Szilvásvárad, Hungary – All horses from the Defender U.S. Driving Team for the 2024 FEI Driving World Championship for Four-in-Hand Horses passed the first inspection on Wednesday morning, and the athletes are set to begin competition with the dressage phase on Thursday and Friday.

Jim Fairclough (Newton, N.J.) and his team will drive their dressage test on Thursday, Sept. 5, at 3:03 p.m. CEST (9:03 a.m. ET). Chester Weber (Ocala, Fla.) will drive on Friday, Sept. 6, at 12:38 p.m. CEST (6:38 a.m. ET). The marathon phase will run on Saturday, followed by cones and final awards.

The FEI Driving World Championship for Four-in-Hand Horses is held every other year, and this year will be the first since the FEI World Equestrian Games Tryon 2018 that the U.S. will be in contention for a team result. Two team members are required to complete the four-in-hand world championship to qualify for a team score; in 2022, the U.S. had only one athlete compete in the championship, and in 2020, the championship was cancelled due to COVID-19. In 2018, the U.S. team earned its first-ever team gold.

Event Information

The championship is being held Sept. 4-8, 2024, at Hungary’s State Stud Farm at Szilvásvárad, a historic breeding center for Lipizzaner horses. A total of 43 athletes from 14 nations will compete for world championship titles at this year’s event.

Official Website | Order of Go and Results | FEI Schedule

Livestream

Tune in live on ClipMyHorse.TV with a ClipMyHorse.TV Premium Membership. USEF Subscribers, Competing Members, and Fans receive a 10% discount on ClipMyHorse.TV Premium Memberships. Learn more here.

Stay Connected
Keep up with the Defender U.S. Driving Team and U.S. combined driving news by following USA Driving on Facebook and US Equestrian on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok. Use #USADriving.