Wellington, FL – December 9, 2013 – Equestrian Sport Productions (ESP) hosted its Year-End Awards Show on December 7-8, 2013, at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL. The week featured a $10,000 Open Stake on Saturday, December 7, as well as the $25,000 ESP Year End Grand Prix and $5,000 USHJA 3’ Hunter Classic on Sunday, December 8. The ESP Year End Awards Banquet was also held on Saturday to celebrate some of the year’s top competitors.
The show concluded on Sunday afternoon with an exciting win for Denmark’s Henrik Gundersen riding Adlanteur in the $25,000 ESP Year End Grand Prix. Out of 32 entries, five horse and rider combinations qualified for the jump-off and three of those jumped double clear over the course designed by Pierre Jolicoeur of Wellington, FL. Henrik Gundersen and Adlanteur were last to go and had two fast rounds to beat. Their winning time was 38.267 seconds.
Theo Genn and Eduardo Leon’s Asirea Fortuna finished second with their time of 38.597 seconds. Ramiro Quintana and St. Bride’s Farm’s Ziedento were third in 38.730 seconds.
Henrik Gundersen and Adlanteur
Class winner, Adlanteur, is a 13-year-old Holsteiner stallion by Adlantus AS x Chasseur I. Gundersen bought Adlanteur in Germany this summer and is slowly bringing him up in competition as the horse had some time off after his previous owner got injured.
“He had not done anything in two years, so I started him up slowly in the summer and he had a couple of good placings,” Gundersen explained. “It was nice to be able to finish up with a win for this year.”
“He is a small horse,” Gundersen described. “He is unusually small for me to ride, but he is very careful and he is a little bit of an aggressive type of horse. He is usually attacking the jumps, and he is very careful. He only jumped one class this week, but he jumped three classes last week and made two jump-offs, and he never touched a rail. It is a very competitive horse.”
Commenting on Sunday’s course, Gundersen noted, “There were a few technical aspects that I liked that you needed to have a little bit of rideability. There was a difficult triple combination that yielded a lot of faults, and I saw that coming when I walked the course. But for the amount of riders, I think it worked out well with five horses in the jump-off.”
Gundersen was last to go in the jump-off and was warming up, so he did not get to see the other riders go, but he knew that there were some fast times to beat. “My good friend, John Brennan, sat and watched a couple and told me what they had done,” the rider explained. “He said pretty much just go as fast as you can because they had both gone very fast before me. He said they had gone outside where I could make an inside turn, so I think that is where I got it.”
Henrik Gundersen and Adlanteur in their winning presentation with ringmaster Gustavo Murcia
Gundersen plans on competing at one more week of the ESP Holiday Show Series before getting Adlanteur ready for the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival circuit, which begins January 8. He looks forward to a good circuit as they continue their partnership together.
Final Results: $25,000 ESP Year End Grand Prix
1. ADLANTEUR HENRIK GUNDERSEN HENRIK GUNDERSEN: 0/0/38.267
2. ASIREA FORTUNA THEO GENN EDUARDO LEON: 0/0/38.597
3. ZIEDENTO RAMIRO QUINTANA ST. BRIDE’S FARM: 0/0/38.730
4. OCTAVIA DE BEAUFOUR GRANT WILSON EMMANUELLE MILLE & GRANT WILSON: 0/4/40.180
5. OSIRIS GEMMA PATERNOSTER GEMMA PATERNOSTER & JULIA HARRISON LEE: 0/RT
6. DON JUAN VICTORIA COLVIN BRIGID COLVIN: 4/68.588
7. CONTINO 14 JONATHON MILLAR MILLAR BROOKE FARM: 4/70.991
8. ORBETELLO FEDERICO SZTYRLE HAMPTON FARMS LLC: 4/71.373
9. PRIMO DE REVEL PAUL O’SHEA MICHAEL HAYDEN: 4/71.489
10. ZIDANE ALI WOLFF JOHN C WOLFF: 4/71.940
11. HAPPY Z WILHELM GENN WILHELM GENN: 4/73.073
12. VANDAVID CATHERINE PASMORE PASMORE STABLES LLC: 4/73.498
Jumper Highlights
A $10,000 Open Jumper Stake was held on Saturday with a win for Victoria Colvin aboard Brigid Colvin’s Don Juan. Twenty-five entries showed over the first round course with just two riders qualifying for the jump-off. When Ken Berkley and Ax-Cent voluntarily withdrew from the second round, Colvin and Don Juan were the automatic winners, with Berkley earning the second place prize. Alexander Zetterman and Cafino placed third with one time fault over the first round course. Maggie McAlary and Oakland Ventures’ Cobe Van Het Gonnehof had two time faults to place fourth. Colvin also placed fifth with the fastest four-fault round aboard Chicolina.
