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Breaking NewsChester Weber and Jamaica Pucker Up
Bill Lower Clinic in Pacific Northwest
Combined Driver Chester Weber Featured
First World Cup Points for Ijsbrand Chardon
Chester Weber and Jamaica Kiss and Tell
In The “Kiss the Horse for Literacy” Campaign2009-06-01 Combined Driver Chester Weber and his famous horse Jamaica will soon kiss and tell in the Marion County Literacy Council’s “Kiss the Horse for Literacy” campaign. Weber is a contestant in the campaign designed to raise money and increase literacy awareness and Jamaica is the lucky horse that will receive a kiss from the winner.
Weber and 12 other prominent Ocala community leaders will pucker up for the campaign and the candidate who raises the most kisses – each dollar raised equals one kiss – will get the joy of an up-close-and-personal moment with Jamaica, the 2008 Farnam/Platform USEF Horse of the Year.
“Many of our sister cities have a Kiss the Pig campaign, but we went with a horse since Ocala is the Horse Capital of the World,” said Karen Hill, Executive Director of the Marion County Literacy Council. “We were also looking for a horse of merit to be the recipient of the kiss, and we are thrilled that Jamaica is the horse.”
No word on how excited Jamaica is about his upcoming smooch, but the celebrity horse that has captured the attention of the nation never seems to back down from a challenge. Along with his equine teammates, and Weber of course, Team Weber is the leading force in Combined Driving in the United States having won the National Championships in Four-In-Hand Combined Driving an amazing six consecutive years in a row. Weber was also the first American to win an individual medal in the Four-In-Hand World Driving Championships in The Netherlands.
Now Weber is hoping to win kisses and will encourage his fans to donate money to the literacy campaign. “The mission of the Marion County Literacy Council is to increase literacy awareness and improve the reading skills of adults through a volunteer reading program, “Weber said. “I am truly supportive of their mission and happy to take part in the campaign. Hopefully I can help raise enough money that I will even get to kiss my own horse.”
The goal of the “Kiss a Horse for Literacy” campaign is to raise $15,000. “We will have a Kiss Off on August 7 at the Ocala Breeders Sales and all of the candidates will be on hand waiting to find out who raised the most money. Jamaica will be brought in and the winner will be announced and then they will get to kiss Jamaica,” Hill said, adding that kissing Jamaica won’t be a burden because he is so handsome. “Just in case the winner is a little horse shy, they can pass the kiss off to someone else.”
If Weber does capture the kissing victory – and like his horse there aren’t many challenges that Weber doesn’t conquer – he won’t mind a kiss from his best buddy. “Jamaica is a wonderful horse and we have shared a remarkable journey together,” Weber said. “Jamaica may prefer carrots, but he won’t mind a kiss.”
The “Kiss the Horse for Literacy” campaign will kick off on June 3 at the Ocala Breeders Sales and the campaign will run from June 3 to July 30. Each candidate will collect kisses in the form of money and the total will be tallied and the winner announced at the Kiss Off on August 7.
The 13 candidates taking part in the “Kiss the Horse for Literacy” campaign are Weber, Bill Barr, Kelly Wright, Pete Beasley, Roy Duckett, Cory Pool, Dorothy Boylan, Dalis Ramirez, Jaye Baillie, Brenda McDuffee, Dr. Riadh Fakhoury, Tom Warriner and Shawn Girton.
Weber is hoping his fans step up and vote for him, especially since the money goes to a worthy cause. To donate money to Weber’s kissing campaign call the Marion County Literacy Council at 352-690-READ (7323) or email Hill at Karen@marionliteracy.org. Money can also be collected and given directly to Weber. To learn more about Weber, visit his website at www.chesterweber.com. To learn more about the Marion County Literacy Council, visit their website at www.marionliteracy.org. Top Bill Lower to Hold Clinic in Pacific Northwest2009-05-31 Enhance your competitive driving skills with Bill Lower!
The second weekend in August (14th, 15th, and 16th) Bill Lower will be in Molalla, Oregon.
