Coverage from Eventing Nation!

Advanced XC Poplar Place

By Samantha L Clark on March 24, 2012 8:02 PM, Filed Under SamanthaLClark.com

Missy Ransehousen relinquished her lead in Advanced B with a stack of time faults on the experienced Critical Decision, but must be pleased with their round which should set them up perfectly for The Fork, and then hopefully on to Rolex where I'm sure she'll let the handbrake off! More coming from Missy later!!

James, Europe & Zoo Animals?!

James and His New 3* Mount!

James and Ben are off to Holland to join his fellow irish riders and to show the Europeans what he's got!  He will be doing a tour of Europe over the next several weeks to show the  Irish team selectors & the olympic judges that he is a prime candidate for the Irish Olympic team!!  He's been joined by the exceptional team of Jessica and Emily Walkup.

Emily the Circus Trainer!

The barn Ben is staying at is located near Amsterdam and owned by Jos De Swart, who is also the owner of Molen Koning (which means Walker King),  which provides horse walkers and stalls.  They have quite the menagerie of animals on the farm including donkeys, a zebra, monkeys & and several camels!  With all these distractions, Ben has settled in nicely & James has had 2 great warm up rides on their beautiful arena with felt footing.

James and Ben Schooling

They will be shipping to Deauville, France for the Grade IV para test where he will be doing the individual, freestyle & team test.  James has been selected to ride on the team for the first show in France which we interpret as a great show of confidence.  The jog is on the 27th and the competition directly thereafter.  Then they ship back to Holland on 4/1 & will stay at farm until 4/9 when they leave for Marseille in Belgium.

Jess will fly back to the states on the 16th, and Ben, Emily & James fly back on 18th.  Stay tuned for updates and results!!  Enjoy the Photo Slide Show!

Tour of the Olympic Village

Olympic Stadium

As part of the pre-Olympic preparation for the Para team, Missy joined other chef d'equipes for all the summer athletic programs over in London on 3/12!  The purpose of this trip was specifically to tour the Olympic village to see where the athletes are going to be living & the logistics of negotiating the Olympic campus.

Olympic Housing

It's fascinating to look at these photos, which give perspective on the enormous amount of construction and preparation that has been underway since 2005 to ready London for this great event!  The London Olympics commence on July 27th and run until August 12th, with the Paralympics starting on August 29th and running until September 9th.

To find out more information about the Olympics and ticket sales, please go to their website & register!

Enjoy the Full Slideshow!

US Para Team Qualifies for the Olympics!

We at Blue Hill Farm are very excited that our US Para Team improved so much from one CEPDI to the next, that we not only won over the strong Canadian Team, we were able to make 425 points and qualify internationally for the Para Olympics! The qualifying period closed Jan. 31 st. And the US Para Team is lying 5 th out of the 11 teams qualified for the Para Olympics!!!

We are also proud of our James Dwyer, who won all his 6 classes in the CEPDI 4*s in Wellington,Florida!!!  His Irish Team is lying 8 th out of 11qualified teams!! So, now he will work toward making the Irish Para Olympic Team!

Best,

Jessica

Read the US Para Press Release on the Olympic Qualifying Teams.

Great Photos of James!

We'd like to thank Lindsay McCall from the USPEA for all the fabulous photos of James from this past weekend's CPEDI3*!  She is a great promoter of the sport and a wonderful photographer!

James is pictured here at the previous weekend's Gold Coast Opener with Dr. Janet Greenfield of the Palm Beach Equine Clinic and Lauren Barwick of Canada who won her Grade II Freestyle.

Enjoy the Slideshow!

 James had 2 stellar weekends winning all of his Grade IV Individual, Team and Freestyle Tests at the Gold Coast Opener and Wellington Sunshine Classic as well!!!   I suspect that James and Orlando may be taking a well deserved day off today.  Well done!!

Para-Equestrian Dressage CPEDI3* Final Results!

Para-Equestrian Dressage CPEDI3* Freestyles Finalize 

Two Exciting Weeks at Jim Brandon Equestrian Center

Wellington, FL- January 29, 2012- Over two weeks, Para-Equestrian Dressage riders competed in front of F.E.I. judges Katherine Lucheschi (ITA), Hanneke Gerritsen (NED), and Carlos Lopes (POR), and Marc Urban (BEL) at two CPEDI3* events . This was the first time that Noreen O'Sullivan and her staff graciously hosted two consecutive CPEDI3* competitions (Gold Coast Dressage Opener and Wellington Classic Sunshine Challenge) at the beautiful Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL. 

