Saturday, August 29, 2009

Another International Equestrian Added to Roster



Robert Costello

Robert was fortunate from the start to grow up fox hunting and showing in the horse crazy town of Hamilton, Massachusetts. After seeing his first Ledyard International Three-Day Event, his attention was quickly drawn to the ultimate equestrian sport of Eventing. Throughout the 1970’s and 80’s Hamilton was headquarters for Jack LeGoff and the USET Three Day Event squad. This proved very influential as Robert knew from an early age that representing his country internationally would be his goal.

After graduating from the University of Massachusetts with a Mass Communications major and a Music Performance minor, Robert ventured into the horse business full-time with long time friend and supporter Leila Clay. Robert and Leila started C&C Sporthorse, Inc. in 1990 and soon moved the business from Hamilton to its current location at Tanglewood Farm in Southern Pines, NC.

Horses owned early on by Leila, such as Rufus, Simon Rattle and Class Action, laid the groundwork for Robert having the privilege of being asked to ride Deirdre Pirie’s equine star Chevalier. “Charlie” is the horse that would ultimately take him to the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. In addition to an 8th place finish there, this partnership also produced top placings at Fair Hill, Rolex Kentucky and Burghley (UK).

In 2003 Robert once again represented the USA, this time winning team gold at the Pan American Games aboard Leila’s UK beautiful grey import Dalliance. Robert and Dalliance went on to future successes at Fair Hill, Rolex and Burghley.

Robert is still actively competing at the international level. His current brightest prospect is Dustin. After a strong showing at the Jersey Fresh CCI** in May of ’09 they have their sights set on Fair Hill International CCI*** this coming October. (cont’d) When not riding and coaching, Robert enjoys tennis and skiing. He also is heavily involved in the governance of the sport, most notably serving on the USEF Board of Directors and as Chairman of the USEF Eventing High Performance Committee. He is also on the Board of the newly formed Professional Riders Organization (link) and is vice-chairman of the USEA Professional Horseman’s Council. He previously sat on the boards of the USEA, USET and was Chairman of the USEF Active Riders Committee from 2001-2008.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Faudree and Mosing’s Pawlow On The Way To The United Kingdom



(Maurice, LA and Hoffman, NC – August 26, 2009 - Will Faudree and Pawlow who were named to the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) high performance eventing training list earlier this year are preparing to leave for an international competition in the United Kingdom. Coach Mark Phillips and team members visited the pair while they were competing at a spring Jersey Fresh event.

All three Eventing High Performance Training Lists were updated following the spring competition season. Faudree and Pawlow were placed on the list to compete at the Blenheim Horse Trials in the United Kingdom.

Faudree and Pawlow fly out to the United Kingdom on August 31. Once there they will have eight days to prepare for the Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials September 10 –13. Ernie's owner, Jennifer Mosing, is attending the event as well.

Will Faudree is based in Hoffman, North Carolina at his Gavilan Farm. Pawlow is a 10-year old Irish Thoroughbred gelding and is owned by Jennifer Mosing. Mosing and her family own Sterling Silver Stables in Maurice, Louisiana. This is Mosing’s first sponsorship in the equestrian world although she and her family have sponsored top-bred dogs through their Nottoway Kennels.

“It’s an exciting time for us,” said Will Faudree. “This horse is so amazing and he is just beginning to show us what he has to give. He’s an incredible athlete and we are both so lucky that Jennifer came into our lives.”

The pair did their first advanced horse trial in late February and moved up quickly to the 3-star level with the selectors taking a look at them in early May. The pair has been competitive at the advanced level throughout the competition season.

Blenheim Palace is the host venue for one of the best three-day horse trial events in the world. Attracting top international competitors and their up and coming horses who compete against one another in the three phases of dressage, cross country and show jumping, this event offers great days with much to see and do including a wide range of attractions and displays, fabulous shopping and of course the chance to get close to the best sportsmen and women from this sport in the world–with a new class for 2009 aimed at those horses who are being targeted at London 2012 the equine Olympian stars of the future too.

Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials was awarded the opportunity to run a CIC3* competition alongside its established CCI3* event. “With the CIC cross country Sunday morning this will give spectators the opportunity to enjoy cross country on two days,” said Event Director Mandy Hervieu “as well as offering more riders and horses the opportunity to compete at this prestigious venue.”

The class will be positioned as an opportunity to spot the stars of the future and is very likely to be a target for those aiming for 2012 as it is similar to the CCI3*, but of less difficulty with a slightly shorter cross country course and not such a tight optimum time target.

Many riders will be keen to ride the anticlockwise course at Blenheim designed by Eric Winter but as yet never ridden, due to the cancellation of last year’s event due to adverse weather. Both the CCI 3*and CIC3* will incorporate some of the feature fences such as the lake crossings, dew pond and famous ‘Blenheim Flyer’ fence.
This new competition provides a much-awaited end of season target for the owners of talented young horses and will undoubtedly be an excellent showcase for those tipped for future success.

Faudree and Mosing teamed up earlier this year when Mosing purchased Pawlow, who they affectionately call Ernie P. Mosing. Mosing’s children ride and train with Faudree.

About Will Faudree
Will Faudree was born on October 4, 1981 in Midland Texas. He grew up on a cattle ranch, learning to ride at a very young age. When he was about thirteen he became interested in eventing, and started to compete. After graduating high school, Will moved to Pennsylvania to ride and train with Phillip Dutton. In 2003 Will set out on his own and moved to Southern Pines, North Carolina with his dog, Kemper, where Gavilan Farm is currently based. Will also competed in the Pan American Games that year. The team won a gold medal. The following year, Will was named the traveling reserve for the Athens Olympic Team. Unfortunately when Will returned home from the games, he found his house and barn had been struck by lightning and burnt down. Luckily no horses were on the property at the time, but the damage was too great. Will had to find a new farm and replace almost all of his personal belongings as well as his horse equipment. With the help of Will's family and close friends, Will was able to put things back together and moved into his current house and barn in January of 2005.

With the continued support of friends and family, Will's career as an Equestrian continues to grow. He represented the United States once again by riding on the US team at the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, and continues riding for the U.S. Team in future international competitions.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

EatLafayette Campaign Reaches All Time Highs!

The EatLafayette campaign that focused on driving traffic to Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, locally-owned restaurants drove over 1,000,000 hits to its website, created hundreds of friends on Facebook and developed its YouTube channel with dine-arounds by Regent Broadcasting personalities.

Cox Media successfully implemented the first-ever text to win and promotional campaign for the fifth annual event.

The drawing for the Caribbean Cruise is Friday, August 21, at 9:30 a.m. on KTDY radio.