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Show JumpingWillem Greve – The Rolex One to Watch for February 2012 Willem Greve riding Carambole at the FEI World Breeding Jumping Championships for Young Horses in Lanaken (BEL). Photo: SPORTFOT/Rolex The Rolex One to Watch for February 2012 is awarded to Willem Greve (NED). Based in Markelo, The Netherlands, the 28-year-old jumped from number 299 to 241 during January – a move up the Rolex Rankings of 58 places. Willem Greve had a very successful early career riding ponies before moving on to compete in both the Juniors and Young Riders’ Championships where he displayed a great deal of talent. When he was only 20 years old, Greve demonstrated that he was to have a promising future ahead of him, when he was named as the Rabobank Talent of the Year 2003. When Greve moved on to Seniors, he competed as a member of the Dutch team at several FEI Nations Cup competitions. Last year (2011), Greve claimed victory in the first leg of the Grand Prix at CSI3* Hagen (GER), riding 10-year-old Hanoverian stallion, Ukato. Greve went on to ensure an impressive third-place finish at CSI4* Wiesbaden (GER) riding Sonate, beating the winner of the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Final 2011, Christian Ahlmann (GER). Before 2011 drew to a close, Greve and Sonate secured a well-deserved victory at CSI2* Wierden (NED). Staut and Silvana Are Brilliant in BordeauxYouTube – http://youtu.be/I4DTWXpLhz0  Kevin Staut is presented with a Rolex watch by Arnaud Reverdin, Commercial Director, Rolex France. Photo: FEI/Kit Houghton. Bordeaux (FRA), 4 February 2012 – French hero, Kevin Staut, won the eleventh qualifying round of the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping 2011/2012 series on his home turf at Bordeaux tonight. Riding the 13 year old grey mare, Silvana HDC, he devastated the opposition in the ten-horse jump-off with a display of class and courage that snatched the honours from Australian runners-up Edwina Top-Alexander and Cevo Itot du Chateau. Belgium’s Rik Hemeryck slotted into third with Quarco de Kerambars, while Ireland’s Denis Lynch finished fourth with his exciting new stallion, Contifex. But tonight’s competition was as much about the battle for positions on the Western European League leaderboard as anything else. Following the next, and last, qualifying leg at Gothenburg, Sweden, the top-18 riders will make the cut for the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping final which will take place in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands at the end of April. So the placings all the way down the line are critical at this stage, and the pressure is at boiling point. Equestrian Aid Foundation Ready for Second Annual Sidelines TetrathlonJane Forbes Clark to Receive Inaugural Luminary Award; Sarah B. Willeman Also to Be Honored
R. Bruce Duchossois, renowned equestrian and member of the board of directors, oversee the festivities with event co-chair R. Scot Evans, the EAF’s president. Defending Team FarmVet will take on sponsored teams MeadowView, Palm Beach Equine Clinic and newcomer Flintfields Horse Park. Success Equestrian has outfitted the dressage, show jumping and reining horses in the competition with new no-slip saddle pads. Live Oak International 2012, Host of the USEF Four-In-Hand Driving Championship, Will Celebrate 20 Years of Competition and Include Jumping Events
The multigenerational love for equestrian sports shared by the Weber family will take another logical step in 2012, with the addition of a Jumping Speed Class following Dressage on Friday and a Jumping Grand Prix following the Marathon on Saturday. We look forward to providing our spectators with some of the best Jumping competition with some of the best Driving competition at the same venue on the same afternoons. A world class Driving event and a world class Jumping competition will be together at a world class farm. The Inaugural NARG Riders’ Grant Awarded to Sarah Johnstone The inaugural NARG riders' grant was awarded to Sarah Johnstone by Beezie Madden. Photo By: Kenneth Kraus/PhelpsSports.com Wellington, FL – February 1, 2012 – New in 2011, the NARG Riders’ Grant is designed to afford an emerging rider, dedicated to the sport of show jumping, an opportunity to achieve levels of performance they would otherwise not be able to attain. The grant provides the winner with $15,000 USD for expenses within North America approved by the NARG Board, a new Beval Artisan saddle, products from Ariat, PR from Phelps Media and a custom web site by Spotted Toad Design. After extensive discussion and multiple meetings, the NARG Board awarded The 2011 NARG Riders’ Grant to twenty-year-old Canadian Sarah Johnstone. A devoted young professional, Johnstone was a self-proclaimed barn rat who began working at the stable by age ten. As she continued to compete, Johnstone always worked to pay her way. Proving that hard work and a strong sense of commitment bring success, Sarah achieved an impressive list of accomplishments in the last decade. These include winning the Canadian Jump Canada Medal Finals and Canadian Equestrian Team Finals (CET) in 2006, taking 4th in her first CSI4* Grand Prix in 2010, topping the field in the FEI CSI3* Open Welcome at International Bromont last July and earning a short list position on the Canadian Show Jumping Team in 2011. USET Foundation Awards 2012 Lionel Guerrand-Hermès Trophy to Lucy Davis Lucy Davis (far right) was awarded the 2012 Lionel Guerrand-Hermes Trophy by the United States Equestrian Team Foundation. Photo By: Phelps Media Group Gladstone, NJ – January 30, 2012 – The United States Equestrian Team Foundation is pleased to announce that the recipient of the 2012 Lionel Guerrand-Hermes Trophy will be talented show jumping rider Lucy Davis of Los Angeles, CA. Each year this award is presented to a Young Rider in one of the Olympic disciplines who exemplifies both sportsmanship and horsemanship. In 2011, Davis set the west on fire, winning four grand prix events in a row at HITS Thermal, including the $200,000 Lamborghini Grand Prix of the Desert aboard her brilliant mount Nemo 119. Davis, a 19-year-old freshman at Stanford University, was presented with the trophy during the USET Foundation’s benefit, “An