nations_cup_media_guide

2011 FEI Nations Cup Series 1

2011 FEI Nations Cup SeriesCSIO Hickstead (GBR) July 28–31, 2011

CSIO Dublin (IRL) August 3–7, 2011

2 2011 FEI Nations Cup Series

Beezie MaddenBorn: November 20, 1963 Residence: Cazenovia, NYCoral Reef Via Volo- 13 year-old Belgian Warm-blood Mare owned by Coral Reef Ranch.

Originally from Milwaukee, WI, Beezie Madden has been

riding since the age of three and made her Grand Prix

debut in 1985. Four years of continued success followed,

which included participation on winning US Nations Cup

teams, which led to her being named the 1989 United

States Olympic Committee’s Female Equestrian of the

Year.

Madden was the first woman—and the first US rider—to

ever reach the top three in the Gandini Show Jumping

World Ranking list (achieved in 2004), and she was the

first woman to pass the $1 million mark in earnings for

show jumping. She is the second leading money winner

in history at Spruce Meadows in Canada. She has won

back-to-back honors as USEF Equestrian of the Year—

the first rider ever to do so.

In 2004, she breezed through the Olympic Selection

Photo Credit: Sportfot

Trials, finishing in first place on Authentic with only eight

faults accumulated for all six selection events. With her

contribution of double-clear rounds in the 2004 Ath-

ens Olympic Games, she helped the US team win the

Gold medal, while her success on US soil earned her the

American Grand Prix Association (AGA) Rider of the

Year title that year.

Madden added Team and Individual Silver medals to her

resume at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games in

Aachen, Germany. Authentic continued to define himself

as one of the best in the world. In addition, Authentic

was named the Farnam®/Platform™ USEF Horse of the

Year.

Madden’s greatest accomplishment in 2007 involved her

win at the Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen in Germany, in

July. Madden again rode Authentic for this prestigious

win over 40 of the world’s best. To add to this honor

she was named leading rider in Aachen, one of the most

coveted leading rider titles in the world.

Madden enjoyed another incredible year in 2008 with

Authentic. She won her second consecutive Team Gold

medal at the 2008 Olympic Games, where they won an

unbelievable jump-off to pick up Individual Bronze, too.

Leading up to the Games, Authentic won the $200,000

CN Worldwide Grand Prix in Wellington, FL, with an-

other one of his standard lightning fast jump-off rounds.

That was on the heels of a WEF Challenge win three

days earlier.

With the Belgian Warmblood mare, Coral Reef Via Volo,

Madden has found a star for the future. In March of

2010, they claimed top honors in the $75,000 Equine

Couture/Tuff Rider Grand Prix. In the summer they

traveled to Europe, where they won the Grand Prix of

Aachen and placed third in the Grand Prix of Dublin.

They also were part of the US team at the Meydan FEI

Nations Cup stop in Dublin.

At the Spruce Meadows Masters, the pair won the

$50,000 CANA Cup and were part of the winning US


Team in the Nations Cup in September of 2010. That

same month they picked up wins at the American Gold

Cup.

Madden had a strong start to the 2011 season jumping

at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. She won back-to-

back classes during Week Six with Prima. In March, Mad-

den and Coral Reef Via Volo were part of the winning US

team in the $75,000 FEI Nations Cup presented by G&C

Farm. She partnered with Danny Boy to win the final

round of the WEF Challenge Cup Series two weeks later.

In April, Madden travelled to Leipzig, Germany to com-

pete in the 2011 Rolex/FEI World Cup Finals; tying for

fourth place honors overall.

Madden has kept up her strong form throughout the

summer of 2011, collecting top placings in both North

America and Europe. In July, she rode Prima to first

place in the Prize of Handwerk speed class at CHIO

Aachen.

Married since 1998, Madden and her husband, horseman

John Madden, reside in Cazenovia, NY.


Laura Kraut Born: November 14, 1965 Residence: Wellington, FL Cedric — 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Happy Hill Farm.

