122nd National Horse Show and Family Festival Week Wrap-up
Equestrian News Release
Red Hot Jaime Guerra Wins the $75,000 Budweiser AGA Championship at the 122nd National Horse Show and Family Festival
Beautiful sunny skies and warm temperatures greeted a huge Sunday afternoon crowd for the final day of the 122nd National Horse Show and Family Festival at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club in Wellington, Florida. That crowd got to watch red hot Jaime Guerra of Mexico win Sunday’s main event, the $75,000 Budweiser AGA Championship. It was Guerra’s third victory in the five days of competition at the National Horse Show.
Twenty-six starters took the field for the $75,000 Budweiser AGA Championship, scored under FEI Table A over two rounds, 1st round not against the clock and 2nd round against the clock, with a designated jump-off. Only the top eight from the first round would advance to round two, with time deciding among those with four faults or more.
The three that were perfect in the first round faced the challenge of topping Kent Farrington, who was perfect in the second round.
Jaime Guerra, winner of two speed classes at the National Horse Show this week, walked through the door left open by Berkley. Guerra, aboard Santa Terisita Power Point, owned by Santa Terisita of California, was careful and clean, and just narrowly faster than Berkley, tripping the timers in 52.65 seconds. He took over the top spot by 0.36 seconds.
“I’m thrilled,” said a beaming Guerra following the class. “My horse really hasn’t jumped a course this big before and he struggled a little through the triple combination in the first round, but I couldn’t be happier.”
Jumper Highlights- Wednesday through Sunday
The 122nd National Horse Show and Family Festival kicked off under partly cloudy skies on Wednesday at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club in Wellington, Florida. A torrential all day rain on Tuesday did not dampen the spirits on Wednesday, but it did force the closure of the Internationale Arena for competition on opening day. The $5,000 Palm Peach Post Welcome Stake was diverted to the all-weather DeNemethy Arena, but started as scheduled at 3pm.
Thirty-one starters went to the post for the Palm Beach Post Welcome Stake, a class that was scored under FEI Art. 238.2.1, Time First Round. The jumper courses for the National Horse Show were designed by Jose “Pepe” Gamarra of La Paz, Bolivia.
Six horse and rider combinations produced fault free performances over the one round speed course while thirteen others picked up four faults.
Pablos Barrios and Sun God, owned by the Split Creek Farm, produced the first clear round and set the pace early, clocking in at 64.50 seconds with no faults.
That lead was short lived however, as just two horses later the eventual winner, Jaime Guerra and RMW Lorenz, shot to the top of the leader board with a clean go in 63.75 seconds, shaving .75 seconds off the time posted by Barrios. RMW Lorenz is owned by the Rocky Mountain Warmbloods of Rancho Santa Fe, California.
RMW Lorenz is a brand new ride for Guerra, a two time Olympian for his home country of Mexico. In fact, today was their first class together. Asked how they came together so quickly as a team, Guerra said, “It’s hard to explain how that happens, because I really only had a couple of days to get to know the horse and never had him in the show ring. Some horses it takes days and weeks to get to know. This horse though, is experienced and is pretty cool in the head,” he laughed. “He always wants to go to the jumps so that really helps a lot.”
McLain Ward and his fabulous mare Goldika 559 continued their amazing run of success with yet another fall tour victory, this time at the 122nd National Horse Show and Family Festival in Wellington, Florida in Thursday’s featured event, the $15,000 Chesapeake Petroleum National Horse Show Speed Stake. The scoring FEI Art. 238. Table A 2.1. Time First Round.
“I was actually using this class as a warm up for the World Cup Qualifier tomorrow night,” said Ward following the event. “Goldika is a naturally fast horse. I just tried to make some nice tight turns and the course itself was set big enough for a speed class so it wasn’t crazy fast. It worked out nicely for us,” he said.
