from the new Challengers League which is currently led by The Ukraine.  To date eight nations have competed in this series, and following their victory on home ground at Bojourishte recently, the Bulgarians lie second.

ALREADY DECIDED
The result of the North and South American League is already decided, with the Canadians emerging as clear winners ahead of Mexico in second and Argentina in third place.  There were just three legs - at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Canada last September, at Buenos Aires, Argentina in November and at Wellington, USA in March of this year.  The USA won all three competitions, but since they, and the Irish who finished second in Calgary, are already competing in the top level FEI Nations Cup™, it was the Canadians who picked up maximum points with a third-place finish and two runner-up spots.

The challenge, both financial and logistical, of sending teams to Europe to compete in the Top League however is an enormous one for the countries on the other side of the Atlantic.  So whether there will be any representatives from this series at the 2011 Promotional League final remains to be seen.

YET TO TAKE PLACE
Meanwhile, five rounds of the Challengers League have yet to take place - at Athens, Greece and Sopot, Poland later this month, at Minsk, Belarus in July, Bratislava, Slovakia in August and Praha, Czech Republic in September while, after Drammen next week, the European series moves on to Hamina in Finland in July and Gijon, Spain in early September.

The European Promotional League series champions will replace one of the two teams relegated at the end of the 2011 FEI Nations Cup™, and the winners of what promises to be the thrilling qualifying series final in Barcelona on Sunday 25 September will replace the other.  There is plenty more action before the 2012 FEI Nations Cup™ line-up is finalised, and plenty of big battles to be fought between the nations who want to be where it counts - at the top end of this popular and highly-competitive sport in which national pride and great horsemanship go hand-in-hand.

THE FEI PROMOTIONAL LEAGUE consists of three separate series - the European Promotional League, the Challengers League and the North and South America League - from which countries can qualify for the Top League FEI Nations Cup™.  A total of three teams from the European and Challengers Leagues, and one from the North and South America series, are eligible to compete at the FEI Promotional League Final in Barcelona, Spain in September.  The winning team from this competition will qualify for the 2012 FEI Nations Cup™ along with the 2011 European Promotional League champions.

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Endurance: AUSTRALASIAN ENDURANCE FORUM ATTRACTS MULTI-NATIONAL ATTENDANCE

FEI PRESS RELEASE
Lausanne (SUI), 8 June 2011

Over 150 delegates representing nine different nationalities are attending the Australasian FEI Endurance Conference and Forum, which began in Brisbane (AUS) today.

Delegates from Australia, Canada, France, Great Britain, Malaysia, New Zealand, Thailand, the UAE and the USA are taking part in three days of lectures and discussion sessions across a wide range of topics relating to international Endurance.

This is the first time the world forum has been held outside Europe and guest speakers have travelled from Canada, America, the UAE, Malaysia and Switzerland, and from across Australia.

The members of the FEI Endurance Technical Committee who are in attendance will also meet during the Forum and attend the Australian Endurance Festival taking place this weekend featuring FEI competitions at 1*, 2* and 3* level.

The conference organisers state that the primary goal of the three-day meeting is to achieve the aspirations of the FEI Code of Conduct, which states “The FEI urges all involved with the sport to attain the highest levels of education in their areas of expertise.”

As well as a debate on the future of international competitions in Africa, Asia and Australia, the conference will also discuss:

•    implementation of the new rules and implications of the new star rating for treatment veterinarians
•    improving the understanding of the roles of officials
•    changes to the Veterinary Regulations with regard to medication control
•    examination of horses during competition especially metabolics and lameness
•    issues relating to the treatment of horses at endurance rides
•    improved nutrition and training methods for endurance horses and issues related to rider safety

“This conference and forum has given representatives from the regional nations a unique opportunity to meet together and exchange views with other nations from both within the region but also from much further afield”, FEI Director of Non-Olympic Sports Ian Williams said.

Further information on the conference, including a full list of speakers, plus details of the Endurance Festival can be found here.

FYI:

Endurance became an FEI discipline in 1982. It is now the fastest growing of all the FEI disciplines and is second only to Jumping in competitor numbers.

In 2010 alone there were 799 CEIs (Concours d’Endurance International), with 706 taking place in 2009 and 467 in 2008.

CEIs are divided into four different star levels as follows:

1*: All rides are between 80 - 119 km in one day
2*: All rides are between 120 - 139 km in one day or 70 - 89 km over two days
3*: All rides are between 140 - 160 km in one day, or 90-100 km over two days, or 70-80 km over 3 days or more.
4*: Senior Championships of a minimum of 160 km in one day; Junior and Young Rider Championships of a minimum of 120 km and maximum of 130 km in one day.

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

Dressage

American dressage star Guenter Seidel returned to top form at CDI Hamburg, winning the Grand Prix Freestyle on UII. Seidel, who has represented the United States on numerous occasions, broke his pelvis a year ago and has made an amazing recovery to the top of the sport. After a third place finish in the Grand Prix in Hamburg, Seidel topped the field in the Freestyle with a score of 73.400%. Lillann Jebsen of Norway was second on Pro-Set and Alexandra Bimschas was third for Germany on Dick Tracy.
Results from Hamburg are available here: http://www.engarde.de/start/index.php

Not far away at the Munich CDI5*, Shawna Harding rode Come On III to sixth place with a score of 66.542% in the CDI5* Moorlands Grand Prix Special. Harding has been training and competing in Europe since the Reem Acra World Cup Dressage Final.

