Wellington, FL – January 21, 2010 – Margie Engle (USA) of Wellington, FL, returned to the winner’s circle at the 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) with Tosca 290, owned by Hidden Creek Farm, in the $30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Round Two.
This is the second week of the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival, and the week two title sponsor is Purina Mills. Competition this week runs through Sunday, January 24. The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of competition that conclude on April 4, 2010, and the circuit will be awarding almost $6 million in prize money through the circuit.
Steve Stephens of Palmetto, FL, designed today’s grand prix course. Margie Engle said of the course, “I thought it was a very good course for the amount of horses he had. There were a lot of technical questions and options. The course started off very square to start; the first two jumps were big enough oxers this early in the year.”
There were 59 entries in the class and 10 found the clear round path to the jump-off. Ljubov Kochetova (RUS) and Levantino L just missed joining this group when they had one time fault in 86.220 seconds. However, on her first horse Aslan, Kochetova returned first in the jump-off and set the time to beat in 43.98 seconds with no faults. That would hold up for third place in the class.
Following her in the jump-off was last week’s WEF Challenge Cup winner Georgina Bloomberg, this time riding Mila, owned by Gotham Enterprizes. They had an unfortunate eight faults in 46.20 seconds for 10th place.
Beezie Madden and Abigail Wexner’s Danny Boy had a quick jump-off round going until they pulled a rail at the final fence for four faults. Their time of 44.00 seconds left them in eighth place. Shane Sweetnam (IRL) and Zamiro 16, owned by Spy Coast Farm LLC, were the next to put in a double clear round. Their slower time of 47.13 seconds gave them fourth place in the class.
Next up was Engle, who was very speedy in the opening line of the jump-off. The quick little mare Tosca 290, a 10-year-old KWPN by Numero Uno, galloped around the course and finished clear in a time of 47.13 seconds to move to the lead. Engle had to watch five other horses finish the jump-off before she would lead the victory gallop.
“You had to have a very careful horse for the jump-off. She’s a naturally fast horse on her own. But you never know until it’s over,” Engle conceded. “I felt like I went fast enough to put pressure on, but there were a lot of fast people behind me. No matter how you go, there are plenty of good riders here.”
Engle was very fast through the course, but did the six strides down the final line. “If I started thinking about it too early, I was going to have the vertical down coming in, so I figured I’d just put a little bend in it,” Engle explained. “I thought I’d go fast everywhere else and be safe down the last line.”
Marilyn Little Meredith and Blue Curacao, owned by Paul and Mary Loeber, had the fastest time of the day with 39.87 seconds, but a rail and four faults relegated them to fifth place. Peter Charles and Murka’s Rubert R, owned by Olga White, had the same four-fault fate in 42.26 seconds for ninth place, while Lauren Hough, speedy in 41.54 seconds with Laura Mateo’s Casadora, finished sixth after they had a rail as well.
Michael Morrissey and Crelido added their name to the four-faulter list in a time of 42.24 seconds for seventh place. The last to go was the very dangerous Leslie Howard on Lennox Lewis 2, second place finishers in last week’s speed derby. Howard had a very fast pace throughout the course, but finished just off the winning pace in 41.62 seconds to place second.
Engle was very happy with Tosca 290, who has been showing at the grand prix level for a year. They won the opening round of the WEF Challenge Cup series at last year’s FTI Winter Equestrian Festival, and Tosca has been a proven winner this past year.
Engle recalled, “We had her in the Young Horse classes since she was six, coming seven (years old). No matter what we move her up to, she’s just a tryer. Whatever level you do, she always goes in, is careful, tries to miss the jumps, and is fast. She’s got everything going for her, and she’s got a big, big heart. She just keeps moving up and does it very easily.”
This was the first class of the year for Tosca, Engle said. “I didn’t even do a warm-up (class). She’s gotten so consistent,” she went on to say. “She’s a funny mare; we went in the ring and she hadn’t seen the wall and was spooking at that, but as soon as you head her to the jumps, she’s all business. She’s just really, really game.”
