Please visit: http://www.usefnetwork.com/featured/NAJYRC2011/ for the latest news, blogs, photos, videos, and coverage from the 2011 Adequan FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North.
Some highlights from the past two weeks overseas include:
Jumping
Hickstead, England - U.S. jumper Kent Farrington and Uceko bested all comers at the Longines King George V Gold Cup to take the title from a tough lineup with five British riders gunning for the title on home turf. Farrington, 30, based in New York and Wellington, FL, earned the title during his very first visit to Hickstead.
"I thought it was a really nice course today, and it was classically built," said Farrington, who bought the mount from the third-place finisher of the day, Leon Thijssen of The Netherlands.
For more information, visit http://www.hickstead.co.uk/news/kent-farrington-wins-longines-king-george-v-gold-cup.aspx.
Endurance
Euston, England- U.S. endurance rider Heather Reynolds stepped up and took the win at the 100-km Endurance Test Event Pre-Ride for the 2012 World Endurance Championship in Eustone Park, England, on July 24, 2011. Reynolds guided Opium Lord in the FEI CEI2* to cross the finish line in a time of 5 hours: 26 minutes: 03 seconds, averaging 22.45 km/hr. She was followed only eight seconds later by the United Arab Emirates Khalifa Ghanem Al Marri riding Taita. Team USA's Cheryl Van Deusen finished in 20th place aboard Dacora in a time of 8 hours: 23 minutes: 37 seconds. Thirty-eight riders started, 21 finished and 17 were eliminated during the ride.
In the 160-km race, Team USA's Becky Hart crossed the finish line in 13th place aboard Oued El Kebir Larzac, averaging 18.33 km/hr on a time of 8 hours: 43 minutes: 57 seconds.
For more information, visit http://eustonparkendurance.co.uk/default.aspx, or http://www.cso-scores.net/ for additional results.
Driving
Riesenbeck, Germany- If you are superstitious you might credit combined driving champion Chester Weber's fourth winning weekend in Europe to his team's "four lucky rabbit's feet." Team Weber's companion mascot, a hefty black rabbit named Kainzi, joined them earlier this summer at Altenfelden as a stable mate to Para to help keep the KWPN gelding calm at competitions. It was love at first sniff for Para and Kainzi and word is that the rabbit may have 'four lucky feet.'"
For more information, visit http://www.usef.org/_IFrames/newsdisplay/viewPR.aspx?id=7282&star=true.
But it takes more than luck to pull off the clean sweep in the dressage and the safe marathon round that made Team Weber impossible to beat last weekend at the Riesenbeck CAI. It does however seem a bit lucky that for the third time in his career Weber won the prestigious German Fahrderby. And as luck would have it, the win at Riesenbeck catapulted Weber into the number one ranked position for the FEI World Cup standings.
ENDS