The $20,000 5-Year-Old Young Jumper Championship Invitational consisted of three classes, two scored under Table II, Sec 1, Time First Round and one, the Championship on Sunday, under Table II, Sec. 2a, Time First Jump-off. Only the top 15 competitors with the lowest scores from the first two classes advanced to the final event to compete for the $20,000 in prize money. Top prize is $5,600. Sebastian Kapel, riding the Millcreek Stables’ Millesime Du Valy, emerged victorious on Thursday, posting the fastest clean round time of the day. Kapel crossed the finish line in 68.691 seconds for the win. The margin of victory for the duo was 1.46 seconds.
Scoring and eligibility is the same for both the $30,000 6-Year-Old Young Jumper Championship Invitational and the $30,000 7 & 8-Year Old Young Jumper Championship Invitational. The first place prize in each of these sections is worth $9,000. When the dust had settled on Thursday, it was Kent Farrington and Olivia Weeks’ Woica taking home the top prize for Six Year Olds in Round One. Farrington blazed across the finish line clear in 64.924 seconds. His 2.234 second margin of victory was the largest of the three sections today. The victory in the 7 & 8 Year Olds went to Providence and Robert Kraut. The Happy Hill Farm entry flashed across the finish line in 66.333 seconds, narrowly defeating Mademoiselle and owner rider Katy Levy. Levy’s time was 67.686 seconds.
On a cold Friday night in South Florida, Molly Ashe and Jane Clark’s Neuville were on fire, racing to victory in the $100,000 Lexus National Horse Show Jumper Championship, presented by Chesapeake Petroleum.
The Friday night class, part of the “Jumping Under the Stars” presentation, was the big money event of an Open Jumper Division that offers over $366,000 in total prize money. The $100,000 Lexus National Horse Show Jumper Championship, CSI-W presented by Chesapeake Petroleum, a World Cup Qualifier, was scored FEI Art. 238.2.2, Time First Jump-Off.
Ashe was thrilled to get to the winner’s circle so early in her partnership with Neuville. “It’s my first win with Neuville,” she said. “Jane Clark bought him at the World Cup Finals from McLain and Barney Ward. So, it’s a bit of a transition from McLain’s style of riding to my style of riding. In fact, McLain told me that my whole body equals his left thigh,” laughed Ashe. “We’ve been close though. But it’s been four faults here, four faults there. I haven’t done many jump-offs with him,” she said. “This was my second one. So I didn’t know if I had shot or not, but I just thought I’d do the best I could. I thought, he’s got enough experience, so I just trusted his bravery.”
Mexico’s Jaime Guerra, a Winter Equestrian veteran riding in his first ever National Horse Show, posted his second victory of the week on Saturday, racing to the win in the $10,000 Chesapeake Petroleum Speed Stake at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club.
The $10,000 Chesapeake Petroleum Speed Stake was the Saturday feature at the Internationale Arena. The scoring format for the class was FEI Art. 239. Table C. Faults Converted into Seconds.
There were twenty-seven starters on Saturday, but none were fast enough to catch the first one out of the starting gate. Jaime Guerra led off and went wire to wire with RMW Madelaine, owned by the Rocky Mountain Warmbloods of Rancho Santa Fe, California. Guerra tripped the timers in 65.87 seconds to post his second win in three days at the National Horse Show.
Guerra, recently a resident of Southern California, has made the cross country move to South Florida and now plans to call Wellington home. “I’ve always enjoyed Florida and plan to base here,” he said.
A two time Olympian for his home country of Mexico, Guerra has set his sights on the 2006 World Championship in Aachen, Germany. “I’ll do the World Championship selection trials in Mexico and Calgary and spend time on the East Coast as well.”
Fifteen top Amateur Owner Jumper riders competed in Sunday’s year end Show Jumping Hall of Fame Championship.
Scoring was Table II, Sec. 2a, Time First Jump-Off. Three riders advanced to the timed jump-off. Five competitors had four faults; one had six, one had eight and two had more than eight. Two riders were eliminated.
In the jump-off, Lila Sessums and the veteran Continental B emerged victorious with the only clear ride in the tiebreaker. Their clear round time was 42.546 seconds.
Twelve juniors started Sunday in their Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior Championship. Again scoring was Table II, Sec. 2a, Time First Jump-off.