Teirra— 11-year-old KWPN Mare owned by Stars and Stripes Farm.

Cedric defied gravity and expectation at the 2008 Olym-

pic Games in Hong Kong for Laura Kraut. He was foot

perfect in the team portion of the competition and was

an integral part of the Gold medal-winning effort for the

US.

Standing barely 15.2 hands, Cedric grows wings in the

ring. He and Kraut jumped two clear rounds at the Sam-

sung Super League finale in Barcelona, Spain in the fall

of 2008 and had two top five finishes in major classes in

Wellington, FL in 2009.

In the summer of 2009, Kraut once again demonstrated

great success in Europe. She and Cedric were part of

the US teams on both tour two and three of the Mey-

Photo Credit: Shannon Brinkman

dan FEI Nations Cup. In Aachen the pair jumped two

clear rounds on tour two. Cedric was also third in the

$126,385 Barcelona Grand Prix. Additionally, Kraut had

a successful summer with Anthem winning the $214,152

Madrid Grand Prix and placing second at the Grand Prix

of Valencia.

Cedric and Kraut spent the 2010 winter season tuning

up by jumping many successful rounds at the FTI Winter

Equestrian Festival including a fifth place finish in the

$30,000 WEF Challenge Cup in February.

Kraut and Cedric once again showed their skill by win-

ning the $150,000 CN US Open on the strength of a

lightning fast jump-off round.

In the summer of 2010, Kraut and Cedric were on the

winning team at the Meydan FEI Nations Cup stop in

Rotterdam where they were faultless in both rounds. In

July, Credic and Kraut were once again part of the US

team for the Meydan FEI Nations Cup at CHIO Aachen,

this time placing third as a team.

The pair capped off their summer in Europe by winning

the Valkenswaard VDL Groep Grand Prix in the Nether-

lands. They then finished their season by representing

the US at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

In 2011, they have hit the ground running jumping many

scorching rounds at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival.

Along the way they have won the $78,000 Adequan

CSI2* Grand Prix and the $150,000 FEI World Cup CSI3*-

W presented by Spy Coast Farm. They finished off their

season in Wellington by winning the premiere class of

the circuit the $500,000 FTI Consulting Finale Grand

Prix CSI5* with a lightning fast jump-off round.

They ran the board at the 2008 USEF Selection Trials

for Show Jumping, jumping clear in the first round and

never looking back. They made one mistake over the five

rounds, but were always well clear of the competition.

This set them up beautifully for their impressive Olympic

performance.


including a strong showing at CHIO Aachen. Where they

collected third place finishes in the STAWAG-Preis class

and in the Warsteiner Preis class.

She makes her home in Wellington, FL and enjoys

spending time with her young son, Bobby.

Always a top competitor in Grand Prix circles, Kraut’s

success began before Cedric. She was an integral part

of the US team in the Samsung Super League in 2007.

Riding Anthem, she was part of the all-female team that

romped to victory at CSIO Hickstead (England) in July

and second two weeks later in Dublin, Ireland. Kraut had

a big European victory in August with Cedric. Together

they won the grand prix at the CSI3* Hachenburg in

Germany over a very competitive field of 53 horses and

riders from across Europe.

With Miss Independent, Kraut was third overall at the

FEI World Equestrian Games qualifiers in March 2006

in Wellington, FL. Kraut’s placing at the qualifier earned

her a spot on the US Show Jumping Team for the 2006

World Equestrian Games. Kraut helped bring home a

Team Silver medal. She spent much of the 2005 sum-

mer representing the US in the competitive Samsung

Super League series in Europe. Kraut helped the US se-

cure wins in Aachen, Germany and LaBaule, France, and

second place in Rome and in Hickstead, England, riding

both Anthem and Miss Independent.

