Halifax, MA – May 23, 2011 – Twenty-three-year-old DJ Volandre, of Norwell, MA, rode Gina Volandre’s Tequila to victory on Saturday afternoon in the $25,000 Fieldstone Grand Prix at the Fieldstone Spring Festival Horse Show. Held on the beautiful grass Grand Prix Field at the Fieldstone Equestrian and Show Facility in Halifax, MA, the class featured many of the northeast region’s best horses and riders in a fantastic display of competitive show jumping.
Douglas Russell, of Ocala, FL, was the course designer in the Grand Prix Field on Saturday. Despite a rainy week, the sun was shining in the afternoon, and the grass field was pristine for the day’s competition. Russell set a beautiful course that added a special atmosphere to the scenic backdrop of the facility, and spectators cheered on their favorites from the VIP seating set ringside.
The $25,000 Grand Prix saw five horse and rider combinations jump clear over the first round course, and an exciting jump-off followed. Only two of the five returning competitors were able to jump clear in the second round, and Tequila and DJ Volandre had the fastest time of 47.532 seconds to earn the victory.
Showing first over the short course, Kristen Bumpus and Cupid had an unfortunate rail at the second fence to earn four faults in a time of 44.879 seconds to eventually finish in fourth place. Volandre and Tequila returned next and put down what turned out to be the winning round. Elizabeth Kenny followed, finishing the only other clear jump-off round in a time of 48.327 seconds to place second with Sangre Azul, owned by Alvaro J. Lozada.
Juan Lavieri and Don Pedro, owned by Jessica Herman, were next to compete, but had two rails and one time fault to land the pair in fifth place. The final round belonged to Cory Hardy riding Ami Des Gemmes, owned by International Group LLC. The duo had the fastest time of 44.770 seconds, but incurred four faults to finish in third.
Class winner Tequila is a 14-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare. Volandre is now a professional, but trained with his mother Gina as well as the legendary George Morris during his junior career. Morris found Tequila for Volandre eight years ago, and the mare has been a fantastic mount for the rider ever since.
In addition to the afternoon and evening festivities, Saturday featured an exciting win for Alissa Kinsey and her unstoppable mare Grisset in the $5,000 Child/Adult Jumper Classic earlier in the day. Kinsey and Grisset were the fastest of three clear jump-off rounds in the class with a time of 32.857 seconds. Addison Gierkink and Pikpardin finished second with a clear round in 36.411 seconds. Tarik Sentissi and Killigrew’s Attraction placed third with a clear round in 37.737 seconds, and Camilla Bennett and Bantry Bay completed the jump-off course with four faults in 36.640 seconds to place fourth.
Kinsey and Grisset have won classes at most of the top horse shows in the country in the past several years and are on an amazing winning streak this spring, dominating classes here at Fieldstone as well as the St. Clement’s Saratoga Horse Show in New York. This month’s success comes after Kinsey and Grisset earned their fourth consecutive Adult Amateur Jumper circuit championship this winter at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL. Kinsey also earned the reserve circuit championship aboard her newest mount, Caretina, who showed in Saturday’s class as well.
Grisset is a 14-year-old Hanoverian mare, owned and ridden by Kinsey out of her hometown of Salem, NH. Salem is just over an hour drive away from the Fieldstone Equestrian and Show Facility, which makes the Fieldstone horse shows ideal for Kinsey and her horses.
Following a fantastic win this weekend, Kinsey and her two mares will now travel to Pennsylvania for the 2011 Devon Horse Show and Country Fair. Kinsey hopes to repeat her championship win with Grisset from two years ago and also looks forward to showing Caretina at Devon for the first time.
For more information on the Fieldstone Horse Shows, please visit www.showfieldstone.com, call 781-679-0701 or email ShowFieldstone@aol.com.
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Fieldstone Spring Festival Highlights – Thursday through Sunday
The 2011 Fieldstone Spring Festival got underway on Thursday at the beautiful Fieldstone Equestrian and Show Facility in Halifax, MA, highlighted by an exciting $7,500 Welcome Stake to begin the week. The class saw a victory for rider John Holmes, of New Hope, PA, with his horse Gideon.
Douglas Russell, of Ocala, FL, designed the course for the Welcome Stake. Despite the rain that rolled in at the start of the class, horses were able to gallop through the course easily thanks to the show’s all-weather GGT German Geo Textile Footing™. Three entries were able to jump clear in the first round to advance to the jump-off.
Juan Lavieri and Westbrook Hunt Club’s Stunning were the first to show over the day’s course and also the first to jump clear. One rail down in the jump-off earned the duo four faults in a time of 41.787 seconds to finish in third place.
Cory Hardy and International Group, LLC’s Ami Des Gemmes were the next horse and rider combination to jump clear over the first round course. Hardy and his mount also cleared the short course and stopped the clock in 44.745 seconds, eventually earning the second place prize.