Three competitors advanced to the encounter against the clock with clean first round efforts. The riders had four faults while two had twelve. Two had more twelve and two were eliminated.
In the jump-off, Whitney Weeks out-dueled Hillary Dobbs for top honors. Riding Subleim, Weeks blazed across the finish line with a clean round in 40.023 seconds to take home the championship. Dobbs, aboard VDL Lotus Excell, also toured the course fault free, but her finish time was 42.108 seconds. Haylie Jayne and Cartier, with twelve faults and a time of 41.578 seconds, finished third.
The $10,000 Palm Beach Daily News NHS Adult Amateur Jumper Championship made headlines on Sunday in the DeNemethy Arena with a 10 a.m. start. Under a Table II. 2 (a) format, eight exhibitors posted clear first rounds and returned for the jump-off phase. The jump-off included eight obstacles, with the last fence heading towards the in-gate. Katelin Kane and Le Beau Cheval blazed over the course in a time of 37.344. Kane’s time was untouchable, and she led the victory gallop for a purse of $3,000.
The Settaukett, New York resident also claimed the division championship after her success in Sunday’s class and her win on Saturday. A junior at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, the 21 year old will commute from New York to show during the Winter Equestrian Festival. She has trained with Ralph Caristo for four and a half years.
The $5,000 NHS Children’s Jumper Championship was next in the queue for the DeNemethy Arena with a pool of 30 entries to show. After 20 exhibitors qualified for the jump-off, the riders were put to the test in the second round. The jump-off, with a time allowed of 47 seconds, allotted only seven clear rounds out of the 20 that returned. Of those seven, Heather Timm and Manuela Del Juncal powered through the course in a time of 32.796 seconds. Timm edged Lexy Reed and Newdle into the second position, surpassing Reed’s time of 36.375 by almost four seconds. In addition to her win today, Timm received the division championship. Reserve champion went to Alexandra Arute aboard Brave Heart, owned by Pala Mosteller.
Darragh Kerins emerged victorious on Sunday in the Young Jumper 5 Year Old Championships on the stylish five-year old, Blue Danube, owned by the Tatra Farms and Patricia Garthwaite. Kerins piloted the big gray to a time of 32.333 seconds, a mere .333 seconds away from the optimum time. Off the target by 1.351 seconds, was second place finisher Millesime Du Valy, owned by the Mill Creek Stables and piloted by Simon Kapel. Kapel’s finish time was 33.351 seconds. Finishing third was Eso and David Jennings riding for Amy Lefferdink. Jennings crossed the finish line in 33.862 seconds, 1.862 seconds over the optimum time.
The early leader in the Six Year Old Young Jumper Championships jump-off was Five Year-Old class winner Darragh Kerins, this time up on S & L Farm’s S&L Face Value. Kerins came home without penalty in the jump-off, breaking the beams in 36.071 seconds. His lead lasted to the halfway point of the tiebreaker at which point Laura Kraut and Splitfire, owned by Starwood Farm, shaved a full second off of Kerin’s time and took over the top spot with a clean round in 35.070 seconds.
Kraut had no time to enjoy the lead however, as the eventual class winner Kent Farrington and Woica followed her into the arena. Woica, owned by Olivia Weeks, powered around the course, dashing home in an incredible 32.547 seconds, a full 2.32 seconds faster than Kraut.
The Seven and Eight Year-Old Young Jumper Championship Invitational also featured the fifteen top qualifiers and a scoring format of Table II, Sec. 2a. Time First Jump-off. Only six horse and rider combinations were able to master the first round course. Five competitors had four faults while another two had eight and two had more than eight faults.
Kachina, owned by the Deeridge Farm and ridden by Louis Jacobs, produced the first of only two clear rides in the jump-off, touring the Gamarra course without penalty in a time of 36.474 seconds.
Laura Kraut, a second place finisher in the class before, wasn’t about to let that happen again. Riding Nocturnal for the Pin Oak Farm, Kraut dashed around the tiebreaker, never letting up on the gas, and finishing more than two seconds ahead of Jacobs in 34.026 seconds.
