Lexington, Ky. – Nov. 3, 2017 – The CP National Horse Show featured a different style of show jumping competition on Friday evening with the $35,000 Salamander Hotels and Resorts Accumulator Class CSI4* for the Whitney Stone Memorial Trophy. Local groups were invited out for “Barn Night” to watch as Beezie Madden (USA) and Abigail Wexner’s HHS Hercules took the top prize of the evening.
Click here to watch Beezie Madden and HHS Hercules’ winning round!
The class featured 10 obstacles of increasing difficulty, where points were awarded for each fence cleared. Obstacle one jumped without fault was worth one point, obstacle two jumped without fault was worth two points and so on.
A final fence option called ‘The Joker’ was worth double points. However, if a rider opted for ‘The Joker’ and knocked it down, those points were deducted from the total score. Twenty-three international horses and athletes strived to clear the Michel Vaillancourt-designed course for a perfect score of 65 points. Eleven athletes were able to do just that, finishing with no faults and jumping the high point ‘Joker’ fence without error. Between those 11, it all came down to time.
Wednesday’s big winners, Laura Kraut (USA) and St. Bride’s Farm’s Whitney were the first to achieve a perfect score of 65 points in a blazing 47.81 seconds to take the early lead for the majority of the class.
None were able to catch Kraut’s time until Madden and the 8-year-old Irish Sport Horse entered the Alltech Arena as the very last to go. The pair finished clear for 65 points in 47.62 seconds to outpace Kraut’s time by 2/10ths of a second to move into the top spot on the leaderboard. Devin Ryan (USA) and his own Cooper finished in third place with 65 points in 48.03 seconds.
Preceding Friday’s $35,000 Salamander Hotels and Resorts Accumulator Class CSI4* was the second round of the $100,000 USEF Under 25 National Championship, which saw Jennifer Gates and Alex, owned by Evergate Stables LLC, claim the blue ribbon.
Returning in reverse order from Thursday’s first round, eight advanced to the jump-off from an original starting field of 20, where Gates was one of five to finish double-clear around Vaillancourt’s technical shortened track.
Mattias Tromp and Avon, owned by Swede Ventures LLC, were the second combination to produce a faultless finish in the jump-off in 37.336 seconds to take over the top spot early on in the class. Next, Daisy Farish and her own Great White crossed the finish line with no faults in 38.767 seconds to move behind Tromp in the standings.
As second to last to go, Gates and Alex raced around the short course, using the 13-year-old Westphalian gelding’s ability to cut in on tight turns to her advantage, and stopped the timers in 36.885 seconds for the win. Tromp finished in second place, while Farish took home third place honors.
The 21-year-old Stanford University senior just recently acquired Alex in July from Audrey Coulter and Copernicus Stables and claimed their first big win together in September at the Rolex Central Park Horse Show in the $25,000 U.S. Open Hollow Creek Farm U25 Grand Prix.
Going into Sunday’s final round of competition with a third place finish from Thursday’s first round and Friday’s win already under her belt, Gates is sitting in good standing and feeling confident but also grateful for the opportunity to compete in this year’s $100,000 USEF Under 25 National Championship at the CP National Horse Show.
The jumpers kicked off on Friday with the $10,000 Equithrive Amateur-Owner/Junior Jumper competition, where David Oberkircher and Southfields Farm LLC’s Tyson De Verteveuille claimed the win with a quick, clear round in 65.544 seconds.
Oberkircher was awarded the Andrea Fuelhart Douglas Memorial Trophy as the junior rider with the greatest number of points between Friday’s class and Thursday’s Equithrive Amateur-Owner/Junior Jumper Welcome Stake, where he finished in third place.
Close behind was Lacey Gilbertson, who finished in second place aboard Seabrook Farm LLC’s Baloppi in a time of 65.830 seconds, while Alex Parrish claimed third place in 66.454 seconds with Lexander Farm LLC’s Divace.
FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE
Beezie Madden – $35,000 Salamander Hotels and Resorts Accumulator Class CSI4* winner
On HHS Hercules:
“He came from Marion Hughes, in Ireland, and we got him in May, right before Old Salem. I think he is quite scopey, and I think he is going to develop into a horse to jump big courses with. He is only 8 years old and has already done well in some 1.50m classes. He jumps with ease. I am hopeful that we will be doing bigger things next year.”
