New Canadian David Marcus is Making his Mark in Dressage
Thursday, May 03 2012
by Editor
Wellington, Florida– David Marcus of Campbellville, ON, made the most of his new Canadian citizenship, putting himself in contention for Olympic consideration following a strong winter competition season in Florida. Several weeks of international dressage competition are held in the Wellington, West Palm Beach and Loxahatchee areas, making south Florida a top destination for dressage athletes from around the world. Marcus, 31, received his Canadian citizenship on December 28, 2011, and promptly began representing his new country successfully, scoring over 70% with Chrevi’s Capital in the national grand prix held at the Wellington Classic Dressage Premier from January 12 to 15 in Loxahatchee, Florida. Even more impressively, the national competition in Loxahatchee marked the first grand prix test for Marcus’s mount, Chrevi’s Capital owned by Deborah Kinzinger. In just four short months competing at the sport’s highest level together, Marcus and the 12-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding have formed a solid partnership that has seen them achieve an average score of 67.251% for Olympic consideration. As of May 1, Marcus is ranked fifth overall in a hotly contested race for a spot on the 2012 Canadian Olympic Dressage Team. “At every competition this winter, Chrevi’s Capital steadily increased his scores by one or two percent, culminating in the CDI5* at the Global Dressage Festival where we placed second in the Grand Prix Special,” said Marcus of the CDI5* Global Dressage Festival held March 28 to April 1 in Wellington, Florida. “I am thrilled with the progress he has made; he has exceeded my expectations. I had hoped that he would do this well, but he progressed so quickly, going from having never done a grand prix to now being so consistent in the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special that we are in the running for a place on the Olympic team.”
- Published in What's Happenin', Z-Blogs
Tagged under:
december-2011, education, every-horse, february-2010, higher education, in the irons, november-2011, september-2010, what's happenin'
No such thing as an “easy” Grand Prix.
Wednesday, May 02 2012
by Editor
Fox Lea farm has been running horse shows ever since I moved down to Florida, and it’s always been a very relaxing place to show.
- Published in General, In the Irons, Z-Blogs
Tagged under:
bridge-farms, entries, farms, hatchaway-bridge-farms, in the irons, the-barn-book, wordpress-org
ROLEX IN RETROSPECT: 1st of May Thoughts, A Few Cheers & Jeers
Tuesday, May 01 2012
by Editor
Hello, horse sports fans - Rolex was its usual three-ring, four-star greatest equestrian show on earth. We love being there, in spite of & perhaps because of the marathon-intense dawn to midnight work days, and we’re already planning for next year, but in addition to great cheers, there were some serious disappointments. JEERS to the official videographers of Rolex KY It sucked in places, the video coverage of the XC by the official videographers – such as only two fences shown of Sara Kozumplik and Manolo Blahnik – I mean, what’s wrong with these people? I would mention them by name but don’t care to give them any ink! How many riders did they “cheat” of XC footage? They wasted precious time filming riders who had just come off the course, showed at least one derriere view of trim/slim female rider (lovely but this is not a nightclub, it’s cross-country!), no sound but several seconds of rider being interviewed, and lots more footage of horses being sponged off – gee whiz, get your priorities in order. We want to see the jumping, the action – the cross-country heart of eventing!!! Sara Kozumplik has devoted years to Manolo Blahnik - here they are in Manny's four-star debut at the third last fence on the cross-country, the double offset brushes which demand precision and momentum so late in the course. But the official video shows them at two jumps only - WTH??
- Published in Lauren Gallops, Z-Blogs
Tagged under:
december-2010, education, eventing-nation, higher education, in the irons, paget-nzr, rolex, the-barn-book
Rolex Kentucky: Fox-Pitt (GBR), Springer (USA), Paget (NZR), Martin (USA), O’Connor (USA)
Sunday, April 29 2012
by Editor
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes – Ka-CHANG! Yep, Derek di Grazia created a cross-country test that demanded precision and riders minding their Px & Qs every step of the way.
- Published in Lauren Gallops, Z-Blogs
Tagged under:
adrotate, december-2010, december-2011, education, eventing-nation, in the irons, martin-usa, on the line, paget-nzr
ROLEX KENTUCKY – AM Cross-Country CH-CH-CH-CHANGES!!!
Saturday, April 28 2012
by Editor
Wowie zowie – what a morning – we’re still reeling from the changes in the leaderboard. Even before the XC began, there were three withdrawals: Buck Davidson pulled out with Absolute Liberty, who would have been first out of the start box this morning, & his Pan Titanium, Jolie Wentworth & Killian O’Connor. Then, only two completed the cross-country out of the first seven horses to start this morning! Two retired on course: Andrew Nicholson (NZL) took out a frangible pin at 9abc – Bridgestone Park Question (coffin combination), picking up 21 penalties, and James Alliston (GBR) and Jumbo’s Jake after they accumulated 20 penalties at 9abc – and 17abcde, the Sunken Road. Three were eliminated – Karen O’Connor had a splash crash at the HSBC Water Park (5abcd) – no injuries to horse or rider, just dampened spirits, but Karen has another chance with Mr. Medicott this afternoon. Becky Holder and Courageous Comet got to #22abc, the HSBC FEI Classic Series Normandy Bank, but parted company and Becky bought a cheap piece of real estate that cost dearly in terms of her goals with her wonderful ex-racehorse
- Published in Lauren Gallops, Z-Blogs
Tagged under:
action, chasin', education, eventing-nation, february-2011, february-2012, higher education, in the irons, lauren-giannini, november-2010, on the line, september-2010
Rolex Kentucky: Where The Action Is!
