Performance(s) of the Week, Part I

There were just too many awesome things happening this week for us to choose ONE Performance of the Week… so today, we’re honoring TWO! First up: Chester Weber, winning his 16th Live Oak International.

Yep, that says SIXTEEN. Chester Weber, the hands-down best driver of a four-in-hand in the US, took his 16th USEF Advanced Four-in-Hand USA Driving National Championship over the weekend on his home turf of Live Oak in Florida.

Compounding the difficulty of the cones phase — think the stadium jumping phase equivalent from eventing, for combined drivers — were the actual show jumping fences still standing in the arena. Not only did drivers have to navigate the tricky, twisty, bendy cones course as it was, they also had to bend physics to get their four-in-hand and carriage past all of these fences too.

If you thought memorizing your course was hard, with all of the individual colors and shapes of fences to help it stick in your brain, try memorizing this pattern:

Weber, of course, makes this whole thing look easy, leaving every ball in place on top of every cone, and masterfully weaving his incredibly-athletic and intelligent team around all of the detritus in this arena. A well-deserved championship!

Go driving!