Hunter Highlights- Wednesday through Sunday
After Tuesday’s rain made the Internationale Arena too wet for competition, the classes were moved to the sand “Rost Arena” on Wednesday. Despite the move to a smaller ring, the horses and riders put in some stellar rounds. There were six judges ringside that gave numerical scores out of 100 for each round. The hunter judges for this week are Kitty Barker, Susan Barrett, Thom Brede, Philip J. DeVita, R. Scot Evans, and Michelle Moroski.
Scott Stewart, of Flemington, New Jersey had a spectacular day as he entered the ring for the ribbon presentations on Thursday at the front of the line in nearly every class. The hunters competed in the elegant, big, grass field of the Internationale Arena.
In the William Barlow Redfern Regular Working Hunters, Stewart rode a relatively new horse, Up to Date, to the championship. The charming bay mare, nicknamed “Jenny” and owned by Richard Prant, made the transition from the jumper ring this spring and has adapted well to the slower, more graceful hunter classes. Reserve champion in the Regular Working Hunters were Sequel and Terry Brown of Showcase Ltd.
Stewart also had luck in the Regular Conformation division, where he and Krista Weisman’s Chopard won four out of five classes and were second in the remaining class to pick up the championship. Reserve champion in the Regular Conformation Hunters was Westcliffe, ridden by Ken Smith of Wellington, Florida, and owned by Christy Russo of Miami, Florida.
In the Green Conformation division, champion went to Granted, owned and ridden by Scott Stewart. “He’s my greenest horse,” Stewart admitted, “but that’s the best he has ever gone.” Reserve champion in the division was Eldridge T, ridden by Kelley Farmer and owned by Larry Glefke of Keswick, Virginia.
The Second Year Green Working Hunter division was a sweep for Scott Stewart. He piloted True, owned by Fashion Farm, to the championship. True was second over fences on Wednesday and returned Thursday to win both classes. Reserve champion went to another Fashion Farm-owned entry, Dynamic.
Once again, it was another run of the championship ribbons for Stewart. In the First Year Green Hunters, he piloted Alexa Weisman’s Music Street to the tricolor and Fellini, owned by Molly Ohrstrom, to the reserve championship.
The junior hunters finished their competition on Friday in the Internationale Arena at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club during the 122nd National Horse Show and Family Festival. It was a late, but fateful, decision that led to two Grand Championships, two division championships, and a reserve championship for rider Jack “Hardin” Towell Jr. and owner Christy Russo of Miami, Florida.
Towell, of Camden, South Carolina, was contacted by trainers Ken and Emily Smith of Wellington, Florida on Monday last week and asked to ride Christy Russo’s junior hunters at this year’s National Horse Show (NHS). Russo is sidelined with a sprained ankle and was unable to ride her two Large Juniors and her Small Junior horse. Towell has ridden the Small Junior 16-17 Hunter champion High Cotton throughout the year, but yesterday was the first time he rode both Miracle and Westcliffe.
By winning all four classes, Miracle was named the Large Junior 16-17 Hunter champion, the Grand Junior Hunter Champion, and the Grand Junior/Amateur Champion, which gave them the “Ruxton and Scot To Do” Challenge Trophy. Westcliffe was reserve champion in the same division.
In the Small Junior 16-17 Hunters, Towell rode old friend High Cotton, whom he as known for years. High Cotton won one over fences class on Thursday and came back Friday for a second over fences and the win under saddle. These points gave him the championship in the division. Reserve champions were Milan and Stephanie Danhakl, who rode for Hannah Hale of Portland, Oregon.
It was also a sweep in the younger junior hunters for rider Nicoletta von Heidegger. The California native was champion in the Small Junior 15 & Under division with Breckenridge and champion in the Large Junior 15 & Under Hunters with Small Town. Reserve champion in the younger Smalls was Saloon, ridden by Jennifer Waxman and owned by Whitney Roper. Another Roper entry, Fancy That, was reserve champion in the Large Junior 15 & Under Hunters with rider Maggie McAlary.
