Wellington, FL – April 4, 2010 – The Young Jumpers took center stage on the final day of the 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. Casey Hodges took top honors on Av’e, owned by Wendy & Casey Hodges in the $20,000 Adequan Young Jumper 5 Year Old Final. Ainsley Vince captured the victory on Utopie Des Hautes, owned by Ashford Farm in the $20,000 Adequan Young Jumper 6 Year Old Final. Jeffery Welles rode Merlin, owned by Noel Love Gross, to the top prize in the $20,000 Adequan Young Jumper 7/8 Year Old Final.
The twelfth week of the FTI WEF is sponsored by Lifestyle Lift® and concludes with today’s competition, which is also the end of the 2010 season at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival had 12 weeks of competition, and they awarded almost $6 million in prize money through the circuit.
Anthony D’Ambrosio of Red Hook, NY, designed all of the Young Jumper courses in the International Arena. The morning began first with the $20,000 Adequan Young Jumper 5 Year Old Final. There were 14 to show in the first course and time time allowed in the first round was 82 seconds. There were eleven obstacles in the first round, which included a two stride and an in-and-out.
Nine of the horse and rider combinations navigated the first course and moved on to the short course. The jump-off comprised six jumps, which included roll back turns, a two stride, and opportunities to leave out strides. It was Ramiro Quintana aboard Simply the Best, owned by Joaquina Barrios, that set the early lead of the class. The pair passed through the timers in 31.837 seconds, which would hold up for a respectable fourth place once honors were received.
The next competitor to challenge Quintana’s time was Katie Shields up on S & L Downtown, owned by True North Stables. The duo posted a time of 31.772 seconds, which would be good enough to assume the third place position.
Christoph Schroeder entered the ring soon after on Last Princess, owned by GK Performance Horses. The pair raced through the timers in 30.942 seconds and would claim the second place spot.
The last proved to be the best when Casey Hodges flawlessly navigated the jump-off with Av’e, owned by Wendy & Casey Hodges. The pair whisked through the timers in 30.752 seconds to claim the victory in today’s 5-Year-Old Young Jumper Final.
Hodges spoke of the mare, a German-bred by Amantus xx Royal Angelo, she rode to the victory today, “She is Westphalian branded, but has mostly French blood.” She explained, “This is only her fourth Five-Year-Old class.” The mare is already qualified for the year-end finals at the Hampton Classic Horse Show, but Hodges will continue competing her all summer to prepare for the finals.
Hodges spoke of the Young Jumper classes in general, “It is incredible that they are able to come with this amount of money to give to the Young Jumper Divisions.” She continued, “This is a big part of what I do at my barn, International Equestrian Connection. We specialize in developing the young jumpers that are future Grand Prix horses.”
The next class to follow was the $20,000 Adequan Young Jumper 6-Year-Old Final. With a field of 38 competitors in the first round, the course presented them with 12 obstacles and a time allowed of 79 seconds.
There were 17 horse and rider combinations that successfully advanced to the short course. The jump-off included an in-and-out, roll back turns, and a very careful last line. The first competitor to set the pass in a very fast time was the eventual winner of the class. Ainsley Vince up on her mount Utopie Des Hautes, owned by Ashford Farm, beautifully displayed a faultless jump-off in a time of 35.137 seconds. The time was unable to be beat by any other competitor and the pair took home the victory after honors were awarded.
The next efficient clear round was produced by Beth Underhill on Hooliehoo, owned by Iron Horse Farm. The pair flew through the timers in 36.714 seconds after having a faultless score. The round produced by Underhill and Hooliehoo would take the third place position in today’s class.
Darragh Kenny on his mount Gama Chamaco, owned by Marie Douglas, made a valiant effort to catch the current leader. The duo was just behind Vince after stopping the timers at 35.707 seconds. The pair would take home second place honors after victories were awarded.
Vince spoke of the advantages of the Young Jumper Classes, “It was great when they first started the young horse classes a few years ago, but I think the money certainly provides incentive to the owners to support riders and the development of young horses.” She continued, “Sometimes owners don’t understand the length of time it takes to make up a horse and this gives them little milestones along the way, which is fantastic.”
Vince spoke of her future plans with the Belgian bred mare by Ogano Sitte xx Canadian River, that she rode to the victory, “My hope is to now go home and manage to win the Canadian six-year-olds with her and hopefully she will qualify to compete in Southampton.”
The final class in the International Ring to conclude week 12 of the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival was the $20,000 Adequan Young Jumper 7&8 Year Old Final. The time allowed in the first round was 86 seconds and the course included a triple combination, a double of verticals, and a triple bar oxer that was the second obstacle.
Out of a field of 69 competitors in the first round, 23 progressed to the short course.
There were a total of six numbered jumps in the jump-off, which started off with the triple bar oxer as the first obstacle and continued with a rollback turn to a double of verticals. The first of the challengers to set the pace in the jump-off was Winde and Laura Kraut. The pair led the way after posting a time of 32.622 seconds on the scoreboard. The round would hold up to claim the third place spot after ribbons were awarded in today’s class.
It wasn’t long before Yann Candele entered the ring on Varina, owned by Susan Grange, that the lead changed hands. The pair made very efficient turns and sped through the timers in 31.873 seconds. This would assume a very respectable second place position.