On the accumulator class format:
“I think it’s a neat class! There is no combination so it’s a nice class for the horses — not easy because you have to go fast — but a good opportunity to help them build some confidence.”
On going last in the class:
“I watched the first 10 or 12 go, and I didn’t think that I would beat Laura [Kraut]. I was going to go in and try, but I didn’t buy him as a speed horse, I bought him to jump bigger fences. He was quite good on the turns today and I think I caught her on the back half of the course.”
Jennifer Gates – $20,000 USEF Under 25 National Championship (second round) winner
On Friday’s win:
“I’m really thrilled that it went well. I really trust this horse so it’s a great feeling. It’s unbelievable. I never thought I’d get a ribbon here at the National Horse Show, let alone a win. I’m a little over the moon right now. I’ve been doing the U25s for a few years but it’s always been a goal of mine to win a class. I was lucky enough to win at Central Park so to come back and win on the same horse and have a good result really means a lot. I really appreciate all of the sponsors, USEF especially, for putting on these great classes and giving me the opportunity to jump in them.”
On Alex:
“He’s so unbelievably sweet. He’s a little bit sensitive so you have to be gentle with him. He looks around a lot. He’s so sweet and super easy to handle around the barn. He’s just a gem.”
On her strategy during Friday’s competition:
“I was hearing of a lot of people going clear so initially I thought I’d be a little more conservative, but afterwards I thought, to keep my ranking, I wanted to try to go for it. He’s a horse I can kind of put the pedal to the metal a little bit and it worked out in my favor. I’m not normally fast so I’ve been working on getting faster. With Alex, I feel like I can really be confident and take chances in the jump-off so I’m especially happy about tonight because it means a lot for me to have to go fast.”
On her plan for Sunday’s final round:
“My plan for Sunday is to keep Alex fresh, ready to go and jump a couple more clear rounds. I think he has it in him so hopefully I have it in me.”
RESULTS
$35,000 Salamander Hotels and Resorts Accumulator Class CSI4*:
Place / Horse / Rider / Country / Owner / Score / Time
1. HHS Hercules / Beezie Madden / USA / Abigail Wexner / 65 / 47.62
2. Whitney / Laura Kraut / USA / St. Bride’s Farm / 65 / 47.81
3. Cooper / Devin Ryan / USA / Devin Ryan / 65 / 48.03
4. Ypaja Yando / Richie Moloney / IRE / Equinimity LLC / 65 / 49.23
5. Mr. Visto / Lauren Tisbo / USA / Tequestrian, Farms LLC / 65 / 49.38
6. Dicas / Margie Engle / USA / Storm Ridge Capital, Showhorses LLC, Gladewinds & Garber / 65 / 51.66
7. Quarto Mail / Andrew Kocher / USA / MKO Equestrian LLC / 65 / 52.05
8. Pembroke / Adrienne Sternlicht / USA / Starlight Farms LLC / 65 / 52.35
9. Cartouche / McLain Ward / USA / McLain Ward / 65 / 53.15
10. Giorgio Van’t Hagenhof / Quentin Judge / USA / Double H Farm / 65 / 53.52
11. Crack Elle Chavannaise / Mattias Tromp / USA / Beyaert Farm Inc. / 65 / 56.19
12. Harriri / Emily Moffitt / GBR / Poden Farms / 62 / 50.98
$20,000 USEF Under 25 National Championship (second round):
Place / Horse / Rider / Owner / R1 Faults / R2 Faults / Time
1. Alex / Jennifer Gates / Evergate Stables LLC / 0 / 0 / 36.885
2. Avon / Mattias Tromp / Swede Ventures LLC / 0 / 0 / 37.336
3. Great White / Daisy Farish / Daisy Farish / 0 / 0 / 38.767
4. Gentille / Kaely Tomeu / Siboney Ranch / 0 / 0 / 38.873
5. Quite Dark 2 / Haley Gassel / Westwind Equine Training Center / 0 / 0 / 39.593
6. Clockwise Of Greenhill Z / Uma O’Neill / Uma O’Neill / 0 / 4 / 36.727
7. Prestigious / Madison Goetzmann / Madison Goetzmann / 0 / 4 / 37.424
8. Haylie Van De Groenendijk / Kelli Cruciotti / Serenity Farm / 0 / 8 / 37.827
9. Iliano Van D’Abelendreef / McKayla Langmeier / Linda Langmeier / 4 / 69.818
10. Waliba VDL / Mackenzie Drazan / Mackenzie Drazan / 4 / 69.862
11. Condero 3 / Brian Moggre / DDM Equestrian, LLC / 4 / 70.780
12. Chuck Berry 8 / Abigail McArdle / Plain Bay Sales / 5 / 72.088
Isha Swani Marks Spectacular First National Horse Show with Junior 3’3″ Hunter Championship
Following the unjudged ASPCA Maclay National Championship warm-up on Friday morning, competition began with the Small and Large Junior Hunters at the CP National Horse Show.