In their biggest win to date, What D’Ya Know and Lee Cesery came away with the tricolor in the Amateur-Owner 36 & Over division. Cesery and “Snickers” have been together for three years, and the adorable bay gelding lives at home with Cesery in Jacksonville, Florida. Cesery trains with Keith Alaimo while at home and meets trainer Bill Schaub of Over the Hill Farm at shows. Reserve champion in the division was Blush, owned and ridden by Katie Jacobs Robinson of East Aurora, New York.
The titles of champion in the Amateur-Owner 18-35 division and Grand Amateur Hunter Champion went to Krista Weisman and her faithful mount Chopard. Reserve champion in the division was Roundabout, ridden by Morgan Trexler of Reading, Pennsylvania, and owned by Windswept, Inc.
Consistency was key to be one of the top twelve hunters at the 122nd National Horse Show and Family Festival, but it also took a brilliant last round to pull off the win. Luckily, Rio Renoir and rider Holly Orlando had both. They were smooth throughout five rounds of competition spread over three days to win the National Horse Show Open Hunter Championship.
On Saturday, the focus of the horse show was on the hunters. The first phase of the competition took place on Wednesday and Thursday during the horses’ respective divisions. Their scores from the three over fences rounds were averaged together for the “Phase One” score. The twelve horses throughout all five divisions- First Year, Second Year, Green Conformation, Regular Conformation, and W.B. Redfern Regular Working- with the highest Phase One averages were asked to return Saturday for their fourth and fifth rounds. The fourth and fifth round scores were then averaged for a “Phase Two” score. The two phase scores were added for a total that determined the winner.
“Rio”, owned by Why Wait Farm and Cynthia and Thomas Deibert of Wellington, Florida, is a 6 year old Canadian Sporthorse by Rio Grande. He and fellow Wellington resident Orlando came into Saturday’s competition with a Phase One score of 83.5. In the first round on Saturday, they had a high score of 89.5. Scott Stewart, who rode six horses in the class, led the first round with an impressive score of 90.916 on Alexandra Stathis’ Truly.
In the second round, horses competed again over a long, flowing course on the grass field of the Internationale Arena. Last to show, Rio and Orlando set a metronome pace and stayed with it for the entire course. They were chasing Stewart and Fellini, owned by Molly Ohrstrom, who had a second round score of 87.16, a Phase Two score of 87.08, and a total of 171.638. Rio rose to the challenge, and the judges rewarded him with a score of 88.75 in the second round. This gave them the Phase Two average score of 89.13 and a total of 172.624 for the win.
The NHS Junior/Amateur-Owner Hunter Championship was scored under the same rules as the Open Hunter Championship. The leader going into Phase Two was the Grand Junior Hunter Champion, Miracle. Owned by Christy Russo of Miami, Florida and ridden by Jack Hardin Towell Jr. of Camden, South Carolina, Miracle had a Phase One score of 88.89.
Towell never rode Miracle before Thursday, but the partnership was fully cemented by the time the Championship rolled around. “She was very easy to ride right away,” he noted. In Saturday’s class, he mentioned, “She tried hard today, but was a little tired, so she wasn’t as crisp as yesterday.” Miracle scored 85 in the first round.
In the second round, the ones to beat were Tribute and Krista Weisman. One judge gave them a high score of 98, and their last round average was 92.6. When averaged with the first round and added to the Phase One score, they finished with a 170.52. Towell and Miracle needed a very good round to win, and luckily Miracle provided it. She finished with a last round score of 87.5, and her eventual total came to 175.13, which gave her the victory. “She goes in there to please,” said Towell.
After a stellar win in Friday’s class, Holly Caristo piloted Indian Summer to the lead in the Adult Amateur 36 and Over Hunter Stake with a score of 90.670. Caristo’s double blue performance earned the division championship and the ‘Seymour Cohn’ Perpetual Memorial Trophy. This honor is awarded to the horse and rider who receive the highest scores in the Adult Amateur Hunters. Ellen Toon of South Salem, NY and My Disguise earned the tricolor reserve champion award after her second place finish and Saturday’s blue.