Bill Lower is one of the few long-time driving experts in the United States, beginning his career in 1974. His years of experience and expertise have led to many impressive Championships. Lower’s competition success continued when he was selected to represent the United States team in the l987 World Pairs Championships and then went on to win the USET’s 1990 National Pairs Championships.
Lower’s expertise made him a much sought after coach for many top U.S. competitors in combined driving, such as Ryan Weatherford, 2005 National Singles Champion; Scotts Padgett, member of the 2004 U.S. Singles Team; Fritz Grupe, member of the 2005 U.S. Pairs team; and Chester Weber of Live Oak Farm, who is the most accomplished four-in-hand driver in the U.S., holding numerous combined driving world championship titles. The individuals mentioned are but a small sampling of those who have benefited from Lower’s experience and coaching. And now for those drivers in the Northwest, the opportunity is available to benefit from Lower’s coaching and expertise. He will give eight one-hour lessons each day for three to five days, depending on demand.
For more information or to sign up, please contact Bev White at grovenhurst@molalla.net or 503-829-7828 to sign up for this clinic. Top Combined Driver Chester Weber Featured
On “2010 Radio Show” For Upcoming World Equestrian Games2009-05-28 Ocala, FL – Combined Driver Chester Weber, who earned a silver medal in the Four-In-Hand World Driving Championships in The Netherlands and has represented the United States twice at the World Equestrian Games, has his sights set on competing in the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. Weber, a six-time United States National Champion in Four-In-Hand Combined Driving, shared his World Equestrian Games experiences on an upcoming segment of the “2010 Radio Show.”
The “2010 Radio Show,” part of the Horse Radio Network, is a weekly radio show that brings listeners news and interviews about the 2010 World Equestrian Games (WEG.) Weber took part in a segment of the show entitled “Chatting with the Champions,” and talked about his past WEG experiences as well as the upcoming Games.
At the 2002 FEI World Equestrian Games in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, Weber helped the U.S. Driving Team earn a Silver Medal and he also placed fifth individually. Weber was also selected to represent the United States at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games where his team took eighth place.
Weber, who is working hard to qualify for the 2010 WEG, talked about the excitement of having the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky. Weber said, “Representing the United States is always an achievement and it is exciting to share my past experiences and talk about Four-In-Hand Combined Driving.”
Weber has made a name for himself in Combined Driving, including being the only American to ever win an individual medal at the World Championships. In addition, his 2008 European campaign brought another achievement – winning the 50th Anniversary of the German Fahrderby (Driving Derby) held in Riesenbeck.
Weber isn’t the only one on Team Weber to earn recognition -- his Combined Driving horse Jamaica won the 2008 Farnam Platform/USEF Horse of the Year title. While Weber’s horse Jamaica made headlines with his rags-to-riches story of being rescued from a slaughterhouse and sold to a tourist carriage business, it is easy to see that Weber is the man behind the horse. Weber not only competes at the top of the driving world, but he is an avid promoter of the sport, an educator, a selfless volunteer and a valued colleague. In addition to his outstanding competition accomplishments, Weber is active on several USEF committees and is a prime mover in the organization of three combined driving events, including the top rated CAI-A Live Oak International.
To learn more about Weber, visit his website at www.chesterweber.com. To hear Weber on the “2010 Radio Show,” visit the radio show Web site at www.2010radioshow.com. Top First World Cup Points for Ijsbrand Chardon2009-05-21 IJsbrand Chardon (NED) won the first qualifying event for the 2009/2010 season of the FEI World CupTM Driving.
Four-time World Champion and vice World Cup Champion 2008-2009 IJsbrand Chardon from the Netherlands won the first World Cup Qualifying event for the FEI World Cup™ Driving season 2009-2010. Chardon beat World Cup Champion Boyd Exell from Australia in the last phase of the Landrover International Driving Grand Prix in Windsor, Great Britain.
