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 Margie Engle won the $50,000 FEI World Cup Grand Prix with Australian-bred Indigo (Indoctro x Dutchman) and was second on Lord Spezi (Lord Pezi x Grandeur). Photos © ManciniPhotos Wellington, FL – December 3, 2011 – The $50,000 FEI World Cup Grand Prix was the highlight class of the week at the Holiday and Horses Show, hosted by Equestrian Sport Productions (ESP) at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL. Margie Engle of Wellington, FL, and Indigo were able to secure the victory in the FEI World Cup qualifier, and Engle also finished second with Lord Spezi. The show concludes on Sunday, December 4.
Anthony D’Ambrosio of Red Hook, NY, set the course for 42 entries and six were able to find the path to a clear round. “I thought it was a good course,” Engle said. “The oxer to oxer one stride you don’t see very often. You need to have that for World Cup courses. It’s a real scope test and you need a legitimate horse to do it. There were a lot of rails in different places. If you’re going to do World Cup Finals, you need that. He tested everything; he tested carefulness, he tested scope, the verticals were quite tall. I thought he did a great job.”
Continue reading Margie Engle and Indigo Grab Victory in $50,000 FEI World Cup Grand Prix, CSI 2*
 Ludger Beerbaum and Gotha ( ), winners of the Rolex FEI World Cup™-Stuttgart. Karl-Heinz Frieler/FEI photo. by Louise Parkes — Ludger Beerbaum claimed the honours for Germany today in the fifth leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping Western European League series on his home turf at Stuttgart. Madeleine Winter-Schulze’s 10-year-old mare, Gotha, has been going from strength to strength in the hands of the five-time Olympian in recent months, and produced a superb jump-off round to clinch maximum points for the 48 year-old veteran who won the prestigious series title 18 years ago.
It was no walk-in-the-park afternoon for the world’s top competitors, with only six of the 39 starters finding all the answers to the demanding 13-fence first-round track set by Christa Jung. The German course designer stretched them from the first fence to the last, and the eight retirements on course were testament to the degree of difficulty.
“It was not too technical but it was quite big – Christa did a good job,” Beerbaum said afterwards. “There were mistakes at all the fences, except, I think, the first – it was selective,” he added.
COMPLICATED
Starting them off with a triple bar followed by a wall standing 1.55m high, the course was ratcheted up a notch by a line of fences that began with a vertical which had a dark plank on top.
Continue reading Beerbaum Storms to Victory in Stuttgart
 Hickstead (Hamlet x Ekstein), the sensational Jumping stallion that Eric Lamaze (CAN) rode to individual gold at the 2008 Olympic Games in Hong collapsed and died in Verona (ITA) today. Photo: Eric Lamaze and Hickstead at Spruce Meadows. Kit Houghton/FEI. Lausanne (SUI), 6 November 2011- The fourth leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping 2011/2012 series at Verona, Italy was stopped today following the sudden death of the stallion Hickstead, ridden by reigning Olympic champion and world number one Eric Lamaze (CAN).
Drawn 22nd of the 39 on the startlist, the Canadian partnership had just completed Rolf Ludi’s 13-fence track with a single rail down in the middle of the combination when Hickstead collapsed and died.
Continue reading Equestrian Sport Loses Equine Superstar Hickstead
 Richard Spooner and Western League YJC Graduaate Cristallo (Caretino x Cicero) won the Alltech National Horse Show $250,000 Grand Prix CSI-W. Shawn McMillen photo. Lexington, KY – November 5, 2011 – The Open Jumper action at the Alltech National Horse Show, 128th Edition, wrapped up tonight with a fast-paced jump-off during the Alltech National Horse Show $250,000 Grand Prix CSI-W. Richard Spooner and Cristallo set the pace with tidy inside turns and a clear effort, beating Great Britain’s Nick Skelton aboard Carlo 273 by just three-tenths of a second. Jessica Springsteen and Cincinatti La Silla rounded out the three as the fastest four-fault combination during the short course. (Ed. note: Cristallo and Richard Spooner placed 6th in the 6YO, and 2nd in the 7/8YO Wild Turkey Farm YJC Western League Finals in 2004 and 2005, respectively.)
