2013feiworldchampionshipspairs

Photo Credit: Louisa Emerick

2013 FEI WORLD DRIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR PAIRS

Topolcianky, Slovakia

August 28 - September 1, 2013

The following athletes have been named by the United States Equestrian Federation to represent the U.S. at FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs.

Team Society driving. For her 10 year tenure at Kateland Farm, she trained miniatures to drive, gave lessons, ran a drill team, and ran summer camps; which she continues to do each summer. Blanchard has won numerous championships at driving shows in the Northeast and competed in American Miniature Horse Association and American Miniature Horse Registry breed shows. She has a proven record with singles, pairs, unicorns, Four-in-hands, and tandems.

In 2013, Blanchard represented the U.S. for the first time at the CAIO Riesenbeck. She helped the U.S. team to a fourth-place finish and finished 25th individually at her first major international competition.

Blanchard provides training and sales assistance at Belle Grey Farm, continuing a show career at both local and regional pleasure and combined driving events.

Rachael Blanchard Born: October 24, 1982 Residence: Upperville, VA

de l’Amour – 2007 Oldenburg mare owned by Belle Grey Farm, LLC Taksi - 2000 KWPN mare owned by Belle Grey Farm, LLC and Heather Briggs Tara 14 - 2002 Austrian Warmblood mare owned

by Thomas Blumschein Rachael Blanchard has been riding and competing from a very young age. She competed in her first lead line class at 18 months. Blanchard began riding a POA in hunter shows but quickly developed a love of Saddlebreds and Arabians and began her Saddle Seat career by successfully showing on the west coast show circuits.

Upon her return to the east coast, her carriage driving career began at Kateland Farm, a miniature horse farm that specializes in American Driving 2013 FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs

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Team

Scott Dancer

Photo Credit: Picsofyou.com

Born: December 4, 1962 Residence: Woodside, CA Eppo 10 – 1997 Gelding of unknown breeding owned by Daniel and Dennis Schneiders Redford - 1999 Hessen gelding owned by Kathrin Dancer and the driver Wimbledon - 2003 Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Kathrin Dancer and the driver Scott Dancer had served as a navigator for wife Kathrin Dancer on numerous occasions but did not start seriously competing in combined driving events himself until 2009. That year, he finished second in the Intermediate Pair Horse division at the Shady Oaks CDE. In 2012, Dancer began competing at the FEI level and came in second in the Little Everglades International FEI Pair Horse division.

Dancer began 2013 with a third-place finish in the Little Everglades International FEI Pair Horse division. A month later, he finished fifth at Live Oak International. Dancer then traveled to Germany to represent the U.S. at the CAIO Riesenbeck. He helped the team achieve a fourth-place finish and finished 21st individually in a star-studded field of competitors.

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Team

Misdee Wrigley-Miller

Photo Credit: Picsofyou.com

Born: January 2, 1957 Residence: Lakewood Ranch, FL

Beau – 2006 KWPN gelding owned by the driver Sam – 2002 KWPN gelding owned by the driver Sarasko – 2002 Hessen gelding owned by the driver As a fourth generation horsewoman, Misdee Wrigley-Miller knew she would always be involved with horses. Today, she is involved in the combined driving and coaching divisions and actively competes in American Saddlebred shows in Three-Gaited, Five-Gaited, Fine Harness, and Roadster classes.

In 2009, Wrigley-Miller won the Intermediate Pair division at the Kentucky Horse Park CDE and the following year moved up to compete in the FEI Pair Division.

In 2010, Wrigley-Miller not only advanced a level she also gained valuable international experience. That summer, she competed at the Royal Windsor International Horse Show in England and at CAIO Riesenbeck in Germany.

Wrigley-Miller enjoyed a successful start to the 2011 season competing 2013 FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs

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Team in Florida. She collected fourth-place finishes in the pair divisions at both the Sunshine State CDE and Little Everglades International. At the end of March, she was fifth in the USEF National Pair Championship held at Live Oak. Wrigley-Miller also finished sixth in the CAIO Riesenbeck. She ended her year by winning the Advanced Pair division at the Kentucky Classic CDE. Wrigley-Miller started 2012 with a bang, winning the Sunshine State Combined CDE, Little Everglades International, and Live Oak International Pair Horse divisions. In May, she traveled to Great Britain, where she finished fifth in the CAI-A2 Windsor event. In June, she finished sixth in the CAI-A2 Altenfelden in Austria. She finished 2012 with a Reserve Champion title in the USEF National Pair Championship at the Kentucky Classic CDE. In 2013, Wrigley-Miller began with wins at the Sunshine State CDE and Little Everglades International in the Pair Horse divisions. At Live Oak International, she claimed the USEF National Pairs Championship. Wrigley-Miller traveled to Austria to hone her skills on the European stage at the CAI-A2 Altenfelden, where she finished third in the dressage phase. At the CAIO Riesenbeck, she was a member of the U.S. team that finished fourth, also finishing 14th overall individually.

Wrigley-Miller and husband, James, split time between Lakewood Ranch, FL and their Paris, KY Hillcroft Farm.