Only one hunter horse stepped into the Alltech Arena adorned with a champion tricolor on Friday, and that was Shadowfax Equestrian LLC’s Park Place guided by Isha Swani. The 14-year-old junior rider made her first trip to the National Horse Show to earn the title of Junior 3’3″ Hunter champion, after claiming top ribbons at HITS Saugerties, the Capital Challenge Horse Show and the Pennsylvania National Horse Show with “Parker” earlier this year. Swani rode the 13-year-old Warmblood gelding to first place in the stake and under saddle classes, second place in the handy round and third place in the over fences class before ultimately capturing the division. Upon consecutive wins in Thursday’s over fences class and handy round, Elly Ficca and her own Quatrain were awarded the reserve championship.
Saturday will name champions in the final four hunter divisions, which began on Friday. Mimi Gochman and Gochman Sport Horse LLC’s Evermore claimed the blue ribbon in the Small Junior 15 and Under Hunter over fences, while Brian Moggre and MTM Farm’s MTM Fashion captured the handy round of the division. In the Small Junior 16–17 Hunter division, sponsored and presented by the Danhakl family, Giavanna Rinaldi rode Alex Jayne’s Bugsy Malone to the over fences win. Calou, owned by Diana Firestone, jumped Taylor St. Jacques to first place in the handy round, acquiring the Ovation Perpetual Trophy for the best handy performance overall throughout the Small Junior Hunter divisions.
The Large Junior 15 and Under Hunter over fences win was awarded to Sophie Gochman aboard Gochman Sport Horse LLC’s Garfield. Alexandra Pielet rode Emma Farber’s Giovanni to win the division’s handy round, earning the “Blue By You” Memorial Challenge Trophy for the best Large Junior Hunter handy round overall. The Large Junior 16–17 Hunter division, sponsored and presented by the Gochman family, saw a win from Annabel Revers and MTM Hands Down, owned by Beechwood Stables LLC, in the over fences and Rachel McMullen with her own Clear Sailing in the handy round.
FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE
Isha Swani – Junior 3’3″ Hunter division champion
On her championship win:
“It feels awesome. I’ve been working really hard with my trainers, Chris Payne and David Belford. We’ve worked really hard for this. The most we travel is for the indoor shows. During the winter, I go back and forth on the weekends from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and WEF. This is our first indoor championship and it feels great!”
On Park Place:
“I’ve had [Park Place] for about a year now. I got him last September and we really connected the moment I got on him. It’s been a dream come true. We found him at the Hampton Classic last year and then he came back to my barn and I tried him. He really is a snuggle bug once you get to know him and I love him.”
The 2017 CP National Horse Show will highlight the $250,000 Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Lexington CSI4*-W on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m. followed by a concert with the Original Wailers. Sunday, Nov. 5, will also feature the final round of the ASPCA Maclay National Championship with the flat phase beginning at 1 p.m.
With $810,000 in prize money offered, this year’s CP National Horse Show has been designated a CSI4*-W event by the FEI. International Open Jumpers will compete for almost half a million dollars in prize money, while the top-rated hunter sections will vie for a total purse of $195,000. For six consecutive years, the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame has named the CP National Horse Show the Horse Show of the Year.
EQSportsNet is the official live stream provider of the 2017 CP National Horse Show. Any other sites offering live streaming services may lead to fraudulent credit card charges! For the official Facebook page of the National Horse Show, click here.