In 2004, Kraut was a member of the second place team

in the $50,000 Samsung Nations Cup in Florida, and

helped the US secure a fourth place overall finish in the

Samsung Super League. In 2003, she was the top placed

American at the World Cup Final, where she tied for the

fifth position out of 41 starting horse and rider combina-

tions. In 2002, she was a member of the US team which

won the first outdoor Nations Cup held in the US; and

at the Samsung Nations Cup Series, she was named

Leading Rider after tying for first place on Liberty. Kraut

was a US team alternate at the 2002 FEI World Eques-

trian Games in Spain, and in the 2000-2001 competition

season she was honored as reserve champion AGA Rider

of the Year. Kraut was also a member of the US show

jumping team at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

Over the summer of 2011, Kraut and the eleven year

old mare Teirra have jumped to top finishes in Europe;


Lauren HoughBorn: April 11, 1977 Residence: Wellington, FLQuick Study – 12-year-old French Warmblood gelding owned by Laura and Meredith Mateo.

A native Californian, Hough got her start in the hunter ring

and was a very successful junior rider. She won a Gold

medal at the North American Young Riders Champion-

ships, and at age 15, was the Pacific Coast Horseman’s

Association Rookie of the Year. Most of her show jumping

success in the early years was due in part to two horses,

Clasiko and Windy City. She won the National Horse Show

Grand Prix back-to-back in 2001 and 2002.

A member of the 2000 Sydney Olympic squad, Hough had

Olympic aspirations running through her veins at birth. Her

father, Champ, was a member of the 1952 Olympic Team in

eventing. Hough was a member of the Gold medal-winning

Pan American Games team in 2003, representing the US

in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Demonstrating

her tenacity, she rode in the selection trials with a broken

collarbone.

In 2006, she was fourth overall in the FEI World Equestrian

Games Selection Trials, which qualified her for the short

Photo Credit: Sportfot

list for the games in Aachen, Germany. Over the past three

years, she has been a member of the very successful US

teams competing in the Samsung Super League. In 2004,

the team finished in fourth place; in 2005, the US finished

first; and in 2006, they were second.

With Casadora, Hough was a member of the 2007 Pan

American Games Bronze medal-winning team. The pair

started off 2008 with a victory at the $75,000 Green

Cove Springs CSI-W Grand Prix with the only double clear

round. During the first week of the 2008 Spruce Meadows

Summer Series, Hough and Casadora won the ATB Finan-

cial Cup. Later that week, she was first again in the 1.50m

ATCO Midstream Winning Round with Quick Study.

Hough and Quick Study spent the winter of 2009 compet-

ing at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival, taking two thirds

and a second in the $30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series,

and a fourth in the $75,000 FEI Nations Cup. They were

also part of the winning Meydan FEI Nations Cup effort

in May at CSIO Rome. The pair was also second in the

$122,172 Helsinki Grand Prix.

Hough also had consistent success with Naomi during the

spring of 2009, highlights of the pair’s success at the FTI

Winter Equestrian Festival include: winning the $50,000

Braman Motorcars Grand Prix, a runner-up finish in the

$50,000 Equisport Agency Grand Prix and third in the

$150,000 CN Open Grand Prix.

Early 2010 played out as another successful season for

Hough in Florida. With Casadora she collected a third place

finish at the $100,000 Green Cove Springs Grand Prix and

followed that up five days later with a sixth place finish in

round two of the WEF Challenge Cup Series again with

Casadora. Hough also burned it up with Prezioso S at the

FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. In a three-day span the

pair picked up third place finishes in the third round of the

WEF Challenge Cup Series and the Nespresso Grand Prix.

In February, Hough and Quick Study were twelfth in the

$150,000 Spy Coast Farm FEI World Cup Qualifier Grand

Prix.


They continued this good form through March, jumping to

the third place in the $200,000 WEF FEI World Cup Quali-

fier.

The summer proved to be a successful one for Hough in

Europe. With Quick Study she won the Global Champions

Tour Grand Prix at Hamburg in May. The pair were then on

the winning team at the Meydan FEI Nations Cup stop in

Rotterdam, where they were fault free in both rounds. In

July Hough once again jumped on the all female US team

with Quick Study at the Meydan FEI Nations Cup held at

CHIO Aachen. They completed the year by represent-

ing the United States at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian

Games in Lexington, KY.