Results from Munich are available here: http://www.pferdinternational-muenchen.de/hp/index.php/ergebnisse-2011

Back in the U.S. at the CDI in Raleigh, NC Susie Dutta dominated the Grand Prix division on Currency DC. They scored a victory in the Grand Prix Freestyle with a score of 71.025% over James Koford on Rhett and Tuny Page on Wild One. Dutta and Currency DC's score of 66.319% meant they topped the Grand Prix field as well. Susanne Dansby Bollman was second and Page and Wild One were third again. Page picked up a win of her own in the Grand Prix Special riding Alina. They scored 65.971% to take top honors over Luis Reteguiz-Denizard on Nalando and Dansby Bollman on Cooper.

In the small tour, Tami Batts topped big fields to win both the Intermediaire I and the
 Freestyle on Ranko. She won the Freestyle with a score of 71.417% over Endel Ots and Toscano and Venezualan rider Alejandro Gomez on Revenge. Batts took the top prize in the Intermediaire with a score of 69.430% over Lars Petersen on Willano (from Denmark) and Chris Hickey on Witness Hi
lltop. Petersen won the Prix St Georges, Ots and Toscano were second again and Hickey and Witness Hilltop were third again.

Information about the Raleigh CDI is available here: http://www.cdi-raleigh.com/

Driving

Chester Weber (USA) won the dressage and stayed in the lead throughout the competition in Vecsés to claim the first CAIO victory of his career.                © Marie de Ronde-Oudemans.

Chester Weber scored a major victory in Hungary - he stormed to the win at the CAIO Veces (an FEI World Cup Driving qualifier) over Dutch Driver Koos de Ronde. Weber celebrated his 36th birthday as well as celebrating his first CAIO victory - which began with a winning dressage performance. Weber's sixth place marathon effort was enough to maintain the overall lead going into the cones. His faultless cones performance meant his final score of 145.51 gave him a four point lead over de Ronde. Jozsef Dobrovitz from Hungary was third. Weber nows sits fifth in the FEI World Cup Driving Final standings with 25 points.

Please visit the event website for more information: http://www.dobrohorses.hu/bemutatkozas

Jumping

Rich Fellers and Flexible Before the Rain
Photo by Beatrice Scudo

The U.S. Nations Cup team jumped to fourth place at CSIO St. Gallen in Switzerland on Friday. The Nations Cup was a good effort by the U.S. squad over a very difficult track. Margie Engle and Indigo, Charlie Jayne and Athena, Rich Fellers and Flexible and Christine McCrea and Romantovich Take One fought hard until the end with McCrea jumping clear in both rounds. This result moved the U.S. into fifth in the FEI Nations Cup Series standings after the first three legs.

The efforts kicked off on Thursday where Ashlee Bond and Cadett 7 were fifth in the Radisson Blu Hotel, St. Gallen, which was a speed class. On Saturday, Fellers and McGuinness were runners-up in the Wegelin & Co. Privatbankiers Table C class, and on Sunday Fellers returned to the irons on Flexible and put in a heroic effort in the Longines Grand Prix of Switzerland in a deluge of rain and wind to place second behind Great Britain's Nick Skelton. McCrea was third in the Grand Prix on Romantovich Take One.

Please visit www.csio.ch for complete information or visit: http://www.usefnetwork.com/featured/2011FEINationsCup/ for highlights, photos and coverage of the American effort in the FEI Nations Cup Series. 

At CSI Hamburg, Alexandra Thorton kicked off the horse show by winning the Prize of Eurogate Container Terminals Opening Competition for the CSI3*/CSI5*. She rode Silvana in the 1.40m class, beating  96 starters. This pair was then third in the CSI3* First Qualifier for the German Jumping Derby. Laura Kraut and Cedric were eighth in the Mercedes-Benz Championat of Hamburg CSI5*, which was won by Denis Lynch from Ireland on Latinus. Kraut was then second on Dona Evita in the illbruck-Poresta Youngster Cup CSIYH1* (for young horses) just a fraction behind Roger Yves Bost from France. Kraut and Dona Evita were then fifth in Saturday's Youngster Cup. Thorton and Silvana finished the weekend with a ninth place finish in the LGT Speed Derby CSI3*.

Please visit www.engarde.de for complete information.

At CSI Munich in Germany, American Peter Wylde picked up ribbons all week. He was second and sixth in the CSI1* 1.40m classes with Wetter and fourth in the CSIYH 1* class with Zidane. In the CSI3*, Wylde was sixth on Lipton De L'Othain.

Complete results are available here: http://www.pferdinternational-muenchen.de/hp/

At the CSI Eindhoven in The Netherlands, Cara Raether and Andrew Ramsay represented the U.S.  Ramsay began the week with an eighth place finish in the CSI3* Plospan Prijs on Julia des Brumes. Raether and Saskia 269 were then tenth in the International Jumping Competition CSI3* on Saturday and Ramsay rounded out the weekend with a sixth place finish on Woitchek in the VDL Groep Derby Eindhoven.  Sunday's class proved difficult class and there were no clear rounds.

Jumping results from Eidhoven are available here: http://results.scgvisual.com/2011/eindh/results/results.htm

In British Columbia, the U.S. riders made their trip to Canada a productive one. Karl Cook led the U.S. charge in the CSI, he was sixth with Uno de Laubry and ninth with ASB Conquistador in the $55,000 CSI2*W Mibroc World Cup Grand Prix. Tammy Chipko and Zico 13 finished just ahead of ASB Conquistador in the World Cup class in eighth. The pair was also eighth in the $30,000 CSI2* Thunderbird Show Park Spring Classic in which Kirsten Coe rode Vernon G to a fifth place finish and Shelly Fellers was ninth on Revenge 421 while her husband Rich was jumping in St. Gallen.

There were a number of riders representing the U.S. in National level classes, please see: http://www.thunderbirdshowpark.com/default.asp for complete information and results   

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