Conor Swail and Martha Louise Win $85,000 Enbridge Cup
For Immediate Release
Lauren Fisher for Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.
Calgary, AB, Canada – July 6, 2014 – The ‘North American’ Tournament CSI 5* at Spruce Meadows concluded on Sunday with an extraordinary showdown in the $210,000 Cenovus Energy Classic Derby. It was déjà vu from the ‘National’ Tournament in June, as Angel Karolyi of Venezuela and Quentin Judge of the USA battled it out in an exciting derby jump-off. Judge took the win four weeks ago and was hoping to repeat his victory with HH Dark de la Hart, but this time, Karolyi and Indiana 127 took the win. Will Simpson (USA) and Geledimar placed third.
Leopoldo Palacios (VEN) designed the derby course seven years ago with a demanding 19 numbered obstacles and 25 jumping efforts. It is an incredible test of endurance and stamina for both horse and rider, including double liverpools, a table bank, a 26-foot, steep derby bank, and the Devil’s Dyke. The course is the same for every derby competition.
On Sunday, Palacios saw 27 entries with the two impressive clear rounds of Angel Karolyi and Quentin Judge. Two more finished on four faults each. During the first derby of the summer, Karolyi and Judge jumped off following eight faults each over the main course. On Sunday, they both mastered the track.
In the 29-year history of this derby competition at Spruce Meadows, Karolyi and Judge were only the 18th and 19th riders to ever go clear over the course out of 615 entries overall. In the jump-off, the two riders returned in the same order as week one of the Summer Series. Karolyi and Hollow Creek Farm’s Indiana 127 jumped double clear over the short course in 38.13 seconds. Judge and Double H Farm’s HH Dark de la Hart had eight faults in 39.31 seconds to finish second.
Will Simpson (USA) and Monarch International’s Geledimar had just four faults over the first round course in the fastest time of 136.32 seconds to finish third. Richard Spooner (USA) and Show Jumping Syndication International’s Cristallo had four faults in 136.75 seconds to place fourth.
Course designer Leopoldo Palacios was happy with the result in Sunday’s competition and was also impressed with the exceptional efforts of the top horses and riders.
“I am very happy,” Palacios smiled. “I had 30 riders, and it is becoming popular. There were very good rounds, not only these three (Karolyi, Judge and Simpson). At the beginning I was worried, but at the end, I say it was good. It was safe for the horses, and they were jumping nice.”
Angel Karolyi and Indiana 127
Winner Angel Karolyi has been riding Indiana 127 for a year and a half and has had increasingly good results with the 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Indoctro x Voltaire). Sunday’s victory was his first International Ring win at Spruce Meadows and a significant moment in his career.
“I’m glad I finally got my win in an important class like this one,” Karolyi acknowledged. “It’s a very special win for me. Not only probably the biggest win in my career, but also a horse that I really believed in. He finally is showing me this year that I was right in believing in him. This horse impressed me at the beginning of the circuit. I was second to Quentin, and he produced a beautiful round. I was not surprised that he went clear again. Obviously his horse is a very good derby horse as well. This time I’m just glad to be the winner.”
Speaking about Indiana, Karolyi added, “He’s very relaxed, very honest, and easy to keep the same pace around the whole course and not stress too much. By the end of the course he still has enough energy to keep jumping the jumps properly.”
Angel Karolyi in his winning presentation with Paul Reimer, Sr. Vice President, Marketing, Transportation & Power, Cenovus
Karolyi chose a little bit of a different tactic going into the jump-off this time around, explaining that he had planned to take more risk.
“This time I said, ‘Ok, last time I went a little bit on the safe side, a clear round,’ and now I said, ‘Ok, I got second for sure. I’m going all out, and if it works out, it works out.’ In the ‘National’ Tournament I went a bit safe and clear and he was faster. This time I thought, ‘If I lose, it’s not because I went too slow.’”
Not much changed in preparation for this week’s competition other than keeping Indiana 127 in top physical condition, but Karolyi now had experience to his advantage.
“I think more than helping him, it helped me,” the rider stated. “It helped me to ride the Devil’s Dyke properly. Last time I didn’t ride enough through it; he looked a little bit and I had ‘c’ down. It wasn’t really his fault. Both rails last time were my fault. I had an early draw; I went first in the derby. Watching a few rounds definitely helps. For the horse, it was the same. For me, it did help having one round already.”
Quentin Judge and HH Dark de la Hart
Judge and HH Dark de la Hart, an 11-year-old Belgian Sport Horse by Kasmir van Schuttershof x Nonstop, also had the experience of their win under their belt.
“Last time when I did the derby at the ‘National’, I didn’t really have any expectations,” Judge stated. “I wanted to do well at the beginning of the week and thought, ‘If the derby goes well, great. If it doesn’t, it’s ok.’ Now when I knew I had a good derby horse, I showed him in one class this week and tried to keep him fresh and his energy up and aim him for this class.”
