Success once again

The Horse Capital of the World hosted international combined driving teams and show jumping individuals March 14-17 at the renowned Live Oak Stud just west of Ocala.

Huge crowds were drawn to this year’s Live Oak International, held under a warm spring sun at the sprawling Live Oak Stud Farm west of Ocala. The combined driving and show jumping extravaganza drew a large pool of competitors from around the world.

Competition arenas were spread over a large area of the massive complex, providing easy access for wandering patrons to move easily between them to catch the action.

Among the winners was Ocala’s own Chester Weber, whose family owns Live Oak Stud. Weber and his niece Chole Reid, herself an equestrian, are co-presidents of Live Oak International. Over the weekend, Weber won his 21st USEF Advanced Four-in-Hand National Championship title and Reid took third place in one of the jumping competitions.

The water hazard was of particular interest to the visitors who wanted to see Weber and his four-horse team making the extremely tight turns in and out of the challenging course.

“It’s really humbling and it’s an honor for me and my entire family to welcome not only these wonderful athletes and horses alike but also the 15,000 plus spectators we had over the course of the weekend. It really proves that the community of Ocala and the surrounding area come out and that this has become an event that is circled on a lot of people’s calendars every year and has been for 33 years now,” he stated in a news release.

Daniel Coyle won the CSI 4*-W $200,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Ocala. The class was the final qualifier before the Longines FEI World Cup Final in Riyadh.

To see all of the numerous final results, go to longinestiming.com/equestrian/2024/live-oak-international-ocala-fl

To learn more, visit liveoakinternational.com