Wayne, Ill. – Aug. 2, 2019 – Competition at the Chicago Festival of the Horse continued on Friday, August 2 in the Grand Prix Arena with the Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper divisions. Before the weekend’s upcoming $50,000 Buck Brothers John Deere Grand Prix, the High and Medium riders first took to the ring. Junior rider Emma Seving and her own Brighton Bay took home the victory in the Highs, while Cathy Rolfs riding Coco Chanelle clinched the Medium class win.
Course designer Leopoldo Palacias continued to create fun and challenging courses for the competitors as the week has progressed, requiring them to take extra care as they navigated ten obstacles and raced towards the finish. The course was a true test of skill for riders, as even High Junior/Amateur-Owner class winner Seving had a rail down to finish the speed round with a 4-fault effort in 55.424 seconds.
Other horse-and-rider combinations in the class made their attempts at catching Seving’s time, but none were quite quick enough to replace her name on the leaderboard. Mikayla Foster and Ash Ville Rock came the closest, completing their course with 4 faults and a time of 56.255 seconds to end the class in second place. Lynsey Whitacre and Barillo W finished hot on Foster’s heels, also riding a 4-fault round in 56.637 seconds.
In the Medium Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumpers s, just two of the competitors were able to cross the finish with fault-free rounds and take the top two positions. Cathy Rolfs and Coco Chanelle displayed great agility while keeping up the pace, tripping the timers in just 49.854 seconds with a clear effort. Cailin Schaefer riding Diamant De Reve were the only other pair to boast a clean round, finishing their course in 55.509 seconds. Emily Smith and Hesenti put in a strong effort, but unfortunately had a rail down, completing their round with 4 faults in 54.141 seconds.
The highlight event of Equifest II, the $50,000 Buck Brothers John Deere Grand Prix, is set to kick-off on Saturday, Aug. 3 at 4 p.m. The $20,000 Jumper Speed Derby will close out the week of competition on Sunday, Aug. 4 following the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby and the $15,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby in the Grand Prix Arena.
FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE
Emma Seving – High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper winner
On Brighton Bay:
“We imported him in December, he is super cool. He is just about 9 years old, and he just jumps his heart out over everything. He really gives me his all every time. He’s been with me since the beginning of WEF [Winter Equestrian Festival] in January.”
On her ride:
“I really liked the four-stride to the two-stride across the center, he gave me some really great efforts there and gave me a really great effort over the last jump. It was a little bit gappy and he just closed it right up. I went last, so I had a pretty good scoop of what I had to do to win. One had gone clear, so I played it safe and did eight in the last line to put in a nice, clear round. I had just moved up with him a few shows ago, so I’m still playing it safe, having nice clear rounds and getting comfortable in the 1.40m. I did my first 1.40m class probably Week 11 of WEF.
On Lamplight Equestrian Center:
“This is my first year here, I love it! It is so pretty. The grand prix ring is huge and the climate here is just so nice. It’s beautiful, the rings are great and our barn is cute.”
RESULTS
Junior Amateur-Owner 1.40m:
Place / Horse / Rider / R1 Faults / Time
1. Brighton Bay / Emma Seving / 4 / 55.424
2. Ash Ville Rock / Mikayla Foster / 4 / 56.255
3. Barillo W / Lynsey Whitacre / 4 / 56.637
4. Cuidento Z / Carson Ruff / 12 / 73.649
Junior Amateur-Owner 1.30m:
Place / Horse / Rider / R1 Faults / Time
1. Coco Chanelle / Cathy Rolfs / 0 / 49.854
2. Diamant De Reve / Cailin Schaefer / 0 / 55.509
3. Hesenti / Emily Smith / 4 / 54.141
4. Liverpool / Olivia Lawton / 4 / 54.480
5. Zorzuela Leuze Z / Lynsey Whitacre / 4 / 58.832
6. Lintina 2 / Ashely Bewick / 4 / 60.086
7. Joplin Ter Doorn / Anna Deubel / 8 / 50.596
8. Tipperary Hill / Izabelle Quadracci / 8 / 50.961