“I knew he had gone fast,” Judge said of the jump-off. “Before I went in, McLain Ward watched Angel’s jump-off and he said that he went fast and was quick. He said, ‘Your horse is faster naturally, but he really went fast.’ I knew I could really trust my horse those first three or four jumps, and he’s really good turning back on verticals. The ‘b’ of the double got a little bit far away, the back rail, and I think I was a little deflated for the last jump and had it down also, but the horse was perfect.”
Will Simpson and Geledimar
Third place finisher Will Simpson knew that he had a good derby horse in Geledimar as well. The mare had shown in the derby three years ago as a nine-year-old and was very competitive even then.
“She’s just been on fire. The whole team at Monarch has been great,” Simpson stated. “It was just such a beautiful day out there, so I thought, ‘Well, we’ll just go for a nice ride.’ The horse went along with me. I was just happy I wasn’t in the jump-off with those two guys. They’re fighters.”
“It’s a spectacular event. It should be preserved,” Simpson said of the derby. “The course designers are usually my enemy, but I have to take my hat off to them. They have done a great job with setting the course for the field of horses. It was very, very tough today, but there were a lot of great horses in there. The result was just spot on.”
Conor Swail and Martha Louise Win $85,000 Enbridge Cup
The $85,000 Enbridge Cup 1.50m competition was held first in the International Ring on Sunday with a win for Conor Swail (IRL) and Susan and Ariel Grange’s 10-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare, Martha Louise (Maloubet de Pleville x Wolfgang). Thirty-four entries jumped the first round course set by Leopoldo Palacios (VEN) with 10 returning for the jump-off. Six went clear over the short course, where Swail and Martha Louise were last to go in 40.04 seconds for the win.
Daniel Bluman (COL) finished second in 41.88 seconds with Ricardo and Alberto Simhon’s Apardi. Sameh el Dahan (EGY) took third place honors in 41.93 seconds aboard Sumas Zorro, owned by Dahan and Joanne Sloan-Allen.
“I think I was in a nice position there, last to go,” Swail said after his win. “I know at this stage, Martha with her form, that she is normally not far away. She is quick enough to win if I can ride her correctly and give her a good chance to jump the jumps, and thankfully today, that is how it worked out for me.”
“She loves it here, that’s for sure,” Swail stated. “She wins a lot everywhere, but especially here. She just keeps getting better and better. This is her second year, but it’s two wins, and I don’t know how many placings already. She is such a good girl.”
Conor Swail and Martha Louise
Martha Louise is just 10 years old, but shows the skill and maturity of a much more experienced horse. Swail knows that he can always count on her and even stepped her up a bit this week while his top horse was not showing.
“I did her in a few bigger classes the start of the week because Lansdowne hasn’t been out. He is just going to be coming back after this tournament, and she was going to have to maybe jump next week,” Swail explained. “I was sacrificing maybe winning or being competitive in the 1.50m classes, but I thought, ‘Ok, we’ll try to make a plan for next week and teach her how to jump a few of those bigger jumps and see how we get on next week with her as well.’ I’m glad it worked out nicely that we gave her the two big classes and this was the one that I was trying to win, and it worked out like that. I like when a plan comes together.”
“I have a lot of confidence in her,” Swail added. “When you are going in with her, unless you make a mistake, she won’t normally. That is our job to ride our horses correctly, and if we have quality as good as her, then that is nice that when you do all the right things. She always does.”
“She is unreal. You see her walking around in the parade, and you would think she was just out for a stroll there,” Swail said of Martha’s cool demeanor. “Funny enough, she does get quite nervous. She is a little funny in that if she hits a jump, it makes her really nervous and the reaction is kind of to get quicker. For me today, I thought she was fabulous in the first round. She was high and loose. This is her third class (this week), and she always relaxes into it a little bit and obviously that’s a good thing. The more jumping, the better for her a little bit.”
Conor Swail in his winning presentation with Al Monaco, President & CEO, Enbridge Inc.
Commenting on the competition, Swail noted, “The first round was tough. It was a big track and quite long. There was a good few questions. There weren’t so many clean. The jump-off also was tricky. I think I got a little lucky for sure going into the double (combination). She gave that a good rub. It’s nice to be able to get a little rub and get away with it and have a good day. It was good and fast. To win at Spruce Meadows, you have to be going very, very fast, and I am lucky that she is very capable of doing that.”
Martha Louise will step up to show in next week’s grand prix, and Swail looks forward to giving her some good experience and seeing what she can do. “It will be pretty cool. It’s experience, but knowing Martha, she won’t be too far away,” he smiled.
Spruce Meadows’ Summer Series concludes next week with the ‘Pan American’ Tournament CSI 5* running July 10-13. The week features the $400,000 Pan American Cup presented by Rolex on Sunday, July 13. For more information and full results, please visit www.sprucemeadows.com.