Saturday, April 28 2012
by Editor
Sara Kozumplik and Manolo Blahnik, exuding class at Manny's first ever four-star in spite of boogie moments during their waltz... © Lauren R Giannini Okay, so we’re only one person and we can’t be everywhere & do everything, but on Friday, we made a point of getting to the dressage arena to watch our friend Sara Kozumplik and Manolo Blahnik who was ready and eager for the cross-country, but a day early. Their score put them well down on the leaderboard standings, but ya wanna know something? That test might have been a disappointment to Sara and Brian Murphy and Lara, who’s grooming her first Rolex – understandable after all the years of preparation to get here, but we felt very proud of Manny for not leaping out of the ring and thundering off to the XC. It’s his first four-star and he’s a bit of a sensitive, complex creature under the best of circumstances and the horse gods know what an electric atmosphere Rolex tends to be
- Published in Lauren Gallops, Z-Blogs
Allison Springer & Arthur In First Place After Dressage, Stalked by Fox-Pitt & Parklane Hawk
Friday, April 27 2012
by Editor
Allison Springer has been in the catbird seat after dressage before, but not on the last day. This is her fifth Rolex with Arthur, and she entered the arena at 11:30 a.m. with the brilliant but somewhat quirky gelding who gave her pretty much everything she asked. The judges rewarded the duo’s test with a score of 39.8 penalty points, thereby ousting Parklane Hawk and William Fox-Pitt (GBR) on 41.3pp from the first place berth they had earned a couple of hours earlier
- Published in Lauren Gallops, Z-Blogs
Tagged under:
adrotate, dubarry-babies, february-2012, horses, in the irons, november-2010, november-2011, on the line, rolex-kentucky, september-2010, the-barn-book, wordpress-org
Rolex Kentucky – New Vocations & Retired Racehorse Training Project Fundraiser & Dubarry Babies
Friday, April 27 2012
by Editor
Dawn comes early, especially during Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Bridgeston. Last night, however, we feasted very well at the Alltech Press Dinner hosted by Dr. Pearse Lyons at his Alltech Brewery, home of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale.
- Published in Lauren Gallops, Z-Blogs
Tagged under:
archives, december-2010, early-leaders, eventing-nation, february-2012, in the irons, november-2010, on the line, rolex, september-2010, the-barn-book
ROLEX 3-Day: Dubarry Style Awards, Cross-Country Course Walks, Things To Do, ETC
Thursday, April 26 2012
by Editor
Welcome to Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Bridgestone – and the first day of dressage. We had just enough time to get to the stadium where we took a few pix of Sinead Halpin and “Tate” – Manoir de Carneville, who performed the test ride. Last year they finished third at Rolex, winning the USET Foundation Pinnacle Cup as the highest-placed US rider/horse combination as well as Best Conditioned Horse.
- Published in Lauren Gallops, Z-Blogs
Tagged under:
adrotate, archives, chasin', education, eventing-nation, hollywood, hollywood-movie, horses, in the irons, november-2011, on the line, things-to-do
UVA polo dominates the USPA Intercollegiate National Tournaments
Wednesday, April 25 2012
by Editor
UVA Men (left to right): Felipe Viana, Lou Lopez, Todd Thurston, Eduardo Lopez, Mauricio Lopez, CB Scherer, LJ Lopez UVA polo dominated the USPA Intercollegiate National Tournaments this past weekend in Ithaca, N.Y., taking home titles in both the men’s and women’s events. The Cavalier squads faced strong competition throughout the tournaments, which featured top college programs and some of the best young players in the United States. The UVA men’s team defeated Cornell in the semifinal and went on to win the championship with a 23-17 victory against Westmont in the final. UVA Women (left to right): Lou Lopez, Isabella Wolf, Kylie Sheehan, Julia Steiner, Vicky Friedrichs, LJ Lopez In the women’s tournament, UVA took down a solid Texas A&M team before meeting rival Cornell in the final and winning in a close 17-13 contest The National Intercollegiate Championship is part of the USPA’s Intercollegiate/Interscholastic polo program, which is committed to growing the sport of polo with players and fans. Several players from the winning UVA teams are part of the premier Team USPA development program as well, which is also highly involved in training and teaching young polo players. With the help of programs like these, polo is experiencing a resurgence in the U.S.as depicted in the recent in-depth feature on “60 Minutes” surrounding the sport. All Star Honorees Men Women Felipe Viana – UVA Julia Steiner – UVA CB Scherer – UVA Kailey Eldredge – Cornell Patrick Uretz –Westmont Kylie Sheehan – UVA Wiley Uretz -Westmont Isabella Wolf – UVA
- Published in What's Happenin', Z-Blogs
Tagged under:
charity, chasin', december-2010, devon, events, february-2010, february-2011, in the irons, irons-injecting, laurengallops, november-2011, september-2010