Earlier in the day, Pablo Barrios (VEN) scored yet another win early in the circuit. This time it came in the $8,000 Sentient Jet 1.45m Time First Jump-off. He and G&C Blanchee, owned by Gustavo and Carolina Mirabal, were the fastest double clear in 36.130 seconds for the win. Anglea Covert-Lawrence (CAN) and Utan, owned by Eastwood Equine Inc., were also double clear for second place in 38.088 seconds. Fellow Canadian Ainsley Vince and Frieda, owned by the KMA Group, were third in 38.217 seconds with no faults.
Tomorrow’s highlight jumper class is the $6,000 Spy Coast 1.40m Speed Challenge, while the $50,000 Purina Mills Grand Prix CSI 2* will be on Saturday, January 23, at 7 p.m. and the $25,000 Suncast 1.50m Classic is on Sunday, January 24, at 1 p.m.
For full results and more information, please visit www.shownet.biz or www.equestriansport.com.
Final Results: $30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Round Two
1. TOSCA 290: 10yo KWPN Mare by Numero Uno xx Zortin
MARGIE ENGLE (USA), HIDDEN CREEK FARM: 0/0/41.34
2. LENNOX LEWIS: 11yo Oldenburg Gelding by Laureatus xx Weizenkorn
LESLIE HOWARD (USA), LESLIE HOWARD: 0/0/41.62
3. ASLAN: 10yo DWB Gelding by Aston xx Blue Hors Agent
LJUBOV KOCHETOVA (RUS), LJUBOV KOCHETOVA: 0/0/43.980
4. ZAMIRO 16: 10yo Sachsen-Anhalterin Gelding by Zenturio xx Landstreicher
SHANE SWEETNAM (IRL), SPY COAST FARM: 0/0/47.13
5. BLUE CURACAO: 9yo BWP Mare by Mr. Blue xx Dark D Amour
MARILYN LITTLE-MEREDITH (USA), PAUL & MARY LOEBER: 0/4/39.87
6. CASADORA: 14yo KWPN Mare by Indoctro xx Grannus
LAUREN HOUGH (USA), LAURA MATEO: 0/4/41.54
7. CRELIDO: 14yo HOLST Gelding by Calido I xx Caretino
MICHAEL MORRISSEY (USA), MICHAEL MORRISSEY: 0/4/42.24
8. DANNY BOY: 10yo BWP Gelding by Clinton xx Alexis Z
BEEZIE MADDEN (USA), ABIGAIL WEXNER: 0/4/44.00
9. MURKA’S RUBERT R: 12yo KWPN Gelding by Mermus R xx Joost
PETER CHARLES (GBR), OLGA WHITE: 0/4/42.26
10. MILA: 16yo KWPN Mare by Indorado xx Renville
GEORGINA BLOOMBERG (USA), GOTHAM ENTERPRIZES: 0/8/46.20
11. LEVANTINO L: 10yo OLBG Gelding by Levanto Holst xx Grannus
LJUBOV KOCHETOVA (RUS), LJUBOV KOCHETOVA: 1/86.220
12. HOLIDAY: 11yo HOLST Mare by Corrado I xx Raimondo
SARAH SEGAL (USA), ROBERT SEGAL: 4/76.74
The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of top competition running from January 13 through April 4. WEF is run by Equestrian Sport Productions, LLC, and Wellington Equestrian Partners and held at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. All 12 shows are “AA” rated and Jumper Rated 6, and more than $5.5 million in prize money will be awarded.
WEF is proud to be supported by their title sponsor, FTI Consulting, Inc. FTI Consulting, Inc. exists to help companies and their stakeholders protect and enhance enterprise value in an increasingly complex economic, legal and regulatory environment. FTI is the trusted advisor entrenched in many of the game-changing events that make headlines, move markets and create business history. For more information, please visit www.fticonsulting.com.
During the 12 weeks of WEF, “Saturday Night Lights” headlines the entertainment each Saturday night where spectators not only enjoy the Grand Prix class, but a street carnival, live music, and numerous dining options with box seats, sports bars, and the famed Tiki Hut for front row fun.
Please visit www.equestriansport.com or call 561-793-5867 for more information.