Final Results: $210,000 Cenovus Energy Classic Derby 1.50m
1 INDIANA 127: Dutch Warmblood / G / 12 Indoctro x Voltaire
ANGEL KAROLYI (VEN), Hollow Creek Farm: 0/0/38.13
2 HH DARK DE LA HART: Belgian Sport Horse / S / 11 Kashmir van Schuttershof x Nonstop
QUENTIN JUDGE (USA), Double H Farm: 0/8/39.31
3 GELEDIMAR: Zangersheide / M / 11 Grosso Z x Lord Z
WILL SIMPSON (USA), Monarch International: 4/136.32
4 CRISTALLO: Holstein / G / 16 Caretino x Cicero
RICHARD SPOONER (USA), Show Jumping Syndication Intl: 4/136.75
5 UTOPIA: Dutch Warmblood / M / 13 Ircolando x Notaris
JOHN PEREZ (COL), John Perez: 8/142.58
6 AMBOSELLI: Dutch Warmblood / G / 9 Silverstone x Lancelot
PABLO BARRIOS (VEN), Pablo Barrios: 8/142.97
7 MIMOSA: Swedish Warmblood / M / 10 Cardento x Easy San
SHANE SWEETNAM (IRL), Spy Coast Farm, LLC: 8/144.29
8 FANTASY: Hanoverian / M / 9 For Pleasure x Acorado
DARRAGH KENNY (IRL), Oakland Ventures LLC: 8/145.90
9 FINEMAN: Swedish Warmblood / G / 11 Feliciano x Beach Boy
SHANE SWEETNAM (IRL), Sweet Oak Farm: 9/150.05
10 ALSVID: Hanoverian / G / 13 Escudo 1 x Adonca
RICHIE MOLONEY (IRL), Equinimity LLC: 9/150.91
11 SASKIA: Oldenburg / M / 11 Kannan x Silviaire Silvio
NICOLAS PIZARRO SUAREZ (MEX), Monica Burrillo Eguia: 12/142.63
12 RAHMANNSHOF BEFORE: Warmblood / M / 8 Tenerife VDL x Matterhorn
SANTIAGO LAMBRE (MEX), Justus Blass: 12/145.78
Final Results: $85,000 Enbridge Cup 1.50m
1 MARTHA LOUISE: Swedish Warmblood / M / 10 Maloubet de Pleville x Wolfgang
CONOR SWAIL (IRL), Susan & Ariel Grange: 0/0/40.04
2 APARDI: Dutch Warmblood / S / 9 Corland x Kannan
DANIEL BLUMAN (COL), Ricardo & Alberto Simhon: 0/0/41.88
3 SUMAS ZORRO: Irish Sport Horse / M / 10 Ard Vdl Douglas x Unknown
SAMEH EL DAHAN (EGY), Joanne Sloan-Allen & Sameh El Dahan: 0/0/41.93
4 WANNICK WH: Dutch Warmblood / S / 11 Heartbreaker x Joost
CHRISTINE MCCREA (USA), Candy Tribble: 0/0/45.47
5 STAR POWER: Dutch Warmblood / G / 13 Quick Star x Calvados
IAN MILLAR (CAN), Team Works: 0/0/45.97
6 SOUTHWIND VDL: Dutch Warmblood / G / 15 Baloubet de Rouet x Ahorn
TIFFANY FOSTER (CAN), Tiffany Foster & Artisan Farms LLC: 0/0/46.54
7 QUIGLEY: Oldenburg / G / 11 Quidams Rubin x Argentinus
KYLE KING (USA), Paul Politeski: 0/4/41.63
8 AMBLER GAMBLER: Dutch Warmblood / S / 9 Colander x Numero Uno
KENT FARRINGTON (USA), Haity McNerney LLC & Amalya Investments: 0/4/42.95
9 CALVIN KLEIN: Swedish Warmblood / G / 10 Cardento x Feliciano
JONATHON MILLAR (CAN), Millar Brooke Farm: 0/4/45.36
10 PROF DE LA ROQUE: Selle Francais / G / 11 Kannan x Damiro
DARRAGH KENNY (IRL), Postage Stamp Farm LLC: 0/8/42.27
11 CZARDAS 30: Hanoverian / S / 11 Contendro x Grannus
KIRSTEN COE (USA), Ilan Ferder: 1/78.53
12 MAKAVOY: Dutch Warmblood / G / 11 Hors La Loi II x Ahorn
BEN ASSELIN (CAN), Attache Stables: 4/71.29
Based in Calgary, Canada, Spruce Meadows is the brainchild of the Southern family who built a Show Jumping complex at the foothills of the Alberta Rocky Mountains. It was in 1976 that the first Spruce Tournaments were held, with annual spectator attendances reaching over 50,000 by the end of the decade. Today, Spruce Meadows boasts one of the greatest outdoor equestrian venues in the world and offers an incredible experience for riders and fans alike. Spruce Meadows focuses on the organization and hosting of show jumping tournaments of unmatched quality for junior, amateur and professional athletes in a manner that reflects basic family values in a clean, green and welcoming environment that celebrates the horse and encourages the breeding and training of quality sport horses and the teaching and development of athletes. For more information on Spruce Meadows, please visit www.sprucemeadows.com.
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