English Country Evening,” at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL, on January 27, 2012. “It’s a really big honor and I am very excited to have won the award,” said Davis. “I got the call when I was in the middle of finals, and it really changed my mood. I am very honored because I know there are a lot of really incredible young riders in the United States, so this is really exciting to win.” Christine McCrea Honored with 2012 Whitney Stone Cup from USET Foundation The USET Foundation presented Christine McCrea (center) with the Whitney Stone Cup. Photo By: Phelps Media Group Gladstone, NJ – January 30, 2012 – The United States Equestrian Team Foundation is pleased to announce that Pan American Games Show Jumping Team and Individual Gold medalist Christine McCrea of East Windsor, CT, is the recipient of the 2012 Whitney Stone Cup. The award is presented annually to an active competitor who displays consistent excellence in international competition and high standards of sportsmanlike conduct while serving as an ambassador for the United States and equestrian sport. McCrea represented the United States on numerous occasions in 2011 with her talented mount, Romantovich Take One, and earned Show Jumping’s Individual Gold medal at the 2011 Pan American Games with five clear rounds. McCrea was presented with the trophy during the USET Foundation’s benefit, “An English Country Evening”, at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL, on January 27, 2012. Kutscher and Obolensky Are in a Class of Their Own at ZurichYouTube: http://youtu.be/wK0-_t4Gq08  Photo: FEI/Karl-Heinz Frieler. Zurich (SUI), 29 January 2012 – Germany’s Marco Kutscher steered Cornet Obolensky to victory in the tenth qualifying leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Western European League 2011/2012 series at Zurich in Switzerland this afternoon. The 13 year old stallion produced an exhibition of effortless jumping to outclass the rest of the 40-strong field on a tough day that saw six riders opting to retire in the opening round. Course designer, Rolf Ludi, really piled on the pressure with a colossal track that quickly separated the best from the rest. But one man who was unfortunate to miss a place in the seven-horse jump-off was Belgium’s Ludo Philippaerts whose 14 year old Kassini Jac left all the fences intact, only to be penalised for crossing the finish line just outside the 69-second time limit. Russian Olympian Ljubov Kochetova Wins Premier Equestrian Sportsmanship Award during First Week of Winter Equestrian Festival Ljubov Kochetova. (Photo courtesy of JRPR) Wellington, FL (January 26, 2012) – Russian Olympian Ljubov Kochetova showed off her upbeat attitude while competing a five-year-old Westphalian gelding named Corrado during the first week of the 2012 Winter Equestrian Festival, and her positive attitude helped her take home the Premier Equestrian Sportsmanship Award. Sponsored by Premier Equestrian, LLC, a leading supplier of dressage arenas, horse jumps, arena footing and stable accessories, the Premier Sportsmanship Award is presented to a barn or rider who displays a high level of sportsmanship during a show and the winner receives a gift certificate for $100 worth of Premier products. Kochetova, who was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, competed in the 2008 Olympics aboard Ilion Kilen. She said she currently has her sights set on the 2012 Olympics in London. “We are still in the middle of the race to see who will compete in the Olympics,” she said. Kochetova was pleased to win the Premier Sportsmanship Award. “I am very grateful to Premier,” she said. “Corrado is a very young and inexperienced horse so if he wins anything I am thrilled.” Rolf-Gӧran Bengtsson Claims the Green & Gold Rolf-Gӧran Bengtsson wearing the Green & Gold at the ninth qualifying leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping in Leipzig (GER). Photo: Karl-Heinz Frieler / ROLEX Swedish show jumper Rolf-Gӧran Bengtsson has claimed the coveted Green & Gold armband from Canadian rider and Rolex Testimonee, Eric Lamaze, after he was crowned the Number One rider in the world according to the latest Rolex Rankings. Bengtsson is the first ever Swede to become the number one ranked rider in the world. Lamaze originally held the Green & Gold between July and August 2010, and also between June and December 2011; however, following impressive performances at the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping qualifiers in Lyon (first place), Stuttgart (third place) and Geneva (second place), Bengtsson soon staked his claim to the Number One spot. Bengtsson’s great run of recent form also includes fourth place in the Grand Prix at the CSI5* in Abu Dhabi (UAE); fourth place at the CSI5* in Paris (FRA); and fifth place in the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping qualifier in London Olympia (UK). Not forgetting his individual victory at the FEI European Championships in Madrid (ESP), Bengtsson had a truly remarkable 2011; his achievements were duly recognised when he won Sweden’s most prestigious sports award at the Swedish Sports Gala 2012. |
WELLINGTON, Fla. (Jan. 31, 2012) – The second-annual Sidelines Equestrian Tetrathlon Presented by MeadowView & The Riggio Family to benefit the Equestrian Aid Foundation will be Sunday, February 5, 2012, at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. The wild, wild west-themed evening will feature the best of Palm Beach’s restaurant fare and signature cocktails with guest chefs to tempt your palette; and silent auction items to entice your sense of adventure; with the headline of the night being world-class horsemen and women in the greatest discipline switch ever imagined.
The Live Oak International Driving Event will celebrate its 20th year in 2012. Over this 20 year period it has been the industry standard for Combined Driving Competition welcoming leading drivers, trainers, coaches and owners from Europe and North America and drawing thousands of people to the area as we again serve the dual purposes of giving the public a chance to enjoy world class combined driving competition while also supporting many non-profit and charity goals. The 2012 Event will host the USEF National Championships for Four In Hand Horses.
