Chester C. Weber
DOB: 1975

Combined Driver Chester Weber, whose name has become synonymous with Four-in-Hand driving throughout the world, achieved a record-setting win in October, 2009 – becoming the first driver to win the USEF National Four-In-Hand Driving Championships seven consecutive years in a row. Well known for being a driver who sets goals and achieves them, Weber let it be known early in the year that his goal was to break the record and earn a seventh victory and become the seven-time United States National Four-In-Hand Combined Driving Champion.

Team Weber earned Lucky Number Seven during the Four-In-Hand Driving Championship at the Kentucky Cup and Lexington Driving Classic in Lexington, Kentucky, where he handily won by 10 points, beating out fellow American Tucker Johnson who was also hoping for a seventh win. Throughout the three phases of the competition, Weber and his team won the dressage and cones phase and came in second to Australian driver Boyd Exell in the marathon. Weber earned high praise from Ed Young, the Chef d’Equipe of the United States Driving Team, who said Weber has the ability to set goals and focus on them without getting distracted which Young claims is an incredible asset for a high performance athlete.

Becoming the seven-time United States National Four-In-Hand Combined Driving Champion was an excellent way for Weber to wrap up 2009, a year which saw Team Weber dominating the Four-In-Hand division by winning all events entered. Weber won the prestigious CAI-A Live Oak International, a world class qualifying competition which draws top competitors to Ocala each year and is considered to be one of the premiere Combined Driving events in North America. Team Weber also won the FEI division for Four-In-Hand horses at the Sunshine State FEI Combined Driving Event in Ocala and the dressage phase at the Laurels At Landhope International Combined Driving Event in Pennsylvania. The dressage phase was the only portion of the combined driving event Weber entered at The Laurels, withdrawing following dressage due to deep mud and torrential rain.

Weber now has his sights set on the 2010 World Equestrian Games, which will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park, and is currently ranked No. 1 on the USEF’s Four-In-Hand Selectors’ Ranking List for WEG. While 2009 has been a stellar year for Weber, it comes on the heels of an equally successful and historical 2008. Weber’ successful 2008 summer campaign in Europe earned him an Individual Silver Medal in the Four-in-Hand World Driving Championships in Beesd, The Netherlands – making him the first American to ever win an Individual Medal at the World Driving Championships. Weber was also named a 2008 USEF Equestrian of Honor and his horse, Jamaica, took home top honors as the 2008 Farnam Platform/USEF Horse of the Year.

Weber’s success in combined driving started early. At 18 years old, he was the youngest driver to be named to the United States Equestrian Team (USET) and to qualify for the World Pairs Driving Championship. By 1999, Weber had won 12 consecutive Advanced combined driving events and then transitioned to Four-in-Hand driving, where he has made a name for himself internationally.

At the 2002 FEI World Equestrian Games, Weber helped the U.S. Driving Team earn a Silver Medal and placed fifth individually in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. The next year he claimed his first, of now seven, consecutive USEF Four-In-Hand National Championship titles. In July 2004, Chester Weber became the first American to win the prestigious German Fahrderby held at CAI-A Riesenbeck, an achievement he handily repeated in 2008.

In 2005, Weber decided not to compete overseas. In the United States, he recorded several wins including his third consecutive national title. He won each of the competitions he entered, which included three CAI and two CDE competitions. Weber was selected to represent the United States at the FEI World Equestrian Games in 2006 where his team took eighth place. Again in 2007, Weber made the choice to stay in the United States where he proceeded to win every competition he entered that year; including another national combined driving championship.

In addition to his rigorous competition schedule, Weber actively promotes the sport of combined driving. He serves at the highest levels of the sport in the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF). He is currently on the Board of Directors, the High Performance Driving Committee, the National Driving Committee, the Safety Committee and he is also Chairman of the Active Athletes Committee and the Dressage Search Committee.