Competition statistics
- 24 four-in-hand drivers from 11 nations competed
- the field included 2 World Champions: IJsbrand Chardon (NED) and Werner Ulrich (SUI)
- eldest competitor George Bowman (GBR) age 74
- youngest competitor René Poensgen (GER) age 28
New course designer
Twenty-four international four-in-hand drivers crossed the Channel to compete at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. Dutch course designer Johan Jacobs, who recently received the status of Official International Course Designer, was responsible for the course in Windsor for the very first time in his career. Despite the many rain showers, Windsor enjoyed a very good show with fantastic sport.
Better than at the World Championship
Chardon competed with his World Championship team and impressed the judges in the dressage: “My team went really well, some people even said that they went better than at the World Championship in Beesd last year,” Chardon said. The reigning World Champion made two small errors in the marathon and came in fourth. After dressage and marathon, Chardon was second in the standings, behind Boyd Exell (AUS) who had won the marathon in an impressive way. By finishing the very difficult cones course with just 1,13 penalty points for exceeding the time, Chardon put more pressure on Exell. Exell however knocked two balls down and dropped to the second place in the final standings. Chardon was congratulated by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and His Royal Highness Prince Philip.
Boyd Exell is runner up
Boyd Exell drove the team of black German bred warm-bloods, owned by his Hungarian sponsor. The bronze medallist from Beesd flew through the eight obstacles and won the marathon despite two knockdowns in the same obstacle. However, while driving towards the finish of the last obstacle, the water splash, one of his horses fell. It got up by itself and was checked directly after the obstacle’s finish line. Exell completed the marathon, but the officials did not accept the incident and sanctioned him with a yellow card.
Challenging course
Koos de Ronde (NED), who came third in the FEI World Cup™ Driving Final in February, finished third in Windsor, “I was somewhat disappointed with my dressage scores, I felt my test deserved better,” he commented. De Ronde started off on 13 penalty points behind Chardon, but he soon discovered that the obstacles designed by his compatriot Jacobs suited him very well. “The obstacles were very nice, some were technical and in some we were invited to drive long lines, which was nice for the crowd to watch,” he pointed out. Twenty-nine knockdowns were placed in the eight marathon obstacles, which made the competitors drive with more respect in order to avoid extra penalty points. Koos’ gold winning teammate from Beesd Mark Weusthof drove an impressive marathon and came second in this phase, just behind Exell.
Dutch in the lead
By taking four places in the Top Six, the Dutch have taken most points in the first World Cup Qualifying event of this season. Switzerland’s Werner Ulrich finished fifth, just behind Theo Timmerman.
Next event
The second World Cup Qualifying event takes place at the CAIO in Vecses, Hungary from 4 to 6 June. The last Qualifier is in Donaueschingen, Germany, from 17 to 20 September. The four best results are counted and the Top Ten after Donaueschingen qualify for the FEI World Cup™ Driving season 2009-2010.
Results:
1. IJsbrand Chardon (NED) 134.09
2. Boyd Exell (AUS) 136.55
3. Koos de Ronde (NED) 146.22
4. Theo Timmerman (NED) 152.93
5. Werner Ulrich (SUI) 155.41
6. Mark Weusthof (NED) 155.77
7. Stephane Chouzenoux (FRA) 157.96
8. Fredrik Persson (SWE) 164.61
9. Rainer Duen (GER) 172.77
10. Dick Lane (GBR) 176.45
Qualifying venues for the 2009-2010 FEI World Cup™ Driving season:
1. Windsor (GBR), 13-15 May 2009
2. Vecses (HUN), 4-7 June 2009
3. Saumur (FRA), 11-14 June 2009
4. Altenfelden (AUT), 18-21 June 2009
5. Aachen (GER), 1-5 July 2009
6. Nebanice (CZE), 16-19 July 2009
7. Beekbergen (NED), 23-26 July 2009
8. Riesenbeck (GER), 31 July-2 August 2009
9. Breda (NED), 4-6 September 2009
10. Donaueschingen (GER), 17-20 September 2009
For more information, visit www.fei.org. Top 
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