Chester Weber is well known for supporting the equestrian industry, and the seven-time United States National Four-In-Hand Combined Driving Champion finished up 2009 by donating time to the Succeed® USET Holiday Gala Fundraiser in Wellington, FL. Weber drove a four-in-hand matching team of Miniature Horses into the ring during the gala, bringing in USEF President David O’Connor who was dressed as Santa Claus.

“I believe in supporting the USET and the USEF and am always happy to do my part,” said Weber, 2008 USEF Equestrian of Honor. “The gala was a wonderful event and a lot of money was raised which will help equestrians in a variety of disciplines.”

During the gala, Weber also offered a “day of training with Chester Weber” that was auctioned off to raise money for the USET Foundation. Bruce Ekstrom, a world champion driver of Hackney Horses, Hackney Ponies and American Shetland Ponies, bought the package for $2,000.

“Bruce is also an avid supporter of the equestrian community, and I am sure we will have a great day training together,” Weber said. “Bruce has a lot of small equines which are really fun to drive, just like the team I drove at the gala that belong to Linda Kern of Caribbean Dreams Miniature Horses.”

The goal-oriented Weber has his sights set on winning an unprecedented eight U.S. National Four-In-Hand Combined Driving titles as well as participating in the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Kentucky. A veteran of two prestigious World Equestrian Games, Weber is ranked Number One on the USEF Selectors Committee WEG Four-In-Hand list. “I feel honored to be at the top of the ranking list. I interpret the pole position as us being on the right track with regards to the selectors opinion,” Weber said.

Despite his ranking, Weber’s goal is to turn Team Weber into a stronger more competitive team in the New Year. “Our goals are to try to win two medals at WEG and in order to realize those goals we will have to continue to step our game up,” he said. “We have added two new horses in the stable, two new staff members and several sponsoring partners that all show encouraging potential to make us stronger as a team than we have ever been.”

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

Photo: Courtesy of © 2009 Ken Braddick/dressage-news.com