Continue reading Richard Spooner and YJC Graduate Cristallo Capture $250,000 CSI-W Grand Prix
 Rolf-Goran Bengtsson (SWE) riding Casall La Silla (Caretino x Lavall I) winners CSIW-Lyon. Kit Houghton/FEI photo. October 30, 2011 – by Louise Parkes — Sweden’s Rolf-Goran Bengtsson galloped to victory in the third leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping Western European League 2011/2012 series in Lyon, France this afternoon. Riding Casall La Silla, the man who so deservedly won Individual gold at the FEI European Jumping Championships in Madrid, Spain last month snatched the lead at the halfway stage of today’s nine-horse jump-off and couldn’t be caught.
From the 40-strong field of world-class combinations, it was The Ukraine’s Katharina Offel and Cathleen 28 who claimed runner-up spot ahead of Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat with Nino des Buissonnets in third, while host-nation hero Kevin Staut filled fourth place riding Zeta de Hus.
Course designer, Frank Rothenberger, produced a masterpiece – a 13-fence track that asked questions from start to finish but which produced a sparkling line-up for the second and deciding round against the clock in which rideability was tested to the very limit.
Continue reading Bengtsson Reigns Supreme in Rolex FEI World Cup Lyon
You’ve seen his images from many of the world’s top international equestrian events. Now the FEI photographer has launched an interactive online magazine Vision of the Horse, celebrating the best of global equestrianism.
“Vision” is the idea of Kit Houghton, one of the world’s most experienced and respected equestrian photographers, and fully explores the potential of still [...]
 Christian Ahlmann GER riding Taloubet Z (Galoubet A x Polydor) Winner of the Rolex FEI World Cup 2011. Kit Houghton/FEI photo. by Louise Parkes– Germany’s Christian Ahlmann claimed the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping 2010/2011 title in a thrilling finale on his home ground in Leipzig today with superb jumping from his stallion, Taloubet Z (Galoubet A x Polydor) Sharing the lead with fellow-countryman Marco Kutscher, the 36-year-old rider added just four faults to an otherwise foot-perfect performance to finish ahead of reigning Olympic champion Eric Lamaze from Canada, while The Netherlands’ Jeroen Dubbeldam rocketed up from overnight 11th to finish third when producing one of only two clear double clears on the final afternoon.
There was huge disappointment for Kutscher who had the world’s most prestigious indoor title in his sights until his luck ran out at the very end. Such was the unforgiving nature of Frank Rothenberger’s testing courses however that the slightest of errors proved very costly indeed. Today’s jumping was about scope, speed, courage, accuracy and, most importantly, the rideability of the horses. In the end it was Ahlmann’s 11-year-old Taloubet Z who put all the ingredients together to create the winning formula.
FIND THE KEY
US riders were first to find the key to the opening track as veteran Margie Engle’s spectacular round with the exciting grey, Indigo, was followed by a copybook run from Beezie Madden and the stunning YJC Graduate Coral Reef Via Volo. These ladies however were jumping middle-order in the start-list of 27 runners after the previous two competitions, and it didn’t seem that Dubbeldam’s clear with BMC van Grunsven Simon, or the equally impressive fault-free effort from 10th-placed McLain Ward and Antares F, would prove overly influential. The remaining nine however struggled to leave all the fences up – defending champion Marcus Ehning from Germany lowering both the second element of the triple combination at fence four and the last element of the final double to slip from contention with Sabrina.
Continue reading Ahlmann Claims Rolex FEI World Cup in Thrilling Finale
 Beezie Madden and YJC Graduate Coral Reef Via Volo (Clinton x Heartbreaker). Photo by Rebecca Walton/Phelps Media Group.
