The Live Oak International is back

Live Oak International is back, bigger and better than ever!

Live Oak International, the nation’s only equine event featuring both combined driving and show jumping, is returning March 3-6, 2022, with its biggest show ever, along with a record amount of prize money in both disciplines.

Held at the pastoral Live Oak Stud Farm, located on State Road 40 west of Ocala, the Live Oak International tournament was canceled in 2021 due to the pandemic. That year off gave the organizers a chance to expand and improve the event. Now in its 31st year, Live Oak International is indisputably one of the nation’s premier equine events.

Running Live Oak International is a team effort by the Weber family – and is the one time of the year that the public can enter and see the magnificently beautiful Live Oak Stud property. Family matriarch Charlotte Weber opens her farm for the event, and son Chester Weber, daughter Juliet W. Reid, and granddaughter Chloe D. Reid all play integral parts in planning and putting on the tournament together.

The event started as a way for Chester Weber, co-president of Live Oak International, to promote the sport of combined driving in America. The holder of 18 U.S. national combined driving championships, Chester competes extensively in Europe, where the sport of combined driving is more in demand. His goal is to raise the profile of the equestrian discipline in the U.S. to where it is comparable to Europe.

Live Oak International is the largest CAI-3* combined driving tournament in North America, and the Ocala competition

Chester Weber

Chloe Reid

offers the most prize money of any driving tournament in the United States. The combined driving competition includes three phases – dressage, marathon, and the cones obstacle course and is held over three days, March 4, 5 and 6.

Chloe D. Reid said the marathon portion of the event is a must-see sport at its highest level with extreme entertainment and will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March

Chloe Reid and Chester Weber

5. “The marathon is the most intense phase of the combined driving and it’s really exciting to watch,” she said.

There are an expected 50 competitors from around the globe representing.

New to the Live Oak International schedule this year is the LOI Youth Driving Division where eight junior drivers under the age of 16 are being invited to compete at the tournament all show expenses paid. It

Photo by Ralph Demilio

is part of Chester Weber’s ongoing efforts to promote the sport he so loves.

“Chester really wants to promote the sport and introduce it to a new generation,” Reid said. “It’s his main reason for holding Live Oak International, and what better way to grow the sport than to involve youth who will be the future of the sport.”

This is the 10th year that show jumping will be a part of Live Oak International, and the decade of competition will be celebrated with the Fédération Équestre Internatinale (FEI) CSI-4* Longines World Cup qualifier event. It is one of only eight World Cup qualifiers in the United States and will come with $216,200 in prize money. An exciting aside, Reid noted, is the Sunday, March 6, Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Ocala Grand Prix will be broadcast by CBS Sports.

There will be 45 competitors from 20 countries taking part in the showjumping event, with $327,000 in prize money and rider bonuses on the line. The show jumping competition starts on Friday, March 4th.

While Live Oak International is touted as the biggest spectator event in Marion County and features top-tier competitors in combined driving and show jumping, Reid points out it is for more than just the horse crowd.

There is something for everyone, including an AdventHealth Ocala Kids Zone, with a bouncy house, face painting, and games, vendor booths with shops for horse fanatics or shoppers alike, as well as an Audi Gainesville Biergarten and food vendors for those who just want to enjoy a nice day outdoors.

In addition, the Grandview Clydesdales will be on hand for presentations Friday through Sunday. Spectators will have a chance to not only see the Clydesdales perform but pet them and have photographs taken with the gentle giants.

Tickets for Live Oak International are available for different levels of the Live Oak International experience. General admission is $10 each day and children under 6 are welcome for free. For those wanting to tailgate or have the VIP experience, which includes special seating overlooking the main arena, tickets start at $250.

For more information about tickets and Live Oak International, go online to www. liveoakinternational.com.