McLain Ward and Louise Serio at the 2011 Fete Cheval. Photo courtesy of Phelps Media Group.
WESTPORT, CT – January 30, 2012 – With equestrians representing the dressage, eventing, hunter, jumper, and polo communities, the EQUUS Foundation’s signature event at the Winter Equestrian Festival, Fete Cheval, promises to be the most entertaining event for horse enthusiasts this season in Wellington, Florida.
The Fete Cheval presented by Spy Coast Farm will be held on Friday, March 9, 2012, and feature cocktails, an auction, dinner in the exclusive International Club with a ringside view of the evening’s entertainment in the International Arena.
“What makes the Fete Cheval so unique is that it is all about fun, and lets very serious riders demonstrate their natural competitive spirit in games that they all recall from their youth,” said Elizabeth Press, co-chairing the event with Hillary Dobbs and Patricia Keenan, ” – games like Musical Stalls, Sit a Buck, and others.”
Lexington, KY – Land Rover and the USEF awarded the Land Rover US Eventing Team High Performance-listed riders a total of $33,500 in spring training grants for 2012. Sixteen athlete/horse combinations based across the country (and in Europe) received grants to offset training costs throughout the early part of 2012.
Several of these combinations have or will be spending time in Wellington, FL, honing their dressage and jumping skills with some of the best trainers in those disciplines. They are preparing for the spring season and ultimately vying for selection for the 2012 Olympic Games.
(Wellington, Florida, January 25, 2012) Devoucoux fielded a strong team of riders for the Pro DerbyCross competition held on Friday January 20, 2012 during the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington Florida. The Professional Riders Organization produced this innovative competition, in which teams compete individually against the clock over a hybrid course of cross-country and show jumping obstacles. All proceeds benefited Operation Homefront, an organization providing emergency financial relief for U.S. service members and their families as well as Wounded Warriors during their recovery.
Each of the 5 teams consisted of two event riders, a polo player and a showjumper. Team sponsors included Devoucoux, the premier French saddle maker, Farmvet/Cavalor, the source for animal health products and premium feeds, Guardian, a premium horse bedding, Omega Alpha, effective supplements through science, Smartpak, the innovator in equine supplements, and Windsor, a private residential sporting club.
Wellington, FL – January 21, 2012 – It was an epic night for Team Guardian who dominated PRO DerbyCross at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center.
A team event with teams of five made up of three eventing riders, a show jumper and a polo player, jumped a hybrid cross country and show jumping course and the fastest combined score won.
Captain Karen O’Connor’s squad was so impressive that she didn’t have to jump for a score (one eventing score gets dropped) but she led her team to a dominating effort on Team Rebecca’s Veronica – impressing the crowds as the final competitor.
Canadian Eventer, Kelly Plitz, Is Featured Artist for the Event
Featured artwork by Canadian Eventer Kelly Plitz
Wellington, FL – January 17, 2012 – The PRO DerbyCross Team Competition will be live streamed on the USEF Network presented by Smartpak on January 20 at 7 PM. Film production is being provided by CatchRide.
“We are very happy to team up with the USEF Network presented by Smartpak, who will be hosting the live stream broadcast,” said Samantha Lendl, Executive Director of the Professional Riders Organization. “DerbyCross is so much fun and we hope that this allows people all over the world to see what this extreme sport is all about.”
Kelly Plitz, a member of the 1984 Canadian Three-Day Event Team, is the featured artist for PRO DerbyCross and has created a unique painting, which is acrylic on board. The painting will be auctioned off with all proceeds benefitting Operation Homefront Florida. Kelly is married to Canadian Eventer Ian Roberts and with their son Eventer Waylon Roberts operate Dreamcrest Equestrian near Port Perry, Ontario.
Buck Davidson was named the 2011 USEA Rider of the Year. (Photo courtesy of the USEA)
Buena Vista, VA (January 18, 2012) – Eventing riders endorsed by World Equestrian Brands, LLC, an equestrian company dedicated to providing equestrians with the finest products on the market, rode away with top honors from the United States Eventing Association (USEA) in 2011. From winning the coveted USEA Rider of the Year title to taking home the prestigious International Developing Rider Grant, World Equestrian Brands riders showed off their successful competitive year in style – not only winning multiple awards but also doing it in tack from World Equestrian Brands.
“These riders work really hard and are dedicated to the sport, and it is great to see them honored for their efforts. They have accomplished so much this year and we are grateful to be part of their winning team,” said Robin Moore, President of World Equestrian Brands. “It is awesome to see the trickledown effect of the riders’ talents, as their students also had milestone accomplishments throughout the year and took home some pretty impressive awards from the USEA.”