In the Adult Amateur 18-35 division, Alexandra Cherubini and Sapphire succeeded to win the championship after Friday’s win and her placings on Saturday. “My horse felt great today,” said Cherubini. “It’s an honor to be champion here at this show; it’s been a great ending to a great year.” Cherubini, who owns Equifit, Inc., resides in Boston, Mass. and trains with Jimmy Toon. A tie for reserve champion in the Adult Amateur 18-35 Hunters pinned an even finish for Stephanie Riggio and her mount Aspen and Jennifer Reid aboard Bonafide. Reid’s mount is owned by Richard Schechter and Bainbridge Farm.
Courtney McKay, who has not ridden side saddle since she was four, triumphed in the hunter hack class and trotted her way to first place. This win sealed McKay and Just One More’s division championship. Jocelyn Dayus and Devon took home the reserve champion silver medal.
McKay participated in the discipline because she was recruited by her mother, a side saddle rider herself. McKay is the professional hunter and jumper rider for Jay Golding at Laureling Farm in Keswick, Va.
“It’s really hard!” giggled McKay. “I have to say that riding around here was harder than showing some of my young pre-green horses! The horse was so good…to put up with me. I’m sure it’s used to people who are a lot more balanced than I am.”
The final day of competition hosted some of the youngest competitors at the 122nd National Horse Show and Family Festival (NHS). No stranger to the NHS winner’s circle was 11 year old Megan Davis of Lutherville, Maryland and her small pony, Far From Home. Davis won the Grand Pony Hunter championship last year on her other small pony, My Little Dickens.
In addition to the Grand Championship, Davis and Far From Home were champions in the Small Pony Hunter division and the winners of the Village of Wellington Small/Medium Pony Hunter Classic. Reserve champion in the Small Pony Hunter division was Treasure Me and Kaely Tomeu, who rode for Allison Oakley of Wellington, Florida.
The Large and Medium Pony Hunter Championships were captured by the same rider, Jennifer Waxman. She and her extremely successful Medium Pony Tuscany won their fourth major championship of the year, while Waxman piloted Katie Hogan’s Hint of Blue for the first time this week in the Large Pony Hunters.
Despite only having schooled Hint of Blue a couple times this week, Waxman and the adorable grey pony won three out of four classes in the Large Pony Hunter division. In the first round of the Village of Wellington Large Pony Hunter Classic, Waxman and Hint of Blue had an incredibly high average score of 90. They returned for the second round and scored an 86.5, which gave them a total of 176.5 and the win. Reserve champion in the Large Pony Hunters was Cherrybrook Blue Suede Shoes, ridden by Alexandra Thornton and owned by Dunwalke LLC of Bedminster, New Jersey.
Tuscany won both over fences classes on Saturday, and he was seventh under saddle and second over fences on Sunday. Reserve champion in the Medium Pony Hunter division was Light Up the Year, ridden by Katie Dinan and owned by Katie Dinan LLC.
The road to winning has been a short one for Tuscany, who started gathering the championship ribbons almost immediately with Waxman. “He was a little green when we got him, but he’s come so far. He’s gotten so much better,” she remarked. She concluded, “He was so awesome. He’s just so nice. I know him so well, and I will always remember him.”
The Children’s Hunter champion at this year’s NHS was Savannah, owned and ridden by Casey Green of Westport, Connecticut. This is only her second show riding the beautiful, dark bay mare. The pair started at the Capital Challenge Horse Show, where they placed in every class. Reserve champion in the division was Little Boy Blue, ridden by Molly Braswell and owned by Sara Rutenberg.
Reader Comments
Be the first to submit a comment on this article!
Submit your comments
Link to this article
---------------------- It's easy! Just copy code below and paste into your webpage --------------------
<a href="http://www.equestrianmag.com/article/122-national-horse-show-family-festival-1205.html">122nd National Horse Show and Family Festival Week Wrap-up</a> ~ EquestrianMag.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your link will appear like this:
122nd National Horse Show and Family Festival Week Wrap-up ~ EquestrianMag.com
|