Hough and Quick Study had a strong start to the 2011

season in Wellington, FL. At the beginning of February they

won the fourth round of the WEF Challenge Cup Series.

They began March by capturing the $150,000 Wellington

Equestrian Realty Grand Prix CSIO4* and bookended the

month by placing second in the $500,000 FTI Consulting

Finale Grand Prix. This combination has been jumping on

the Global Champions Tour throughout the summer.

When Hough isn’t riding, she loves to cook and spend time

with her friends and family.


Christine McCreaBorn: February 16, 1978 Hometown: East Windsor, CTRomantovich Take One – 11-year-old KWPN geld-ing owned by Candy Tribble

Christine McCrea has always been a consistent perform-

er for the U.S. Team and 2009 was certainly no excep-

tion.

McCrea represented the U.S. at the 2009 Rolex/FEI

World Cup Final in April in Las Vegas. At the 2009 Final

she rode the appropriately named Vegas. The pair won

the $100,000 Budweiser FEI World Cup Qualifier of

Syracuse in November of 2008; they then represented

the U.S. on the Nations Cup team at the CSIO Wellington

the following spring.

With Promised Land, McCrea was second in the

$150,000 CN Grand Prix on March 1, 2009 and third in

the Tampa Bay Classic, the final qualifier for the year’s

World Cup Final.

2010 again was a successful year for McCrea. With

Promised Land, she was fifth in both Round One of the

WEF Challenge Cup Series and the $75,000 Nespresso

Grand Prix. She was also fourth with Romantovich Take

One at the $25,000 Suncast Classic Grand Prix. Roman-

tovich Take One was also fifth in the $75,000 Adequan

Grand Prix in February at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival.

Romantovich Take One and McCrea continued collecting

consistent results throughout the spring of 2010. In May,

they were third in the CSI2* at the Hagyard Lexington

Classic and later in the month were fifth in the $100,000

Grand Prix of Devon-Celeste McNeal Harper Perpetual.

2011 has started off well for McCrea and the Dutch

Warmblood gelding. Once again jumping at the FTI Win-

ter Equestrian Festival, they were seventh in the fifth

round of the WEF Challenge Cup Series. They picked

up another seventh place finish in the CSI4*-W at the

Winter Equestrian Festival in March.

Over the summer of 2011, McCrea travelled to Europe to

take part in the FEI Nations Cup Series. With Romantov-

ich Take One, she jumped two clear rounds over a tough

track in St. Gallen in the Nations Cup and two days later

jumped to a strong third place finish in the Longines

Grand Prix of Switzerland.

McCrea first made her presence known on the interna-

tional scene when she joined the United States Eques-

trian Team Developing Rider Tour in 1999, she finished

second in the Nations Cup competition at CSIO Lum-

men, Belgium, riding Caraibe du Moulin.

McCrea was part of two successful Samsung Super

League efforts both in 2005 and 2007. She won a 1.50m

class in Lummen in 2005 and in 2006 qualified for the

Rolex FEI World Cup Final and was short-listed for the

2006 FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany.

In 2005, she earned multiple top 10 finishes at home,

including taking second in the $75,000 Budweiser World

Cup of Syracuse, third in the $50,000 Fidelity Grand

Prix of Boston, fourth in the $25,000 Winter Equestrian

Festival Challenge Cup Round 5 and the $100,000 Lexus

National Horse Show Championship, and sixth in the

$40,000 CSI-W Lexington.

McCrea is a graduate of the University of Connecticut

with a major in business. She and her husband John, an

Irish show jumper, currently train at her family’s farm,

Windsor Show Stables, in East Windsor, CT.