VASCONCELLOS SCOOPS DOUBLE-GOLD FOR BRAZIL by Louise Parkes
Brazil's Sarah Vasconcellos claimed Team and Individual gold riding Cornwall Chief at the FEI Children's International Classics Final 2011 in Hong Kong. Photo: FEI/Kenneth Chan.
Hong Kong (CHN), 14 January 2012 – Brazil’s Sarah Vasconcellos clinched her second gold medal of the Championships when taking the Individual title on the final day of the FEI Children’s International Classics Final in Hong Kong today. Silver went to the host nation’s Arianna Ladd, while South Africa’s Cameron Dawson was the well-deserved recipient of the bronze. Vasconcellos also helped the Happy Diamonds side to gold in the Team competition, ably supported by Russia’s Nikita Pomogalova, Venezuela’s Victoria Karm and Hong Kong’s Michelle Li.
The youthful enthusiasm and sporting spirit of the competitors, all aged between 12 and 14 years, permeated the event which took place at the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Beas River Country Club – venue for the eventing discipline during the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. The 20 competitors representing 15 National Federations – Brazil, Hong Kong, South Africa, France, Germany, Ecuador, Paraguay, Venezuela, China, Syria, New Zealand, Guatemala, Russia, Mexico and Canada – rode horses belonging to the Hong Kong Jockey Club, many of which are leased to individuals who generously permitted their mounts to take part in this important challenge.
Horse of the Year Neville Bardos (Photo Courtesy of USEA)
Cincinnati, OH – For the first time ever, the USEF crowned two horses with its highest honor, one from an International Discipline and one from a National Discipline. Neville Bardos and Sjoerd were named 2011 Horses of the Year at tonight’s USEF annual Horse of the Year celebration. Honored for their accomplishments in 2011 their roads through the last 12 months, while both exceptional, have been very different.
He shouldn’t have lived. But he did. He shouldn’t have returned to his life as an event horse. But he returned better than ever. Trapped in a burning barn for 45 minutes, Neville Bardos made a miraculous recovery from injuries sustained in a fire that claimed the lives of six other horses at his rider Boyd Martin’s barn in West Grove, PA. The now 13-year-old Australian Thoroughbred gelding won the USEF National CCI3* championship in 2009 and was 10th at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games – leading the U.S. effort. But his life changed dramatically in the early hours of Memorial Day in 2011. Martin pulled him out of the burning barn to safety. Neville Bardos was left with horrific injuries due to massive amounts of smoke inhalation and the subsequent damage to his throat.
Christopher Schofield, pictured presenting the young rider trophy to Claire Bowley and Fair Share at Bramham Horse Trials in 1989. Photo: Kit Houghton.
Lausanne (SUI), 11 January 2011 – Christopher Schofield (GBR), former Chairman of Great Britain’s Young Rider Selectors programme, passed away on 4 January at the age of 90.
Many young British Eventing riders enjoyed success during his leadership of the Young Rider Selectors programme, including William Fox-Pitt, Tina Cook and Pippa Funnell.
Jane Holderness-Roddam, who secured team gold in Eventing for Great Britain at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, remembers Christopher Schofield as “a truly great character, he was always incredibly enthusiastic and supportive and was always thrilled to hear how the Young Riders were getting on, even in more recent years. He was always there with wise words of advice for us all.”
January 10, 2012 — Chesterfield, SC — Southern Eighths Farm in Chesterfield, SC is giving Beginner through Training level Event riders and horses the perfect opportunity to prepare for their next competition or to bring a young horse along with its upcoming Open Schooling Days. Mark your calendar now for January 21–29, February 18–26, and/or March 17–25 to take advantage of this opportunity to school on one of the finest facilities in the nation.
Well known course designer Tremaine Cooper will create a different schooling setup for each Open Schooling week so that horses and riders have the opportunity to school over different types of fences and terrain. Themes have been chosen for each week. January’s theme will be “Coffins and Corners,” February will focus on “Trakehners and Turning Combinations,” and March will be “Rolling Terrain and Narrows.” No matter what your level, there will be opportunities for everyone to school and improve. The water jump will always be filled and open to ride, as will the ditches, steps and straight-forward galloping fences.
Southern Eighths is located in the middle of USEA Areas II and III on the North and South Carolina border, truly in the Heart of the Carolinas.
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