For Para-Equestrian Dressage teams this was the last opportunity to raise the F.E.I. world rankings in hopes of being qualified for the 2012 London Paralympics. For individuals this was a chance to gain input from F.E.I. judges, increase World Para-Equestrian rankings for London, and earn a qualifying score for the 2012 Paralympic Selection Trials. As the evening came to a close on Sunday, 28 horse and rider combinations put forward their best competition freestyles. Participation was far reaching including riders from United States, Canada, Ireland, Bermuda, Mexico, Finland, and Japan.

During the first week of competition Canada earned the win in the Gold Coast Opener CPEDI3*. In the second week, the United States edged out Canada for victory at the Wellington Classic Sunshine Challenge. Individually, Para-Dressage riders remained consistent in their results and showcased some of the top Para-Dressage in the world.

Representing the United States Team for both weeks were Mary Jordan (Grade IV) of Wells, ME aboard Sebastian, Dale Dedrick (Grade II) from Ann Arbor, MI on Bonifatius, Rebecca Hart (Grade II) of Erie, PA aboard Lord Ludger and Jonathan Wentz (Grade Ib) who began week one with NTEC Richter Scale and week two with NTEC Jabriel. Chef D'Equipe of the United States, Missy Ransehousen was pleased with the progress that the United States Team and Individuals had over the two weeks.

USA Chef d'Equipe Missy Ransehousen and Rebecca Hart (USA)

Missy noted, "We have definitely improved from one week to the next. These last two weeks have been a good preparation for what we need as a team to go forward. It is a good stepping stone for us to build on. I would like to see a little more from the horses as we progress and I would like to see more accuracy from the riders, but that can always be improved upon."

FULL USPEA PRESS RELEASE

2012 Wellington Classic Sunshine Challenge CPEDI3*

Gear Up For 2012 Wellington Classic Sunshine Challenge CPEDI3* Commencing January 26 (And Where's All the Sunshine??)

Wellington, FL -January 25, 2012 -Para-Equestrian Dressage riders returned to the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center for the 2012 Wellington Classic Sunshine Challenge CPEDI3*. On Wednesday's schedule was a 3:00 p.m. jog where horses received their F.E.I inspection for the weekend's CPEDI3*. Riders from Bermuda, Canada, Finland, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, and Canada were on the grounds representing their respective country. In addition to the eleven United States riders who competed at last week's CPEDI3, were two additional riders, 2008 Paralympian Robin Brueckmann with her horse Radetzky and newcomer 14-year-old Sydney Collier of Ann Arbor, MI.

Thirty horse and rider combinations will begin Thursday's Team Test competition at 8:30 a.m. With one championship under their belt, the Para-Equestrian team from Canada will once again face off against the United States. Representing the United States will be Mary Jordan (Grade IV) of Wells, ME aboard Sebastian, Dale Dedrick (Grade II) from Ann Arbor, MI on Bonifatius, Rebecca Hart (Grade II) of Erie, PA aboard Lord Ludger and Jonathan Wentz (Grade Ib) on NTEC Jabriel from Richardson,TX. The United States team will be led by Chef d'Equipe Missy Ransehousen.

The weekend's show schedule begins with Thursday's Team Test, followed by Saturday's Individual Test, finishing with Sunday's Freestyle test and awards ceremony. In addition to the CPEDI3*, the World Dressage Masters presented by Axel Johnson Group and the top dressage horses in the world will compete for $130,000. A total of 15 horses and riders from six countries have accepted invitations to participate in the World Dressage Masters Palm Beach which is the only World Dressage Masters event to take place outside of Europe. The entry list will grow to 17 following the Wellington Classic Sunshine Challenge CDI3* Grand Prix on Thursday, January 26th, when the top two horse and rider combinations from that class will be invited to compete in the WDM CDI5* Grand Prix on Friday.

Full Press Release

USA Chef d'Equipe Missy Ransehousen and Whitney's Willow walking back to barn from the jog in the rain by Lindsay McCall