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English Events Horse Happenings

Longines FEI Jumping World Cup 2019/2020 Western European League

Extraordinary Ehning tops Madrid thriller with phenomenal Pret a Tout

Madrid, Spain – Dec. 2, 2019 – by Louise Parkes. Pret a Tout more than lived up to his name when carrying German ace, Marcus Ehning, to victory in today’s Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ 2019/2020 Western European League qualifier at Madrid in Spain. 

Fourth to go in a breathtaking nine-horse jump-off, the pair took the lead with a spectacular run that stopped the clock in 43.30 seconds and couldn’t be caught. Ehning’s compatriot and 2011 series champion. Christian Ahlmann. came a close second with his exciting nine-year-old stallion Dominator 2000 Z, while Belgium’s Pieter Devos and Espoir finished third. The crowd packed into the IFEMA Arena in the Spanish capital city were treated to a fabulous afternoon of sport.

Course designer, Javier Trenor, set the stage with a 12-fence first-round track in which almost every fence was on a related distance. Absolute accuracy was required to successfully navigate the roll-backs, dog-legs and tight turns in the small arena, and the 66 seconds time-allowed also played its part. But when it came to the jump-off then it was speed and courage that would count, with two exceptionally long runs in the closing stages. And Ehning was at his very best – so fast that he could take a check before the last and still set an unbeatable target.

He wasn’t quite so convinced himself however. “I thought maybe I had left a small gap, but as it turned out I didn’t!” he said afterwards.

Italy’s Emilio Bicocchi and Evita SG Z produced the first jump-off clear in 44.93 and then Devos and his big-striding gelding Espoir raised the bar with a flyer at the last to break the beam in 43.66. But Ehning and Pret a Tout shaved almost a quarter of a second off that when galloping through the finish in 43.30. 

He then had to sit back and watch the five that followed him, only Ahlmann and his lovely nine-year-old Dominator seriously threatening when scorching home in 43.53. A little wobble on the gallop to the final oxer may have made all the difference – “I had a chance to win today but my last line was not the best!” admitted the man who lifted the coveted series trophy back in 2011. But he was still thrilled with runner-up spot on a stallion that is only nine years old and showing such immense promise.

Ehning was delighted with Ruth Krech’s 16-year-old gelding who clearly still loves his job. He’s an extraordinary horse because he shows the same enthusiasm and ability in a massive arena like Aachen (GER) where he won the Grand Prix in 2018 as he does in a much smaller arena like today’s venue in Madrid. 

“He’s a very fast and experienced horse, and I also have a bit of experience!” said the double Olympian and three-time FEI Jumping World Cup™ champion who is one of the most admired horsemen in the sport. 

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English Events Horse Happenings

CHAMPIONS HEAD IROQUOIS (GR. 1) NOMINEES

Photo by Todd Marks

May 1, 2019 by Don Clippinger

Two champions owned by Bruton Street-US, Scorpiancer and Moscato, are among seven nominees for the $150,000 Calvin Houghland Iroquois (Gr. 1), the keynote race of the 78th annual Iroquois Steeplechase at Nashville’s Percy Warner Park on Saturday, May 11.  The Calvin Houghland Iroquois, the richest race on the National Steeplechase Association’s spring calendar, will conclude an Iroquois Steeplechase program that includes two other stakes races, the Marcellus Frost Champion Hurdle and the Margaret Currey Henley for fillies and mares. First post time is 1 p.m. CDT.

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English Events Horse Happenings

ANDI’AMU WINS VIRGINIA GOLD CUP

Photo by Todd Marks

May 4, 2019, By Don Clippingger

Ballybristol Farm’s Andi’amu, on the lead for much of Saturday’s $100,000 Virginia Gold Cup, turned back a strong challenge at the last fence by Le Chevalier and drew clear in the stretch to win the classic timber race by three lengths.  Michael A. Smith’s Le Chevalier, who had lingered toward the back of the seven-horse field for the first three miles of the four-mile Virginia Gold Cup, took second, 15 lengths clear of Irv Naylor’s Super Saturday in third.

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English Events Horse Happenings

Sharn Wordley and Gatsby Sweep the Week to Win the $72,000 St. Luke’s Hospital Grand Prix CSI 2*

Mill Spring, NC – May 4, 2019 – Sharn Wordley (NZL) and Gatsby kicked off the Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC) “Saturday Night Lights” 2019 series with a win in the $72,000 St. Luke’s Hospital Grand Prix CSI 2*, stopping the jump-off timers in 39.018 seconds to take a second win on the week.

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Colleges English Equine Schools Events Horse Happenings

USEF/CACCHIONE CUP FEATURED AND WESTERN DIVISIONS CELEBRATE 40TH ANNIVERSARY DURING SECOND DAY OF IHSA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Adam Edgar in Cacchione Cup Over Fences Phase. Photo by EQ Media,

N.Y.—May 3, 2019 —The 2019 Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) National Championships resumed for the second day of action at the Expo Center at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse. The first two phases of the coveted USEF/Cacchione Cup, the Equitation Over Fences and the Equitation on the Flat took place. The Western riders and horses also began competition, featuring AQHA Team Open Reining and Individual Open Western Horsemanship. All teams participated in the colorful Parade of Teams.

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English Events Horse Happenings

Award Winners Received Special Trophies from L.V. Harkness at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS EQUESTRIAN

Lexington, KY – May 03, 2019 – Oliver Townend, the winner of the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS EQUESTRIAN won $130,000 in prize money, a new Rolex Oyster Perpetual watch, and a 12-month lease for a 2019 Land Rover Discovery. Based on where they placed, the top 20 competitors also shared proportionally in the $400,000 pot of prize money.

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English Events Horse Happenings

Vaulters from Around the World Set to Rock During Week 2 of WEG

Christie’s International Real Estate Vaulting competition will open tomorrow and continue throughout the week at the Indoor Arena at TIEC.

Spectators can expect an exciting mix of energy, athletic powers and theatrical skills when Christie’s International Real Estate’s Vaulting discipline opens its gymnastics on horseback at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018 on Tuesday, September 18. The Indoor Arena at Tryon International Equestrian Center will be a bubbling cauldron of music, noise and anticipation.

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English Events Horse Happenings

Tryon Para-Dressage Program Promises To Provide Unforgettable Moments

Great Britain will once again be the team to beat when Adequan® Para-Dressage begins at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018 on Tuesday.

And British talisman Sir Lee Pearson will break a WEG record if he adds to his medal collection during a packed Para-Dressage program that sees more than 60 competitors from 23 countries lining up.

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English Events Horse Happenings

It’s A Golden Glow For British Eventers As They Win Team Title In Tryon

Tryon, NC USA – September 17, 2018 – Great Britain’s eventers claimed a golden double on an unforgettable day of action at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018 (WEG). Rosalind Canter not only led the British team to glory – their first world Gold medal since 2010 – but she also won the Individual title with her brilliant 13-year-old gelding, Allstar B.

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English Events Horse Happenings

Eventing’s major medal contenders pass final horse inspection despite moments of tension

By Luke Norman

The British team, overnight leaders after cross country, all sailed through this afternoon’s rain-soaked horse inspection, as did individual leaders, German Ingrid Klimke’s SAP Hale Bob OLD and Briton Rosalind Canter’s Allstar B.