The final clear round of the class belonged to John Holmes and his own ten-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Gideon. The pair cleared the jump-off course with ease and raced through the timers in 42.982 seconds to move into first place.
By Hamlet, also the sire of the world famous stallion Hickstead, Gideon was imported as a stallion at the age of five and was then gelded as a seven-year-old. Holmes had help from John and Beezie Madden in Gideon’s training, and acknowledged that the horse has really come into his own as a nine and ten-year-old.
The Fieldstone Spring Festival featured a full day of hunter, jumper and equitation competition on Friday as the sun came out for the day. Friday was a highlight for 15-year-old Rachel Crinklaw, of Sandown, NH, who guided Moulin Rouge to a win in the $500 NAL/M&S/WIHS Children’s Hunter Horse Classic. The pair also earned championship honors in the Children’s Hunter Horse division over its two days of competition.
The Children’s Hunter Horse division began on Thursday afternoon when Crinklaw and her mount Moulin Rouge, a Selle Francais gelding owned by Erika Fritsch, earned their first of several first place ribbons. The pair followed up Thursday’s blue ribbon win with two more over fences on Friday. They also earned fourth place under saddle to lead the standings.
In addition to those ribbons, Crinklaw and Moulin Rouge earned top scores in both rounds of the $500 NAL/M&S/WIHS Children’s Hunter Horse Classic to earn the first place prize. Round one saw a score of 79, combined with a round two score of 80, to give the pair a total of 159 for the win. Second place was awarded to Jacqueline Snyder and her horse Optimo for their scores of 75 and 74 to total 145. Renowned trainer Karen Healey, of Westlake, CA, was the judge in the main hunter ring on Friday and followed the rounds closely to determine the top finishers.
The 2011 Fieldstone Spring Festival concluded its final day of competition on Sunday with an exciting schedule of hunter derby events all held on the Fieldstone Equestrian and Show Facility’s beautiful grass Grand Prix Field. The $10,000 3’3″ Hunter Derby was the feature event of the day with a great win for local professional rider and trainer Cory Hardy, of Waltham, MA. Hardy guided Mary Chase’s seven-year-old German Warmblood gelding Connor to the win following two rounds of competition. A $2,500 2’9″ Hunter Derby immediately followed with a victory for 17-year-old Susan Huyett, of Concord, MA, riding her ten-year-old Oldenburg gelding Huckleberry Finn.
Course designer Nathan Panetta, of Warner, NH, set the tracks for the day’s hunter derby classes. The $10,000 3’3″ Hunter Derby was held first on the beautiful grass field with 22 entries and the top twelve returning for round two. Class winners Cory Hardy and Connor finished round one with a score of 78 and then had a fantastic trip in round two to score an 85, tallying the highest two round total of 163.
Elizabeth Kenny and Donald Stewart’s Don Juan finished in second place, just one point behind the winning pair, with a 162 total from combined scores of 80 and 82. David Oliynyk and Generous, owned by Lori Gaudet, finished with scores of 81 and 80 for a 161 total in third place. Hardy and his second mount Le Chasseur, also owned by Mary Chase, finished in fourth with scores of 83 and 77 to total 160. Robert Lee and Shock Top scored a 76 in the first round and then earned an 83 in round two to finish with an overall score of 159 for fifth place.
Class winner Connor is just seven years old this year and began his career in the Pre-Green Hunters one year ago. Connor began showing in the Green Conformation Hunters in Wellington, FL, this winter and received good ribbons throughout the 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival circuit, also competing successfully during the show’s World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) week. Connor was purchased from Linda and Kenny Langemeier in Connecticut and also competes in the Adult Amateur Hunters with his owner, Mary Chase.
The $2,500 2’9″ Hunter Derby immediately followed with 34 entries and the top twelve returning. Susan Huyett guided her chestnut gelding Huckleberry Finn to the victory after earning scores of 80 and 84 to give the pair a two round total of 164.
Andrea Robbins and Goodwill, owned by Linda Cook, finished in second place with scores of 78 and 80 to total 158. Third place was awarded to Jacquelyn E. Maggiore riding Contina to a two round total of 153. In fourth place, the day’s previous winner Connor again finished in the top of the standings, this time with his owner Mary Chase in the irons to score a 152.5 total. Fifth place went to John Porter and his own Ramanessin’s Graffiti for their combined score of 152.
In 2010 Huckleberry Finn won the $5000 USHJA 3′ National Hunter Derby at the Fieldstone Spring Festival and he has done well in many other derby classes in the last few years. In addition to his 2’9″ Hunter Derby victory, Huckleberry Finn also showed in the 3’3″ Hunter Derby on Sunday with rider Sarah Tyndall and finished twelfth overall.