Chester C. Weber wins on day one at the 33rd Live Oak International tournament taking home top honors in the Bridlewood Farms FEI 3* Horse Team Driving dressage phase. With Boots Wright taking home the win in the Peterson & Smith Equine Hospital Driving Dressage Intermediate Pony Pair.

Weber and his team comprised of horses Amadeus, Julius V, Kadora, and Nico Teusje, coming through with an impressive score of 39.59. The score puts Chester and his team in the lead heading into Saturday’s marathon as he chases his 21st USEF Driving National Championship for Four-in-Hand title.

Thrilled

“I’m thrilled with how the horses performed today, it is always a bit of an unknown on the first day but I’m happy with the start we’ve made. I truly feel that on their day these four horses are one of the best teams in the world and the results sort of speak for themselves,” said Chester C. Weber.

“At Live Oak International, our team faces challenges, same as all the others. You really never know what is going to happen when you introduce elements like crowds and atmosphere that you simply can’t account for in training. But at the same time that is the essence of these competitions, facing challenges head-on and seeing what team can adjust and react best. So for the rest of the weekend, we will just take it one step at a time and see where we are on Sunday”

Boots Wright and their Peterson & Smith Equine Hospital Driving Dressage Intermediate Pony Pair team featuring Bax 3 and Figaro are off to a strong start at Live Oak International with a score of 47.76 in today’s dressage phase. In second place was Liz Murray with a score of 72.48 with Bruno and TF Tinkerbell.

The Bridlewood Farms Driving Dressage FEI3* Horse Single had the most entries of the day out of any class and was certainly the most competitive, with Leslie Berndl and her horse, Impressive taking the top spot with a score of 45.18. Raymond Helmuth and Kendro took second place, just missing out on first with 46.78.

Continues

Driving dressage continues tomorrow with the Youth and the Intermediate Single Pony divisions on Friday, March 15th, ahead of the thrilling Marathon phase on Saturday, March 18th. Jumping also kicks off tomorrow with the CSI4*-W – $50,000 LIVE OAK INTERNATIONAL Qualifier expected to be the highlight of the day.

Tickets and VIP packages are available. Buy your tickets HERE. For all of today’s results, visit HERE.

About Live Oak International
What began 33 years ago as a driving event in Ocala, Live Oak International has grown into a world-class equestrian event. Now run by co-Presidents Chester Weber and his niece Chloe Reid, the tournament is the only in the United States to offer both international combined driving and show jumping competition. As Marion County’s largest spectator event, more than 15,000 spectators attend the four-day tournament to watch the exciting competition by athletes from all corners of the world. In addition to the combined driving and show jumping competition, Live Oak International hosts many hospitality opportunities, and flourishing vendor area available to the public. For more information, please visit www.liveoakinternational.com