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Staff his belt, Weber headed to Europe where he enjoyed a very successful summer. In July, Weber won the Time Shuttle prize at the prestigious CHIO Aachen, posting a score of 36.48. He and his team finished Aachen winning third place overall in the Four-In-Hand division, less than one point behind the second place finisher. The culmination of his 2008 European tour was at the Four-in-Hand World Driving Championships held in Beesd, The Netherlands, where he took the Silver medal.

Weber had another banner year in 2009. He won again at the Live Oak CAI in Ocala in March. In October, Weber was able to achieve a feat that no other American Four-In-Hand driver has been able to do when he captured his unprecedented seventh straight national championship.

In 2010, Weber won at every turn. In March, he collected his eighth straight USEF Four-in-Hand National Championship on home turf at his family’s Photo Credit: Darlene Wohlart

Chester Weber

Live Oak Plantation. Prior to his win at Live Oak, Weber claimed top honors at the Sunshine State CAI. Weber continued his domination by picking up wins

Born: June 3, 1975 Residence: Ocala, FL

in June at the CAI-B Garden State CDE, and in Canada

Chef d’Equipe

at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, where

at the Bromont International CAI-A. He and his team completed the 2010 season by representing the U.S. they won the Team Silver medal.

In 2011, Weber kept up his winning streak, collecting

Chester Weber consistently has ranked as a top U.S. driver and is listed among the Top 10 internationally.

His success in driving started early. At age 18, he was the youngest driver to be named to the United States Equestrian Team (USET) and qualify for the World Pairs Driving Championship.

By 1999, Weber had won 12 consecutive advanced CDEs and then transitioned to Four-in-Hand driving, where he not only has made a name for himself internationally, but also has amassed an unprecedented streak of eight national championships in a row.

Weber was the U.S. Four-In-Hand National Champion in March 2008 at the CAI Live Oak in Ocala, Florida. With this sixth national title under

victories at Sunshine State, Little Everglades, and Live Oak before traveling to Europe. Weber dominated on a tour to Europe in the summer of 2011. He won all three CAI4s he entered in Europe, picking up victories in Hungary, Austria, and Germany.

Weber kept his streak alive in 2012, winning the Sunshine State, Little Everglades International, and Live Oak Four-in-Hand Horse divisions. He traveled to Europe in June where he won the CAI-A4 competition out of 38 drivers in Lahden, Germany before finishing ninth and fourth respectively in Austria and The Netherlands.

At the 2012 FEI Four-in-Hand Driving World Championships in Riesenbeck, Germany, Weber claimed the Individual Silver medal and helped the 2013 FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs

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Staff U.S. team earn Bronze. Upon returning to the states, he won the Advanced Four-In-Hand Horse divisions at the Hermitage Classic and Kentucky Classic Combined Driving Events.

In 2013, Weber began the year with wins in the Little Everglades International and Live Oak International FEI Four-in-Hand Horse divisions. He then traveled to Europe and claimed the win in the Four-in-Hand division at the Saumur CAI-A4 in France.

In the CAIO-4 at the CHIO Aachen, Weber performed against the world’s best four-in-hand drivers to finish in third place. He also helped the U.S. team to a sixthplace finish. A month later at the Beekbergen CAI-A4, he claimed yet another third-place finish against stiff competition.

In addition to his rigorous competition schedule, Weber actively promotes the sport of driving. In 2009 he was the Chef d’Equipe for the U.S. team at the 2009 and 2011 World Pony Driving Championships in Greven, Germany. He currently is on the USEF Board of Directors, the High Performance Driving Committee, the National Driving Committee, and the Safety Committee, and is Chairman of the Active Athletes Committee.

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Staff

Rider Name

Fairclough with his team, grooming horses, assisting at vet checks, and riding on the carriage. She went

Born: xxxxxx Residence: xxxxx

to many combined driving events in the U.S. with

Horse Info xxxx

fundraising for the Olympics in Greece. In the spring

the Fairclough team, and in 1996 assisted him at the World Championships in Waregem, Belgium.

Staller worked at the USET Foundation in 2004,

xxxxxxx

of 2009 she joined the USEF as the Director of High Performance Driving Disciplines.

With her husband, Bill Denney, Staller keeps a home in Philadelphia as well as in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Staller and Bill have three children between them, Andrew, Will, and Sophie.

Photo Credit: USEF Archive

Elizabeth Staller Born: November 7, 1966 Residence: Bedminster, NJ Team Leader Elizabeth “Lizzy” Staller has been involved in

equestrian sports since the age of 10 when she began riding with Sally Graburn. Although her chosen sport was eventing, all of Graburn’s students were taught to drive a pony. After completing school, Staller rode and trained with noted Canadian eventer, Lorraine Laframboise.

An equine radiology and endoscopy technician, Staller worked at the University of Pennsylvania’s Large Animal School of Veterinary Medicine New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

After moving to New Jersey in 1992, Staller spent several years with well known Four-in-Hand driver James Fairclough and had a formal introduction to driving. She was taken with the sport and helped 2013 FEI World Driving Championships for Pairs

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