World Four-in-Hand Championships Underway

Courtesy Live Oak Combined Driving

When Chester Weber won the Garden State Combined Driving Event in Allentown, N.J. this summer, the American driving phenomenon secured a spot for himself and his horses in the 2008 World Four-in-Hand Championships. The Championships, which run September 3 – 7 in Beesd, The Netherlands, will test Weber’s win record. He’s on a roll after all. Weber’s Garden State win was his sixth consecutive victory here in the states, and he hasn’t lost a competition on U.S. soil since 2006.

When Weber headed to Europe after the Garden State event, he took on the international competition to ready himself for the World show. His strategy has proven successful. He won the German Fahrderby held at CAI Riesenbeck a few weeks ago. It was a repeat of a performance he did back in 2004, when he became the first American to win the prestigious event.

Now Weber will find out if his skills can hold up at the World event. He’s been there before, having helped the United States Driving Team win a silver medal at the 2002 FEI World Equestrian Games, the highest placing ever from a U.S. team. In addition to Weber, two other Americans are competing at the 2008 World Four-in-Hand Championships: Tucker Johnson and James Henry Fairclough.