Lexington, Ky. – A rainy day at the Kentucky Classic CDE did not stop the competitors in the USEF Four-in-Hand Driving National Championship from delivering competitive performances in the marathon phase over the picturesque grounds of the Kentucky Horse Park. Chester Weber won the phase and remained atop the leaderboard as he looks to claim his 12th National title.

Weber (Ocala, Fla.) and his and Jane Clark’s team looked phenomenal throughout the Richard Nicoll’s marathon course, adding 107.85 penalty points to their score. He and his horses were the fastest combination in five of the seven obstacles on course. Though Weber has a newer line-up to his team for this event, they laid down an excellent performance, giving him confidence as he looks ahead to next year’s FEI World Four-in-Hand Driving Championships. He and his team head into the final day of competition with an overall score of 145.92.

“I was really pleased with the horses,” Weber said. “We had one inexperienced young one in the right lead, Danzer, who did really well. We also had Boris W and Para, my main two marathon wheelers, and Ultra as my left leader. He has been a bit of our spare leader but he might bump up to the big group because I was really impressed with him today. The track here is a bit similar to Breda where the World Championships are next year; it’s a bit long, and Ultra just kept a good rhythm the whole time and did a really good job.”

James Fairclough (Newton, N.J.) moved up from fourth place to second after a solid marathon performance. Though he and his team had a few sticky moments making it to some gates within obstacles two, three, and six, they were efficient elsewhere, having the fastest times at obstacles five and seven. Fairclough and his team added 116.00 penalty points to their score to sit in second place on a score of 161.54.

Allison Stroud (West Grove, Pa.) had a great day, confidently driving her team as they tackled the course. She ran into trouble at obstacle six when she missed the E gate, but she got back on track and finished strongly. Stroud collected 126.90 penalty points in the marathon phase to lie in third place with an overall score of 171.95.

Misdee Wrigley Miller (Lakewood Ranch, Fla.) had an impressive clean round with her team, giving her a big confidence boost in the challenging marathon phase. She and her horses easily answered the questions of the course, tallying 135.78 penalty points. Heading into the cones phase, Wrigley Miller sits in fourth place on a score of 181.22.

The championship will come to its conclusion on Sunday with the cones phase held in the Rolex Stadium.

Find out more about the Kentucky Classic CDE.