Cian O'Connor and Walk Tall II (Sportfot) Wellington, FL - Week seven of the 2013 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival continued on Saturday afternoon with the $25,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic featured on the grass derby field at The Stadium at PBIEC. Richard Jeffery, of Bournemouth, England, is the course designer on the derby field for the week. On Saturday afternoon, Jeffery set the track for 31 entries in the $25,000 Suncast 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic. Only three...

Wellington, FL - Matthias Hollberg and Orphan Car set a speedy pace early in the order and held on to the first spot during today's class at The Ridge at Wellington's $175,000 1.40m Invitational Grand Prix Series. Hollberg and Orphan Car completed the jump-off in 38.448 seconds, taking a sharp inside turn between the first two fences and leaving all the rails up to secure the win. The $15,000 Grand Prix class, held under sunny skies at the beautiful Mida Farm in Wellington, drew a...

Breitling and Stephanie Riggio (Anne Gittins Photography) Wellington, FL - February 22, 2013 - Week seven of the 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF), sponsored by Hermès, continued on Friday in Wellington, FL, with World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) competition featured in the International Arena at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC). Today's classes were for amateur-owner hunters. Week seven of the FTI WEF runs February 20-24, 2013. The...

Walk Tall II and Cian O'Connor (Sportfot) Wellington, FL - Ireland's Cian O'Connor is back in Wellington for the remaining weeks of competition at the 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival after an exciting 2012 season. Following a fantastic Florida circuit last winter, O'Connor and his top mount, Blue Loyd 12, traveled to London to earn an individual bronze medal in this summer's Olympic Games. Blue Loyd was recently sold to young Canadian rider Nicole Walker, and...

Lauren Hester got her first taste of HITS Thermal grand prix glory this week. She and Abigail were the pair to beat in the $33,000 HITS Desert Classic, presented by Zoetis, as competition returned to HITS Desert Horse Park (Flying Horse Photography) Thermal, CA - It was a slow build to a big finish. Ten made the jump-off in the $33,000 HITS Desert Classic, presented by Zoetis, but it was 25-year-old Lauren Hester of Rancho Santa Fe, California who scored the win, riding Hester Equestrian, Inc....

Chester Weber, the nine-time USEF National Four-In-Hand Combined Driving Champion, will donate two days of training during the silent auction at the upcoming Salute To Driving USET fund raiser. He is shown here competing in 2011 at the CAI Altenfelden (Marie de Ronde-Oudemans ) Ocala, FL – Decorated combined driver Chester Weber will donate a package for Two Days of Training at the United States Equestrian Team’s “Salute to Driving” Fundraiser. The benefit is designed to...

Tracy Fenney and MTM Timon soar to a win in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, to kick off Week VI of grand prix competition at HITS Ocala (ESI Photography) Ocala, FL – Tracy Fenney of Flower Mound, Texas rode to a HITS Ocala hat trick with MTM Farm’s MTM Timon today, picking up her third grand prix win of the winter circuit. She and the13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding that carried her to three top-twenty finishes in the 2010, 2011 and 2012 Pfizer $1 Million...

The meeting of No.1 and No.2 is the highlight of this weekend's NCEA schedule. Overall there's a lot to follow on Saturday and Sunday. My brief preview of all the scheduled NCEA competition this week is below. No.1 University of Georgia vs. No2. Auburn University Indy Roper and the No.2 Auburn Tigers head to Bishop, GA to take on the No.1 Georgia Bulldogs (Danielle Long - Sophomore at Auburn) These two teams were separated by 1 point in the latest coaches poll and both are in the middle...

Quotable and Holly Orlando (Anne Gittins Photography) Wellington, FL - The hunters have officially taken over the International Arena during week seven of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF). Week seven showcases hunter competition at its finest as riders and horses go head-to-head as they battle to qualify for Saturday night's USHJA World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) Peter Wetherill Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular. Holly Orlando and Kelley Farmer took home an...

Kirsten Coe and Baronez (Sportfot) Wellington, FL - Week seven of the 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival, sponsored by Hermès, continued on Thursday in Wellington, FL, with the $30,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 7 featured on the grass derby field at The Stadium at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC). American duo Kirsten Coe and Ilan Ferder's Baronez were the winners of the class with the only double clear round in a jump-off of five...