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Welcome to Spring in Del Mar |
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This time last year we were singing the praises of the 2009 Rolex FEI World Cup in Las Vegas, proud of the super competition and offering congratulations to Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, McLain Ward and Rich Fellers.
What a difference a year makes! This year we congratulate Meredith and Markus on their new daughter Brianne, now over 11 weeks old. We wish McLain could have a re-ride in this year’s World Cup. And we congratulate Rich (as well as Harry and Mollie Chapman) on his top twelve World Cup finish and his double grand prix victory at the Del Mar National earlier this month.
The beautiful grass grand prix field at Showpark set the stage for two main events this week at the Ranch & Coast Tournament. On Friday afternoon, the hunters were the stars as they competed in the $10,000 Chronicle of the Horse/USHJA International Hunter Derby and on Saturday afternoon, the jumpers took the spotlight in the $50,000 Grand Prix of California presented by Mary’s Tack & Feed.
Hail to the Hunters
In the open hunter divisions, tri-colors went to Truman (Mary Sweeney, owner) ridden by John French in the Green Conformation Hunters, and to Ashley Pryde’s Victory Road in the First Year Green Hunters also with John French in the irons. Iwasaki & Reilly’s Small Affair dominated the Second Year Green Hunters again with John French aboard. Exupery (Stephen Borders, owner) with Keri Kampsen riding earned the Regular Working Hunter championship, and in the Regular Conformation John Bragg rode Cunningham (Mary Slouka, owner), to the championship...
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Chef Leopoldo
As Leopoldo Palacios explained to us last season, course designers are like chefs. They take all the ingredients including height, distance, scope, time allowed, the materials, positions of the jumps, shadows, terrain plus a dash of this or that – and analyze those who will be tasting this creation, the riders, to bake the perfect grand prix course. Ideally a varied group of horses and riders will return with a clean plate and jump off for a second round of Chef Leopoldo’s course creation...
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EquestriSol News |
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We Bring You La Baule
As we cruise into summer there are some big events to set our sights on. We have some fabulous content coming in the newsletter that embraces the best from Blenheim, happenings at the Kentucky Horse Park, and stories from our US riders over in Europe.
We wish we could be everywhere as we are passionate about bringing you the stories of the horses, the riders and the events that satisfy our competitive cravings. We will continue to try.
The first leg of the European Tours has commenced, beginning last week with the CSIO5* in La Baule, France. McLain Ward, Beezie Madden, Lauren Hough. Richard Spooner, Mario Deslauriers and Hilary Dobbs all competed...
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Sponsor Stories |
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Mary's Tack & Feed: A True Establishment
Established on the corner of Via de Valle and El Camino Real, Mary’s Tack & Feed is literally a cornerstone of equestrian history. At 12,000 square feet, this tack superstore in Del Mar is their largest but not their only location. For the Orange County set there’s a satellite store in San Juan Capistrano at the Rancho Vista Equestrian Center...
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The Chronicles of NARG |
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The North American Riders Group
Yet another organization has formed within our sport. And with good reason, as the sport of show jumping has grown to a level where some of the key players believe their concerns are not being addressed. Possibly because those voices were not unified, but just repeated groans and moans of the exhibitors across numerous horse shows, upset by a variety of issues.
So along came NARG...
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A Day in the Life |
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Trainer and New Mother Les Ann LeClaire
Since giving birth to her daughter Lydia Rose six months ago, hunter trainer Les Ann LeClaire’s life has changed dramatically. Now she balances daily life at her multi-location Rubicon Farms with motherhood, a juggling act that is hard to match. Luckily the father of her daughter, New Zealand horseman and chiropractor Dylan Harries, is also her business partner and the small family has made staying together at shows and at home a priority...
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