Jeffery Welles on his horse Merlin, owned by Noel Love Gross, entered the ring towards the beginning of the eight-year-old division. Welles and his horse, a Dutch-bred by Hors La Loi II xx Emilion, were able to shave just over one second off of Candele’s time after passing through the timers in 30.735 seconds. This time would hold up for top honors in today’s 7/8 Year Old final.
Welles spoke fondly of the eight-year-old Merlin. He said, “Noel Gross purchased the horse as a five-year-old from S&L Farm and Darragh Kerins. He has been a winner from day one and he is a quality horse that always rises to the occasion.” Welles is very thankful that Noel has the horse. “She is a really great owner,” he remarked.
Of the jump-off that won him the victory today, Welles described, “The horse has a huge stride and I wanted to do five (strides) up the first line. He got down the first line easily and once I set the pace, I tried to stay on track. I just tried to let him gallop a little bit and use his big stride.”
As for the Young Jumper Classes, Welles contends, “It is great when they can have that much money for young horses because it encourages people to really develop the horses.”
Welles plans to give Merlin a small break and then hopefully show him in some smaller Grand Prix classes this summer and keep bringing the horse along.
The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival has ended as one of the most successful and well-attended in its history. A full report of circuit champions will be sent out in the following days. Thanks go out to all who made this year such a success, and congratulations to all of our winners over the past 12 weeks.
For full results and more information, please visit www.shownet.biz or www.equestriansport.com.
Final Results: $20,000 Adequan Young Jumper Final 5 Year Old
1. AV’E, CASEY HODGES, WENDY & CASEY HODGES: 0/0/30.752
2. LAST PRINCESS, CHRISTOPH SCHROEDER, GK PERFORMANCE HORSES: 0/0/30.942
3. S & L DOWNTOWN, KATIE SHIELDS, TRUE NORTH STABLES: 0/0/31.772
4. SIMPLY THE BEST, RAMIRO QUINTANA, JOAQUINA BARRIOS: 0/0/31.837
5. FEE QUEIRA, COLIN SYQUIA, EURASIA INC.: 0/0/32.967
6. S & L ELITE, DARRAGH KERINS, S & L FARM: 0/0/35.095
7. PIRONELLA, BROCK CLERMONT, LINDSAY KLUZEK: 0/4/32.480
8. QUARTERLETTO, DARRAGH KENNY, DARRAGH KENNY: 0/4/32.881
9. CASCORRADO, CHRISTOPH SCHROEDER, HALEY EVERSON: 0/4/33.528
10. CAMOUFLAGE, PATO MUENTE, GAIL DADY: 4/70.860
11. SORIN, KENT FARRINGTON, CATHY ROLFS: 4/72.865
12. RUBIX, GEOFFREY CASE, GEOFFREY CASE: 4/74.019
Final Results: $20,000 Adequan Young Jumper Final 6 Year Old
1. UTOPIE DES HAUTES, AINSLEY VINCE, ASHFORD FARM: 0/0/35.137
2. GAMA CHAMACO, DARRAGH KENNY, MARIE DOUGLAS: 0/0/35.707
3. HOOLIEHOO, BETH UNDERHILL, IRON HORSE FARM: 0/0/36.714
4. CALLIRADO, YANN CANDELE, SUSAN GRANGE: 0/0/36.759
5. UP TO WIN, MAARTEN HUYGENS, MAARTEN HUYGENS: 0/0/39.173
6. S & L ZEPPELIN, DARRAGH KERINS, S & L FARM: 0/0/39.350
7. ULTIMATE, ROBIN SWEELY, ACORN HILL: 0/0/41.848
8. ZIDANE, RONAN MC GUIGAN, LLC CAPALL GROUP: 0/4/36.628
9. ZORRO, FEDERICO SZTYRLE, LOUISBURG FARM: 0/4/37.052
10. G & C QUIVOLA, RAUL QUINTANA, GUSTAVO & CAROLINA MIRABAL: 0/4/37.321
11. SCARPAZZA, CIAN MC DERMOTT, GLYNWOOD STABLES: 0/4/38.923
12. ZELOTIC, MANUEL LECUONA, MANUEL LECUONA: 0/4/39.001
Final Results: $20,000 Adequan Young Jumper Final 7/8 Year Old
1. MERLIN, JEFFERY WELLES, NOEL GROSS: 0/0/30.735
2. VARINA, YANN CANDELE, SUSAN GRANGE: 0/0/31/873
3. WINDE, LAURA KRAUT, PIN OAK FARM: 0/0/32.622
4. MANRIQUE Z, QUENTIN JUDGE, DOUBLE H FARM: 0/0/32.874
5. HH PLUTOT DU BEAFORE, QUENTIN JUDGE, DOUBLE H FARM: 0/0/32.905
6. CARLOTTA, YANN CANDELE, SUSAN GRANGE: 0/0/33.339
7. ARWEN, CHRIS DELIA, MANDEL STABLES: 0/0/34.152
8. G & C CON AIR, RAMIRO QUINTANA, GUSTAVO & CAROLINA MIRABAL: 0/0/34.367
9. ZHIVAGO, BEEZIE MADDEN, ABIGAIL WEXNER: 0/0/34.382
10. VIGGO, BETH UNDERHILL, BETH UNDERHILL: 0/0/34.435
11. VORST, FEDERICO SZTYRLE, STARBIT PARTNERS: 0/0/35.083
12. LENNY, FEDERICO SZTYRLE, ESTATE OF CHRISTIAN WOLFFER: 0/0/36.767
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.