Leipzig, Germany – The Rolex/FEI World Cup Final came to a close Sunday afternoon in Leipzig, Germany, with two final rounds of jumping. The U.S. had strong representation in this competition as they sent seven of the 27 riders into the ring. In the third and final competition, riders jumped two rounds over Frank Rothenberger’s demanding 1.60m courses. The entire field would contest the first round, with 19 riders returning to the arena one last time to determine who would be crowned champion.
Beezie Madden (Cazenovia, NY) and Coral Reef Via Volo jumped two impressive clear rounds to tie for the win of the class as well as tie for fourth place in the overall World Cup Final ranking on a score of 12. Coral Reef Ranch’s exciting Belgian Warmblood mare made easy work of the 12-obstacle course. In the second round, Madden made an incredible save heading to the double combination, fence 11, after Coral Reef Via Volo spooked at the crowd heading to the double combination after fence 10.
“She went amazing,” Madden said. “There’s probably nothing she can’t jump, and I had a lot of confidence in that when I went out there.”
Madden was the highest-placing female rider in the 2011 Rolex/FEI World Cup Final and she and Coral Reef Via Volo were one of only two combinations to jump two clear rounds. Via Volo was campaigned through her young jumper years by Alison Robitaille.
Continue reading Beezie and YJC Graduate Coral Reef Via Volo tie for 1st in Round 3 of Rolex FEI World Cup Final
 McLain Ward and Antares F (Araconit x Cento) are highest ranking US pair going into Sunday's World Cup Final. Rebecca Walton/Phelps Media Group. Leipzig, Germany - (by Helen Murray)– The Rolex/FEI World Cup Final saw a shuffle throughout the standings after the conclusion of the second round this afternoon. With forty-four World Cup points up for grabs and the chance to head into the final round on zero faults, clear rounds were at a premium. Forty horse/rider combinations jumped Frank Rothenberger’s impressive track, with seven riders representing six different nations returning for the jump-off.
In Sunday’s final only the top twenty-nine riders from the first two rounds will have the opportunity to jump in the championship. The US will be represented by seven riders in this round and McLain Ward (Brewster, NY) will lead the charge as the top placed American.
Ward rebounded from Thursday’s first round, which saw him lower two rails despite posting a competitive time. Today Ward rode Antares F and the pair jumped a stylish clear round to be the third horse to qualify for the jump-off. The Wurttemberger gelding owned by Grant Road Partners, LLC demonstrated immaculate jumping to make light work of Friday’s initial course.
Continue reading Ward Stands Tenth as US Sends Seven to the Final Round of the Rolex/FEI World Cup Final
 Eric Lamaze (CAN) riding Hickstead (Hamlet x Ekstein), winners of Rolex FEI World Cup™- The Final Round 2. Kit Houghton/FEi photo. 29 Apr 2011–by Louise Parkes–Germany’s Christian Ahlmann and Marco Kutscher share the lead going into Sunday’s third and deciding competition at the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final 2010/2011 on their home ground at Leipzig. But it was reigning Olympic champion, Canada’s Eric Lamaze, who reigned supreme in today’s second qualifier riding the great stallion Hickstead. The win has bounced Lamaze up to fifth spot, just six points behind the leading pair as the thrilling series draws to a close.
The startlist for today’s class was reduced to 40 following the withdrawal of Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Al Sharbatly, and course designer Frank Rothenberger lived up to his promise to present a considerably stronger track. A total of seven made it through to the second-round jump-off which Frenchman Simon Delestre (Couletto) and New Zealand’s Katie McVean (Delphi) missed out by picking up just a single time fault. McVean has created quite a sensation this week however as the 24-year-old daughter of Australian legend Jeff McVean has ridden her home-bred 10-year-old daughter of IJF nominated stallion Lio Calyon (owned by YJC Western League sponsor Wild Turkey Farm) with extraordinary confidence and panache. Despite not making the cut into the timed round, she is lying in fourth place, just behind The Netherlands’ Gerco Schroder, going into Sunday’s decider after the result of the first two competitions have been calculated into points.
Continue reading German Duo Share Lead Going into Last Leg of Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Final
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