Lausanne (SUI), 21 May 2012 – Today, 21 May, marks 100 days to go to the London 2012 Paralympic Games. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced that these will officially be the biggest Games ever, with 165 countries set to participate in 21 sports over 17 days.
Para-Dressage riders from 26 nations have qualified to participate in the equestrian events, which will take place at Greenwich Park from 30 August to 4 September.
Host nation Great Britain, Germany, Denmark and Canada have qualified the maximum number of riders and will each be represented by a team of four and one individual.
Nine countries – USA, The Netherlands, Brazil, Ireland, Italy, Belgium, South Africa, Australia and France – have qualified four riders.
Proceeds to Benefit Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Center
GEORGETOWN, KY – MAY 21, 2012 – Just days before the famed Belmont Stakes, the third leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, the Oheka Castle in Huntington, N.Y. will host the inaugural Belmont Ball. The event is a fundraiser for Old Friends, a Thoroughbred Retirement Center with locations in Georgetown, KY and Greenfield Center, NY.
The gala will take place Wednesday June 6th from 6 pm to 10 pm at the historic Gold Coast mansion located at 135 West Gate Drive in Huntington, NY. Guests will enjoy a small-plate buffet, an open bar, and racing-themed cakes and pastries from Oheka’s Executive Pastry Chef Daniel Andreotte.
Middleburg, VA – May 21, 2012 – The first leg of the all new Taylor Harris Insurance Services $200,000 Triple Crown Challenge, America’s richest rider bonus, is set for lift off just days from now at the legendary Devon Horse Show and Country Fair.
This unique challenge offers a spectacular $200,000 top prize for any show jumping rider that can put together back to back to back wins on the same horse at three of the nation’s most prestigious grand prix events.
The first event of the Taylor Harris Triple Crown Challenge, the $100,000 Wells Fargo Grand Prix of Devon, takes place in Devon, Pennsylvania, on Thursday evening, May 31, 2012. Rider registration is required; forms are available in the Devon Horse Show Office.
Reed Kessler leads the 2012 Hagyard Challenge Series Leading Rider Standings (pictured with Cylana). Photo By: Rebecca Walton/PMG
Lexington, KY – May 21, 2012 – Young rider Reed Kessler of Lexington, KY, not only leads the U.S. Show Jumping Team Long List, but she has now claimed the top spot in the 2012 Hagyard Challenge Series, sponsored by the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute. Consisting of seven grand prix classes to be held during the 2012 show series at the Kentucky Horse Park, the Hagyard Challenge Series offers a $50,000 Leading Rider Award. The rider accumulating the most points throughout the series will be presented with the bonus during the $50,000 World Cup Qualifier at the Kentucky National Horse Show in September.
On Thursday, May 17th, Kessler piloted Cylana to a second place finish in the $32,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic at the Kentucky Spring Classic, and also nabbed the fifth place award with her second mount, Mika. The previous week, Kessler and Mike were also fifth during the $50,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic, and the 17-year-old rider has jumped to the top of the Leading Rider Standings.
Richie Moloney and Slieveanorra won the $75,000 Mary Rena Murphy Grand Prix at the Kentucky Spring Classic. Photo Credit: Rebecca Walton/PMG
Lexington, KY – May 19, 2012 – It was a very exciting night for Ireland’s Richie Moloney as he captured his first international grand prix victory, riding Slieveanorra during the $75,000 Mary Rena Murphy Grand Prix at the Kentucky Spring Classic. The talented duo have been runner up on numerous occasions, even placing third during Thursday’s $32,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic, but tonight the luck was on their side. Six horses advanced to the jump-off, but only three were double clear, with Moloney landing at the top of the leader board, while Margie Engle took second aboard Royce, and Egypt’s Nayel Nassar rode Raging Bull Vangelis S to third.
Germany’s Olaf Petersen Jr. created a very technical course for tonight’s main event in the Rolex Stadium. With a tight time allowed, riders had to show over a triple bar, an open water obstacle, a vertical-oxer double combination, and finally an oxer-vertical-oxer triple combination, which caused errors for many of the competitors. Only six of the 31 entries were able to master the initial track and advance to jump-off, where they had to jump the double combination again while also making tight rollbacks and then galloping across the ring to reach the final oxer.
Lourdes de Guardiola and Autumn Rhythm won the $5,000 Hallway Feeds USHJA National Hunter Derby at the Kentucky Spring Classic. Photo By: Kendall Bierer/PMG
Lexington, KY – May 19, 2012 – The $5,000 Hallway Feeds USHJA National Hunter Derby saw nothing short of fierce competition this evening in the Stonelea Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park. It was Lourdes de Guardiola and Autumn Rhythm who rode to the top of the leader board with two fantastic rounds, catching the judges’ eyes and being dually rewarded for their tremendous efforts. Ashley Hotz and Summer Catch eventually were presented with the red ribbon for their efforts and an overall score of 178 points, while Louise Serio took the third place prize aboard Corvine.
Riders were tested over a classic hunter course designed by Bobby Murphy, and the top 12 scoring combinations advanced into the handy hunter round. The course was skillfully set, and was evocative of a hunt field. The two-round course included stonewalls, oxers, standalone verticals, gates, brushes and a vertical-oxer line. Four high options were offered to the riders as a way of earning additional points on their base scores.