The High Junior/Amateur-Owner Classic, sponsored by Gold Coast Feed, was held on Sunday with a win for Meg O’Mara and Walstib Stables LLC’ Aragon Rouet. Whitney Linders and Wee Enterprises’ Vancouver placed second with Victoria Colvin and Chicolina in third.
The Low Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic saw a win for Michael Janson and Kimberly Janson’s Sangre Azul. Victoria Colvin guided Jeevraj Grewal’s Clever and Smart 5 to second place honors, with Taylor Alexander and Alexander LLC’s Onyx du Haut Bois finishing third.
In the $1,500 Tackeria NAL Child/Adult Jumper Classic, Alexandra Cherubini and Equifit Cayenne 178 took top honors over Katie McNair and Biskit in second and Alexandra Indeglia and Hans in third place. Cherubini and Equifit Cayenne 178 went on to also win Sunday’s $1,500 M&S Child/Adult Jumper Classic. In that class, Jennifer Blumenthal and Conley finished second and Jennifer Pennebaker and Zyou were third.
Lea Allen won the week’s $1,500 Low Child/Adult Jumper Classic riding Komedie de Montesec with Jennifer Buchan and Craverz Z, owned by Sarah Sturges, in second. Allen also placed third in that class riding The Allen Farm’s Ginger 729.
Hunter and Equitation Highlights
The highlight hunter class this weekend was the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Classic, which featured two rounds of competition with a win overall for Heather Caristo Williams riding Cornetto Royal, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Caristo. Tiffany Hammack and Lauren Cechini’s Graffiti placed second, Ashley Hotz and Annette Friend’s Cicola Z were third, and Jennifer Bliss and Julie de Vaulx’s Knockout took fourth place honors.
In the Open Hunter 3′ division sponsored by Diptera, Colin Syquia guided Castlepoint Farm LLC’s Jetset to the championship tricolor with Leslie Ducharme and Plays Well in reserve.
In the Children’s/Adult Hunter division sponsored by Uhealth, Evangelista, owned and ridden by Ally Marrinan, earned the championship tricolor after winning all four classes over fences. Katherine Conlon’s Coco Chanel was ridden to reserve honors by Danielle McIlquham.
In the Low Working Hunters, Katie Wills rode Leah Elder’s Carasco to the division championship. Patricia Monaco and Daybreak finished in reserve. The Pilates Rocks Low Adult Hunter champion was Vitesse, owned by Elite Supplements Inc. and ridden by Beth Melamed. The reserve champion was All-Star, owned and ridden by Lynn Blanchette. The Pine Hollow Stables Low Children’s Hunter championship was awarded to Gretta, owned by Marianella Gonzalez and ridden by Taylor Pollak. Suir Clover and owner/rider Siena Vasan finished in reserve.
The Palm Beach Riding Academy Short Stirrup Hunter champion was Chapin Cheska riding Beaumont. Emma Sartor was reserve champion aboard Alannah Wagstaff’s Benlea Penny.
Ali Tritschler rode Lauren Wessan’s Krunch to victory in in two big equitation classes over the week. She topped the Pessoa/USEF Hunter Seat Medal presented by Randolph College as well as the ASPCA Maclay class.
Equestrian Sport Productions’ Holiday Show Series will continue this week with its Holiday Festival I, running December 13-15, 2013. The competition is National ‘A’ and 3* jumper rated. Highlights include a $10,000 Open Stake on Friday, December 13, and a $25,000 Holiday I Grand Prix on Sunday, December 15, at 2 p.m.
For more information, please visit www.equestriansport.com. For full results, go to www.showgroundslive.com.
Photo Credit: Photos © ManciniPhotos, www.manciniphotos.com. These photos may only be used in relation to this press release and with full photo credit.