Dressage
The first weekend of the 2010 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of Champions got underway at the USET Foundation Headquarters in Gladstone, NJ. Along with the National Intermediaire I Championships the first phase of the National Grand Prix competition, which is serving at the USEF Selection Trial for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games also took place.
The Prix St. Georges (the first leg of the National Intermediaire I Championships) kicked off the competition on Friday; 22-year-old Kassandra Barteau held her own in the division of far more senior riders winning the class with a score of 70.000% aboard Toscano. In the Intermediaire I test the following day, it was Cesar Parra, a Colombian native riding in his first US National Championship since becoming a US citizen in 2009, who took the win with the 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood Olympia. The Freestyle wrapped up the National Intermediaire I Championships on Sunday. Parra and Olympia once again impressed everyone on hand, and performed to a musical melody of Earth, Wind and Fire to become the 2010 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF National Intermediaire I Champions. Barteau and Toscano were the Reserve Champions. Barteau will return again next weekend to contest the Brentina Cup.
With more than just a USEF national title on the line, the competition was fierce in the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF National Grand Prix Dressage Championship. This weekend featured the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special. Taking a strong lead, Tina Konyot and Calecto V took top honors in both classes. In the Grand Prix, fresh from their trip to CHIO Aachen where they gained measures of European experience, Konyot rode with confidence and Calecto V thrived in the atmosphere to score a 74.894%. Katherine Bateson-Chandler started off on the right foot with her brand new ride Nartan. Owned by Jane Forbes Clark, Nartan rose to the occasion for Bateson-Chandler and delivered big time and earned a mark of 71.872% from the five judges. Todd Flettrich and Otto delivered a stellar effort to round out the top three.
On Sunday the Grand Prix Special, the second of four phases of Grand Prix competition, took place. The top three places from the Grand Prix remained unchanged, with the determined Konyot once again putting in a stellar performance for the win.
There are two more legs left in the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF National Grand Prix Championship and the scores are cumulative over the four classes. The two Grand Prix count for 30% each of the total score, the Special counts for 25% and the Freestyle for 15%. The Grand Prix will take place on Friday afternoon and the Freestyle will be featured on Sunday.
The second weekend of the Festival of Champions (Aug 13-15) also features National Junior, Young Rider and the Brentina Cup Dressage Championships.
Complete information and results can be found here: http://www.usef.org/_IFrames/breedsDisciplines/discipline/competitions/FestivalOfChampions.aspx
Don't miss a moment of the action over the second weekend! Watch online in real-time at: http://www.useflive.com
Jumping
Over the last three months, eight cities have hosted the 10 best jumping teams in the world for Meydan FEI Nations Cup action. The CSIO Dublin served as the final leg of the series, and the US show jumping team made a strong showing all week. With several solid performances early in the week the US team fought hard in Friday's Nations Cup, ending up second behind the Dutch. The US finished the Meydan FEI Nations Cup series with 44 points, ranking them second overall behind France.
Over the weekend action continued in Dublin, Beezie Madden got the US off on the winning foot Sunday with a win the Speed Championships aboard Prima, teammate Cara Raether and Lyonell were fifth. In the Longines International Grand Prix of Ireland McLain Ward and new partner Anatares F were the fastest of only six double clear rounds to take home the win. Fellow American Laura Kraut also jumped double clear with Cedric for a fifth place finish.
For Madden's effort throughout the show she was honored with the Longines Best International Rider Award at CSIO Dublin. Ward was honored for his achievement throughout the summer when he was awarded the Longines Elegance Award based on his style and success throughout the entire tour.
Complete results from Dublin are available here: http://www.longinestiming.com/sports/equestrian/racearchives/dublin2010/index.htm and all the Meydan FEI Nations Cup information is available here: http://www.meydanfeinationscup.org/Pages/Default.aspx