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Chester Weber Featured in Charles Owen Poster
Another Successful CAA Conference
USEF Names Drivers for '08 WSDC
U.S. Drivers Weber/Johnson Third in Nation

Chester Weber Featured in Charles Owen Poster

Aug 12 - Ocala, FL - U.S. Four-in-Hand Driving Champion, Chester Weber goes into competition donning the finest equipment in the equine business. Charles Owen protective headgear is Weber’s choice for safety and comfort in the marathon phase.

Team Weber is hard to miss in their Charles Owen black and Ferrari red helmets. Ocala based graphic artist, Amalia Castro, took advantage of the striking helmets in a poster she designed for the 2008 Live Oak Plantation FEI Combined Driving Event.

When Roy Burek, president of the Charles Owen Company, saw her poster at Live Oak, the impact was instantaneous. “It said everything about our helmets that needed saying,” said Burek. “There was a team of three men strenuously competing these magnificent horses and wearing our helmets. We know the dedication it takes to make a product that works in harmony with three safety standard bodies and three different certification bodies. This picture is the epitome of that dedication.”

The poster photo, taken by Weber’s cousin, Andrew Strawbridge, was an immediate success. When it was enlarged to 3 ½ feet wide by 4 ½ feet long it was a real eye-catcher at the recent AETA Trade Show in Baltimore.

Charles Owen is the only company that maintains all three-safety standards in their helmet. “Most companies have one, possibly two standards, but never all three,” said Penny Hubbard, assistant to Burek. All headgear leaving Charles Owens meets the standards of the Safety Equipment Institution (SEI), the British Standards Institution (BSI) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). “To top off this list,” Burek added, “Our equipment comes with the Royal Standard Insignia, meaning, “by appointment to Her Majesty the Queen.”

Weber is involved at the highest levels of the sport in the USEF. He serves on the Board of Directors, the High Performance Committee, the National Driving Committee and the very important, Safety Committee. In keeping with the standards and goals of the Safety Committee, Weber took CEO Burek on a fact-finding mission in one of his carriages. “Jump on board and I’ll show you what I mean,” said Weber. Burek did and experienced the ride of a lifetime. “It gave a new meaning to designing on the hoof,” Burek smiled.

With product development suggestions from Weber, Charles Owen has designed Weber a special driver’s vest that has a panel made from a material that does not jam on the carriage seat and is kept in place with loops to the driver’s belt. “Chester Weber is constantly revising the ways he can better his last accomplishment,” said Burek. “We work hard to keep up with him.”

Burek is responsible for all the research and development of Charles Owen equipment. He uses the expertise of sponsored professionals to develop his products into the safest and most accommodating gear for both driver and rider. “Weber is very ‘hands-on,” Burek confirmed. “He is the consummate professional and brings untold support to the driving and the wider equestrian community. He is a pleasure to work with.”

For more information about Chester Weber, his competition schedule, or his horses, visit www.chesterweber.com.

For more information on Charles Owen visit www.charlesowen.co.uk.

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Another Successful CAA Conference

July 21 -

The Carriage Association of America (CAA) welcomed members, nonmembers, horses, ponies, and carriages to its CAA Conference, which was held this year at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, July 10-12.

This year's Conference brought nearly 200 people to the Kentucky Horse Park. A fair number of those people brought with them 110 horses and ponies and 45 carriages, which they happily drove around the Horse Park and onto two neighboring farms. For those who wanted to join in, there was also a pleasure-driving show on Saturday and a Sporting Day of Traditional Driving. In addition, three open driving classes (phaetons, coaches, and commercial turnouts) were held on Wednesday and Thursday evenings at the Lexington Junior League Horse Show. For the many people who came to the Conference without horses, Saturday's pleasure-driving show was a nice chance to sit under a tent and see some lovely carriages being driven.

To entice the non-drivers (and some of the drivers, when they had time to spare), the Conference program was also filled with educational talks, social events, and the ever-popular Carriage Showcase, a competition to judge the quality and accuracy of recent restoration projects. The winner of the People's Choice Award in the showcase this year was a completely, and beautifully, restored Cretor's popcorn wagon from 1903. The popcorn wagon also won the Carl Casper Trophy for being the high-point winner in the restored division, and the Davis Documentation Award for having the most complete written history. (You can see a bit of the popcorn wagon in the first of the two photos below, which shows the crowd gathered around it to hear the comments from the showcase judges). The high-point winner in the vehicles-in-use division -- winner of the Sidney Latham Trophy -- was Dale and Ellen DeHaan's Kimball Shooting Break, which (in the second of the two photos below) is being driven in the cones competition in Saturday's pleasure-driving show.