Photo Credit: Sophie Durieux


Kent FarringtonBorn: December 28, 1980 Hometown: Chicago, IllinoisUceko- 10 year-old KWPN gelding owned by R.C.G. Farm

Kent Farrington’s success has spanned a decade. In 2001

he was named the winner of the Maxine Beard award

given to an individual based on his potential to represent

the United States in international competition.

Farrington and Up Chiqui have won more than 20 Grand

Prix since 2005. The pair represented the U.S. twice in

2008, once in the FEI World Cup Final in Sweden and

again in the winning Nations Cup effort at CSIO Welling-

ton. They won from Lake Placid to Kentucky to Welling-

ton, and plenty of places in between.

They also won the Rolex/USEF National Show Jumping

Championships in 2007, capping off a year where they

were nearly invincible.

A small, but lightning fast horse, Up Chiqui’s 2009 ac-

complishments include tying for the win in the $75,000

World Cup Qualifier in Tampa at the end of March, stamp-

ing his ticket to Las Vegas for the Rolex/FEI World Cup

Final. The pair also won the $25,000 Green Cove Springs

Welcome Stake and were third in the $100,000 FEI World

Cup Qualifier the same weekend in January. They won

four FEI World Cup Qualifiers in 2009 and Kent won the

East Coast League to earn Up Chiqui his second trip to

the Rolex/ FEI World Cup Final in 2009.

In the summer of 2009, the Kentucky Horse Park proved

to be a very lucrative place for Farrington. He and Up

Chiqui won both the $30,000 KHJA Grand Prix and the

$30,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic. In addition, Far-

rington was second with Uceko in the $40,000 Kentucky

Summer Grand Prix.

January proved to be a hot month for Farrington in 2010.

With Valhalla he won the Bahamas Eco Grand Prix and

was seventh with United, just three days into the New

Year. Not to be out-done, Up Chiqui won the Green Cove

Springs Welcome on January 15. Farrington and the

chestnut gelding also picked up seventh place finishes in

the Green Cove Springs Grand Prix and Purina Mills Grand

Prix.

Farrington’s hot start to the year continued into February,

he and Up Chiqui won the $50,000 EMO Grand Prix at

HITS in Ocala. In March, Farrington was part of the fourth

placed US team in the $75,000 FEI Nations Cup present-

ed by CN in Wellington.

With the Dutch Warmblood gelding, Uceko, Farrington

has found a star for the future. In February of 2010, this

pair were fifth in the first USEF Selection Trial for the

US Show Jumping Team for the 2010 Alltech FEI World

Equestrian Games.

Uceko made a strong start to the 2011 season, collecting

second place honors in the $100,000 Deluca Toyota Tun-

dra Grand Prix. In April, Farrington collected one of the

largest victories of his career with Uceko claiming victory

among a star-studded field in the $200,000 Gene Mische

American Invitational.

Photo Credit: Cealy Tetley


This summer, the pair collected a pair of wins in Kentucky,

where they topped the field in the $55,000 Common-

wealth Grand Prix and the $55,000 Mary Rena Murphy

Grand Prix.

As a talented young equitation rider Farrington won the

Pessoa/AHSA National Hunter Seat Equitation Medal

Final in 1998 and the Washington International Equitation

Medal in 1999. He then climbed another notch when his

show jumping team won the Gold medal at the presti-

gious North American Young Riders’ Championship in

1999. Farrington’s first major win was on Madison in 2004

at the $75,000 EMO Grand Prix in Saugerties, NY. Since

then, he has been performing at the top of the sport, with

Madison having the distinct honor of being named 2005

AGA Horse of the Year.

Farrington runs a very successful teaching and training

business.


George MorrisChef d’EquipeBorn: February 26, 1938 Residence: Wellington, FLConsidered one of the most influential riders and train-

ers in equestrian sport, George Morris’ career began

as a precocious junior rider winning both the AHSA

Hunter Seat Medal Final and the ASPCA Maclay Final at

the tender age of 14, the youngest rider ever to do so.

