Fairclough and Stover Win Marathon at USEF National Driving Championships; Weber and Groves Lead Overall Standings at Live Oak International

Ocala, FL - An exciting day of marathon driving at Live Oak International presented by US Trust showcased some of the very best in the US vying for USEF National Championship honors for both Single Horses and Four-in-Hands.  

Jimmy Fairclough drove like a man on mission - and his perseverance prevailed. Driving Jane Clark's team, the New Jersey driver started out confidently in the first hazard and got better and better as he guided his team around the course. He won the marathon on a score of 90.86, enough for a seven point victory.

"I wanted it to be really forward and smooth," said Fairclough. "And it was all of that. I only had one mistake to mention - this combination is really superb."

Fairclough has a brand new pair of leaders that are being leased from fellow US driver Keady Cadwell: he used them both in the dressage on Thursday, but only drove Uniek today, the rest of his team was made up of his veterans (Charlie Brown, Caletta 5 and Celina 6) - but Uniek fit right in and took command of the team.

"I used Uniek today and I think I had only taken about 10 tree turns with him before the marathon," said Fairclough. "We are getting used to each other."

His route to get to the bridge at the second to last hazard 'The Gulch' was not attempted by any other team. It looked nearly impossible to fit a four-in-hand up the steep hill through such a narrow gap, but Fairclough's execution was perfect.

"The girls in the wheel are so powerful," said Fairclough. "I had to keep the speed and rhythm. In New Jersey it is very hilly so I am used to some hills. I have a lot of power, they are all relatively young horses and they really worked well together. I had enough power so I thought I would go for it."

Fairclough has the next six months to get his team perfected before the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in September, which is the goal for most of the four-in-hands in 2010.

"I don't know his reactions," said Fairclough. "When you have a new quarterback it changes your team."

 Fairclough maintained his second place position overall behind Chester Weber (who has won the last seven National titles) but Weber settled for second in the marathon after falling victim to The Gulch. His leaders split a pole coming out of the first gate. Weber stayed calm, and the horses listened to him carefully as he maneuvered them back off the post and on to the correct route. He lost precious time there, but the first five hazards for Weber were textbook.

"One, two , three were fantastic," said Weber. "Going into four I lost my rhythm a little bit, five was again pretty good. At six I had a lot of luck; I am always a big believer that you make your own luck. It is where opportunity meets preparedness. It is about getting to the solution. The horses couldn't back up because the hill was too steep - I am not sure how he got free. We were there for 45 seconds, it seemed like an eternity then we were free and I had to organize and keep going and get them back together."

Horace, a 15-year-old French trotter, was the horse who ended up on the wrong side of the post, and was incredibly clever to right himself.