Dressage

Following their second and third place finishes in the CDIW at the Palm Beach Dressage Derby, Elisabeth Austin and Olivier and Shawna Harding and Come On III have earned their qualification to represent the U.S. at the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Final. The 2011 Final will be held in Leipzig, Germany. April 27- May 1.

Austin and Olivier score of 70.150% placed them second behind Swedish rider Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven on Favourit in the Grand Prix Freestyle. Harding and Come On III finished just behind them on a score of 69.250%. These riders swapped placings in the Grand Prix with Harding finishing second behind Vilhelmson-Silfven on 68.745% and Austin scoring 65.660%.

Austin and Harding join Tina Konyot, who had previously qualified with Calecto V as riders eligible for the 2011 Reem Acra FEI World Cup Final. Konyot was second in the Grand Prix Special at the Palm Beach Derby. German-based American rider Catherine Haddad, is currently ranked fifth in the Western European League with Winymaro, with one remaining qualifier. There are two more West Coast Qualifiers in the United States, both in California.

Reem Acra FEI World Cup Standings are available here: http://www.feiworldcup.org/Dressage/Pages/Results.aspx

Also at the Palm Beach Derby, Heather Blitz continued to dominate the small tour with Paragon, winning the Prix St. Georges on a score of 76.053%. Harding was second with Rigo, scoring 71.491% and Linda Alicki was third on Donates. In the Intermediaire I, Blitz won again - this time on a score of 76.754%. Tom Noone was second on Delphino with 70.702%. Harding and Rigo were third with a score of 70.715%.

Information about the event is available here: http://www.pbderby.com/derby.html

Jumping

U.S. jumping riders dominated from coast-to-coast over the weekend. Highlighted by the impressive victory by the U.S. Team in the $75,000 FEI Nations Cup presented by G&C Farm where McLain Ward led the winning with his two flawless rounds on his veteran mare, Sapphire. Beezie Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo had a four-fault result in the first round, but produced a polished second round effort. Margie Engle had the very last jump down in the second round on her up-and-coming superstar, Indigo. And WEG veteran Mario Deslauriers rode Urico to a four-fault effort - they did not have to return for the second round under the CSIO4* rules. The U.S. finished on a two-round total of eight faults, over defending champs, the Canadians who ended on 12. There was a three-way tie for third.

On Sunday, Lauren Hough topped a first-class field with Quick Study to outrun Nick Skelton and Carlo 273 by 5/10ths of a second to win the $150,000 Wellington Equestrian Realty Grand Prix, CSIO4*. The victory was impressive and Hough credited her ride to the difficult combination for the win.

Deslauriers won the $30,000 WEF Challenge on Thursday in an impressive effort on Vicomte D.

Watch the Nations Cup, Saturday night's $35,000 Hermes Puissance and the Grand Prix on Sunday on www.usefnetwork.com, where results, course maps and photos are also available.

Young Rider Lucy Davis was unstoppable on the West Coast, cruising to victory in a star-packed field to top the $50,000 HITS CSI-W Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health at HITS Thermal in California. Riding Nemo 119, the 18-year-old won her first World Cup Qualifier over Saer Coulter and Springtime. Davis then won Sunday's $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, on Hannah. It was an astounding accomplishment for any rider, but especially for one who won scored her first Grand Prix win in 2010.

The sold-out weekend brought the FEI World Cup Qualifying season to a close in California, but not before World Cup veteran Rich Fellers was awarded the Platinum Performance Leading World Cup Rider Award for his overall results in the four FEI World Cup Qualifiers at HITS Thermal. Fellers took home a one-year supply of Platinum Performance.

For more information, please visit www.hitsshows.com.

ENDS

For more information about the U.S. High Performance programs click here. To submit High Performance news, please e-mail: Joanie Morris.