In international competition, he represented the US on

the Gold medal-winning Pan American Games team in

1959 and on the Silver medal-winning team at the 1960

Rome Olympic Games. Between 1958 and 1960, he rode

on eight winning Nations Cup teams and in later years

served as Chef d’Equipe for numerous Nations Cup

teams including as Co-Chef d’Equipe at the 1999 Pan

American Games in Winnipeg, Canada, where the US

won both the Team and Individual Silver medals. Morris

also served as a Director of the former USET and as a

member of its Executive and Show Jumping Commit-

tees.

In 2005, Morris took over the Chef d’Equipe duties of

the US Show Jumping Team. He instantly proved his

outstanding leadership when the US team, the only non-

European team competing in the Super League, won the

prestigious Samsung Super League championship.

He commandeered an excellent performance from his

riders at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games, where

they won a Team Silver medal and Beezie Madden won

Individual Silver with the mighty Authentic. In 2007,

he guided the Pan American Games team to a bronze

medal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

2008 brought the most successful accolades thus far to

Morris’ coaching resume. He steered the US show jump-

ers to another fantastic performance, this time winning

Team Gold at the 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong.

The US riders won a jump-off with the Canadians for the

Gold medal, Madden also won Individual Bronze.

His teams also won the prestigious Nations Cup at the

Spruce Meadows Masters on the heels of the 2008

Olympic success, and then he took four riders inexpe-

rienced on the international stage and handily won the

Nations Cup at the CSIO Buenos Aires in November.

2009 was another busy and rewarding year for Mor-

ris and those he coaches. He guided the US team to a

runner-up spot in the 2009 Meydan Nations Cup. This

romp through Europe included winning two legs of the

tour. In November of 2009, Morris was named the USEF

National Coach of the Year. In May, Morris was awarded

the coveted title of ‘Horseman of Honor of the Cadre

Noir of Saumur’.

In 2010, US Teams picked up Nations Cup wins at CSIO

Rotterdam and CSIO Spruce Meadows and had consis-

tent European results all summer.

His attention to detail and meticulous preparation of his

teams is legendary.

Morris’ individual training successes include a “Who’s

Who” of the US’ top show jumping riders figuring

Photo Credit: USEF Archives


prominently in US Olympic history. At the 1984 Olympic

Games, the Gold medal winning team included three for-

mer students, Conrad Homfeld, Leslie Burr-Howard and

Melanie Smith Taylor. The 1992 team included students

Lisa Jacquin, Anne Kursinski and Norman Dello Joio. In

1996, Morris was assistant Chef d’Equipe of the Silver

medal Olympic team, which included former students

Burr- Howard, Kursinski and Peter Leone. At the 2004

Olympic Games in Athens, former student Chris Kappler

won the Individual Silver medal and was a member of

the Gold medal-winning team.

Morris is also a well-known author of equestrian books

and videos. He currently serves on several USEF com-

mittees and holds a Registered Judge’s License in the

Jumper, Hunter and Hunter Seat Equitation divisions.


Elizabeth ChessonTeam LeaderBorn: April 3, 1977 Residence: Gladstone, NJLizzy Chesson has been deeply rooted in international

equestrian sports for many years. As a groom for her

mother she was part of two World Championship Driv-

ing teams. At the age of 22, Chesson was selected to

drive a pair of horses in the World Pair Championship in

Hungary. She is a graduate of Columbia University where

she studied German and Spanish and earned a degree in

Art History.

Chesson began working for the USEF in 2006. Her first

position was in the USEF Show Jumping department as

an assistant to Managing Director, Sally Ike. Chesson has

been a member of the USEF High Performance Driving

Committee and the Chairman of the USEF High Perfor-

mance Eligible Active Pair Driver Committee. In Decem-

ber 2007, Chesson was promoted to USEF Director of

Show Jumping High Performance Activities.

Chesson resides in Gladstone, NJ and still rides and

drives when she can find the time. She finds herself in-

credibly fortunate to work with such an experienced and

dynamic team.

Photo Credit: USEF Archives

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