The lecture topics ranged from how to identify general types and classes of horse-drawn vehicles and how to tell the difference between Bronson and express wagons, to shoeing and conditioning driving horses. The social events included the usual live and silent auctions, a banquet, a reception on Saturday evening, and the very popular ice cream social, sponsored by Spokes & Spurs (the local driving club) and The National Drive.

On Friday, three members of the World Coaching Club drove their coaches through the Horse Park and down Iron Works Pike, where they had a champagne stop at the headquarters of the organizing committee for the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games, which will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park. The leaders and staff of the foundation welcomed Misdee Miller (president of the WCC, shown below, on the way to the WEG building), Mary Stokes Waller, and Marilyn Macfarlane and their guests.

With something for everyone -- horse enthusiasts, driving enthusiasts, history buffs, and both new and longtime CAA members -- this year's CAA Conference was a great success.

If you were at the Conference and would like to see or order photos from the official photographer, Tony Dantonio, please visit his website at www.mystar.photoreflect.com.

To read more about the Conference and about the winners of the Carriage Showcase, stay tuned for the Conference report, which will be featured in the October issue of The Carriage Journal.

About the Carriage Association of America

The CAA was founded in 1960 and is the oldest and largest international organization devoted to the preservation, restoration, study, and use of horse-drawn carriages and sleighs. The CAA has thousands of members in all 50 U.S. states and in 40 other countries. For more information, visit us on the Web at www.caaonline.com.

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USEF Names Drivers for the 2008 FEI World Singles Driving Championship

July 18 - Lexington, KY - The USEF has approved the following Team, Individual and Alternates for selection to represent the US at the 2008 FEI World Singles Driving Championship to be held in Jarantow, Poland August 28-31, 2008.

Name/Age/Hometown/Horse/Sex/Age/Breed/Owner

Team:

Robin Groves / 62 / Brownsville, VT / Thors Toy Truck / Gelding / 13 / Connemara-Thoroughbred / Lana Wright

Donna Crookston / 59 / Saltsburg, PA / RG Cowboys Black Cadillac / Gelding / 12 / Morgan / Donna Crookston

William Peacock / 62 / Belleville, TX / Beau / Gelding / 11 / Holsteiner Cross / Proud Meadow Farms

Alternates (in ranked order):

Leslie Berndl / 45 / Newcastle, CA / Koopman's Lightning Rod / Gelding / 12 / Hackney/ Ann McClure

Marjas Becker / 61 / Brooker, FL / Capodimonte / Gelding / 10 / 1/2 Arabian-NSH / Marjas Becker

Individual:

Leslie Berndl / 45 / Newcastle, CA / Koopman's Lightning Rod / Gelding / 12 / Hackney/ Ann McClure

Alternate:

Marjas Becker / 61 / Brooker, FL / Capodimonte / Gelding / 10 / 1/2 Arabian-NSH / Marjas Becker

For more information regarding selection, please contact Managing Director of Driving, Eric Stauffer at estauffer@usef.org. For media requests, please contact USEF High Performance Communications Manager, Joanie Morris at jmorris@usef.org.

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U.S. Drivers Weber and Johnson Third in Nations Cup; Weber Achieves Personal Best at World Equestrian Festival CHIO Aachen

July 07 - Lexington, KY – The U.S. duo of Chester Weber and Tucker Johnson equaled an American best on Sunday by placing third overall in the Four-in-Hand Nations Cup at the World Equestrian Festival CHIO Aachen.

Weber made a mistake at the very first cone and added some time faults in the final phase to finish the three phases in third individually, a personal best in Aachen, by less than a point on a score on 154.06.

“We had a bit of a rough day today,” said Weber after the cones. “I was third by less than a point. I had number one down, and I didn’t realize it. I knew I wasn’t going to make time, but I didn’t know I’d had the first one down. It was silly. I won’t make that mistake again.”

The third place finish behind The Netherlands and Hungary (on a score 317.33) sets the U.S. up well for the World Championships in Beedst, The Netherlands September 3-7.

“We look well prepared for the World Championships,” said Weber. “The Europeans know we’re alive. I think this matches the best we’ve been as a nation (in Aachen). As a nation we ended third less than a point behind Hungary. So that one point cost a lot.”

Johnson ended up eighth overall on a score of 163.27, and both drivers felt that the main purpose of this competition, as prestigious as Aachen is, is to prepare for the World Championships.

“We will be in good form the first week in September,” said Weber. “I feel good. The horses are all good. We’re going to try to do a little bit better than that in Beedst. The Netherlands look tough to beat but we saw last night that it was possible.”

For more information please contact Joanie Morris at jmorris@usef.org. For complete results, please see www.chioaachen.de.

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