Training Prize (Gift of the Horse)

1) The Wheelhorse newsletter (based in Wisconsin), will get a column that reviews how the opportunity was won, and talk about any preconceived notions or expectations brought to the experience and how the reality does or doesn't conform.

2) Surprised Inside Live Oak
The Whip (published in Maine), The American Driving Society Magazine, will get an exclusive "day in life" article for their May 2012 issue, about how the barn runs, differs from expectations etc. (2,000 words, plus photos)

3) The Rider (published in Ontario), will get a report on the top ten training tips picked up for the sport of Combined Driving.
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Uploaded in raw format in private setting for storage will be all the video. I collected snippets of a a Day in The Life film narrative for those who will be interested in what it's really like to work with North America's top carriage driver, Including colorful details about the horses. Too bad I couldn't get anything about the way the horses transport/travel...
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outstanding/actual expenses:
$60 CAD individual OEF renewal includes equine canada renewal
$35USD USEF membership/renewal
$25 CAD trip travel insurance
$200USD food/groceries/tolls/souvenirs
$145.34 USD (63.57 enroute 81.77 USD back)
$346.23 USD gas + 2 fill up on Vitaflex
$80.59 CAD gas
$27 CAD increase FIDO bill [8.75about 7 texts, 15.75 4 short calls (data roaming off etc. no news is good news, save for random free wifi. fido 18.22 + taxes to jan 20)]
[  ] $100 CAD windshield replacement deductible?
[ ] $500 revenue re: absence from work 
12,000 aeroplan points hotel stay in Wellington
[./] booked off week off from 2 jobs
[,/ ] USD WEF parking, ensure no incidentals
[ ] $ 50? cat sitter
[ ] USD accommodation Ocala
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[ ] $75-90 travel insurance, annual plan
[ ] oef renewal/club$100

The Rider

Guelph Tribune

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Inside Wellington, Equine Edition

Nov 21, 2011 page 8
(Wellington Advertiser)

News in New England?

hoofbeats In The News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Guelph, ON

Guelph Resident, Kim Logue, has won a once in a lifetime chance to train with one of the World's Best Combined Drivers, Chester Weber.  Weber is based in Ocala, Florida and is not just a "four-in-hand" international competitor and champion, he also acts as Chef D'Equip (technical director/coordinator and representative) of the other US Driving Teams in International Competition

Combined Driving is an equestrian sport involving a carriage, where the driver sits on a vehicle drawn by a single horse, a pair or a team of four, in this sport of three phases: Dressage, Cross-country Marathon and Obstacle Cones course.   It is one of the ten international equestrian disciplines recognized by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) although it is not an Olympic Sport.

(photo credit 312714 etc. picsofyou, from Chester Weber facebook fan page)

A volunteer/blogger for the National Sport office, Logue was thrilled to attend the World Equestrian Games in Lexington Kentucky in the fall of 2010, the first time the games have ever been held on North American soil.  This was her first chance to see the sport at the world class level, live, and her first chance to see Chester Weber compete in person.  (photo credit 0950, Chester close up, photo Kim Logue). The next World Equestrian Games will take place in Normandy in 2014, and Logue aspires to attend there as well.

Logue might be best known in Guelph as the founder and host of the popular "hoofbeats radio" that had aired on Sunday mornings on CFRU until September 2011.  "This is an amazing opportunity! I want to make a filmdocumentary during the training time I have won," Logue says, "to help share knowledge about the horse sports, in a whole new discipline and genre."

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The News is Out!

Canadian Eventer Kim Logue Wins Once-In-A-Lifetime Experience To Train With Chester Weber Through Gift Of The Horse Website

released by Chester Weber on Monday, September 12, 2011 at 2:24pm

Ocala, FL 
(September 8, 2011) 




– Canadian rider Kim Logue may just be the biggest fan of Combined Driver Chester Weber, a fact she proved when she won a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend two days on Weber’s Live Oak Plantation in Ocala, Florida, training with the legendary combined driver.  Logue won the contest on the Gift of the Horse website by writing an award winning essay explaining why she is Weber’s biggest fan. 

In her winning essay she said, “Chester Weber is a champion many times over, but there are other reasons I am his number one fan. He has been the introduction to the sport of Combined Driving, not just for me, but also for countless enthusiasts. I can vividly remember an entrancing demo during the Symphony of the Horse Charity Fundraiser in Gainesville, Florida where he was wearing a headset mic and whipping around the arena describing the sport in general, as well as the specific methods he was using moment by moment, with his team in action, to give a taste of the sport.”

Logue went on to write that she admires that fact that Weber believes in cross training his horses and she added that she is his number one fan, “because of the respect and appreciation he has shown for his carefully selected staff team. I am his number one fan because he is known to provide horses to students from time to time, including Canadians! I am his number one fan because he is known to invest in horses being shown in other sports, including by Canadian riders. I am his number one fan because some of the most amazing photographs published of him are taken by his wife.”

Logue said she was impressed to see Weber’s calm composure and patience after many delays due to the heat while waiting his turn for the cones phase at the 2010 World Equestrian Games.  “Not to mention the team spirit shown in the way he cheered for his US teammates, ringside smiling and fist in the air!” Logue said, adding that she finds Weber to be approachable, friendly and down to earth.

Logue describes herself as a grass roots eventer, who grew up on rescue horses and borrowed ponies, a bond she shares with the iconic driver. Weber is well known for rescuing his horse Jamaica from a slaughterhouse before giving the celebrated horse a second career in which he won countless world championships. “The chance to train with Chester for a weekend means the world to me,” Logue said.

Weber, the United States’ most decorated combined driver, said he was pleased to be taking part in the Gift of the Horse contest. “I love the sport of combined driving and sharing my passion and expertise with others is something I love doing. The great thing about the Gift of the Horse is all the money raised on the website goes directly to the American Youth Horse Council. I certainly look forward to meeting Kim,” Weber said.

For more information on Weber and his combined driving team, visit their website at www.chesterweber.com.

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Photo: Kim Logue, an eventer from Canada, is Chester Weber’s biggest fan and won an essay contest on the Gift of the Horse website for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend two days at Live Oak, training with the legendary combined driver. (Photo courtesy of Ze’ev Gedalof)