Laura and Cedric went clear in Thursday night's $40,000 USEF WEG Selection Trial #1, and finished in 8th place overall. Cedric jumped brilliantly, proving right off the bat that he is a top contender for the 2010 United States Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Team.

Cedric's owner, Peter Wetherill of Happy Hill Farm, sadly passed away last week, giving Laura extra motivation to make it to WEG and do well in his honor. Peter was not just an owner, but a friend to Laura and her team, as well as a longtime US Equestrian supporter. He turned down numerous opportunities from buyers overseas to sell Cedric after he and Laura won the Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008. Laura describes Peter as a 'real patriot. He would have never dreamed of selling one of his horses and having the horse compete for another country. He was all about supporting the United States Team'.

The second WEG trial, which runs combined with the $75,000 Fidelity Investments Grand Prix CSI 2*, will take place on Saturday night at 7:00PM.

For the live, free webcast of this event, click here.