Bonheiden, Belgium – A team of four American riders took to the course in Young Rider Nations Cup competition at the CSIOYJ Bonheiden Saturday afternoon and jumped their way into a tie for fourth place. The U.S. Team’s top performer of the day was Alise Oken (Charlotte, NC) & Hi Hopes Farm’s Kaid Du Ry. They offered one of the strongest showings of the day and jumped two clear efforts over both rounds of competition. Oken & Kaid Du Ry was one of only two pairs to produce double clear rounds Saturday.
Annie Cook & Signe Ostby’s Banba and Lydia Ulrich & Beth Congel and Up The Creek Farm’s Santos Utopia both improved from round to round. Cook (Woodside, CA) had 12 faults in the first round and 8 in the second. Ulrich (Rochester, NY) improved on 8 faults in round one to score a 4 fault total in round two.
Beezie Madden and Simon lead the 2012 Hagyard Challenge Series. Photo By: Rebecca Walton/PMG
Lexington, KY – May 17, 2012 – Kentucky Horse Shows, LLC, is pleased to announce that the 2012 Hagyard Challenge Series will feature a high point Thoroughbred Award. The Hagyard Challenge Series consists of seven grand prix classes to be held during the 2012 show series at the Kentucky Horse Park. Following the final event, a $10,000 prize will be presented to the high point Thoroughbred participating in the Series. To be eligible for the Thoroughbred award, horses must be registered with the Jockey Club or have a verifiable lip tattoo.
Dr. Stuart Brown, President of Hagyard, commented, “This award is in keeping with Hagyard’s commitment to Thoroughbreds. Since we were founded in 1876, we have had a vested interest in the Thoroughbred industry through the relationships with our traditional clients in the Bluegrass. We want to encourage and reward those who seek opportunities for second careers for these horses in athletic endeavors beyond flat racing.”
May 19th, 2012 ~ Conyers, GA – It was a bustling evening at the acclaimed Georgia International Horse Park as the crowd watched 25 of the country’s top hunter riders compete under the lights in the $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby presented by Dietrich and Company Equine Insurance. No stranger to the winner’s circle, Liza Boyd took home the blue ribbon last evening aboard Mrs. Janet Peterson and Finally Farm’s Quatrain while capturing the second place on her and Mrs. Janet Peterson’s Brunello. The team from Finally Farm in Camden, SC just came off a one-two win at the Aiken Spring Classic Derby and the Camden Spring Classic Derby back in April with Brunello taking the top spot over Quatrain in both of those classes.
It was finally Quatrain’s time to shine as the 8-year-old’s boldness and consistency garnered him and Boyd the top scores of the night. In round 1 they received an 87 and 88 plus 8 high option bonus points from the judges and in the second handy round received an 84 and 88 plus 8 bonus points and 13 bonus handy points, giving them the winning total of 376 over Brunello’s 370. Towell was pleased at how far Quatrain has come along this spring. Just this past February he was competing in the jumper ring in Palm Beach. The pair also captured the High Performance Hunter Championship earlier in the week that division sponsored by Fenwick Equestrian. Julie Curtain and Morgan Connely’s Hanover On The Rocks took home the third place ribbon in the Derby and Alamo and Mariah Friedland rounded out the top 4.
Quick and Easy and Claudia Billups sail to the blue in the $5000 Open Welcome Stake at the Atlanta Spring Challenge. Photos by Shawn Mcmillen
May 18th, 2012 ~ Conyers, GA – The 9th annual Atlanta Spring Challenge Horse Show kicked off on Wednesday with a record number of attendees turning out for competition at the Georgia International Horse Park. The event is managed by Aiken, SC based J. P. Godard and his Equus Events. “We have a busy week; lots of horses and lots of entries!” quoted Godard. “My staff and I haven’t had a moment to spare, but it’s great I couldn’t be more pleased with the turnout.”
Thursday marked the culmination of a few highly anticipated professional hunter divisions. Traveling all of the way from Topeka, KA, Rio, owned by Hays Investment Corp, took home the championship honors in the first year green hunter division sponsored by Fenwick Equestrian, LLC. Camden, SC’s Elizabeth Boyd had the ride on Rio who took home a Fenwick Equestrian High Performance Sporty Dress Sheet for their efforts. In the second year green division it was Ocala, FL based rider Aaron Vale and Lynn Reed’s Spell Bound who took home top honors in the division winning 3 of the 5 classes. Elizabeth Boyd found herself in the winner’s circle once again this time with Mrs. Janet Peterson and Finally Farm’s Quatrain who took home top honors in the High Performance Working Hunters sponsored by DFG Stables.
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Proceeds to Benefit Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Center
Bonheiden, Belgium – A team of four American riders took to the course in Young Rider Nations Cup competition at the CSIOYJ Bonheiden Saturday afternoon and jumped their way into a tie for fourth place. The U.S. Team’s top performer of the day was Alise Oken (Charlotte, NC) & Hi Hopes Farm’s Kaid Du Ry. They offered one of the strongest showings of the day and jumped two clear efforts over both rounds of competition. Oken & Kaid Du Ry was one of only two pairs to produce double clear rounds Saturday.
