Wellington, FL – January 26, 2013 – Riders Darragh Kenny, Catherine Pasmore, and Meg O’Mara were the winning team of the fourth annual FTI Consulting Great Charity Challenge presented by Fidelity Investments® (FTI GCC) on behalf of their charity JDRF (the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) on Saturday evening at the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF). Sponsored by Jessie Pasmore and Martha Jolicoeur and corporate sponsor Stone Hill Farm, the three riders made up the top team of the night over 33 other pro-am teams representing Palm Beach County charities.
A signature event of the twelve-week FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival, this year’s FTI GCC will distribute approximately $1.5 million to the 34 lucky Palm Beach County charities that were chosen at random to be represented in the pro-am team relay competition. Each team was made up of junior and amateur riders competing side by side with top professionals.
A crowd of over 5,000 spectators came out to enjoy the family fun event as part of the “Saturday Night Lights” series. The JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) was the winning team of the night with riders Meg O’Mara, Catherine Pasmore, and Darragh Kenny. O’Mara did have one rail down, but the trio’s speedy trips made up for it and their time of 92.361 seconds won the top prize of $150,000 for their charity.
Coming in second was College for Kids – Take Stock in Children, sponsored by the Mirabal Family and G&C Farm as well as corporate sponsor Palm Beach Illustrated. The team consisted of three Venezuelan riders from G&C Farm, including youngest rider Maria Emilia Chapellin Mirabal, Carolina Chapellin Mirabal and professional Luis Fernando Larrazabal with a combined time of 93.248 seconds to earn $125,000.
Presentation of the top three teams. Photo © Sportfot.
The first of three wild card charities drawn at the during the night, the Junior League of the Palm Beaches finished third and won $100,000. The team, made up of Perla Boord, Lillie Keenan, and David Blake, was sponsored by Pine Hollow Farm and corporate sponsor Gut Einhaus. They finished with a time of 93.998 seconds overall.
As the professional representative for the JDRF team, Irish rider Darragh Kenny (who turns 25 on Thursday) was thrilled to be competing in the event for the first time. Kenny is known for his speed, and rode the same horse Vanotrouska, owned by Megan Bifano, that he showed in week one’s $55,000 Nespresso Battle of the Sexes.
Darragh Kenny and Vanotrouska. Photo © Sportfot.
Commenting on the night, Kenny smiled, “It was fantastic. It is a great atmosphere. I think it is a really good thing that they have here and it is for a great cause. I have never ridden for charity before but I think it is great to have the chance to do that. It is enjoyable for everybody and it is nice that we are giving back to something as well. I would for sure do this again in the future.”
When asked what advice he gave his teammates for the night, Kenny stated simply, “I just told them to win. There was no plan, just go as fast as you can and leave the jumps up.”
Catherine Pasmore (20) was riding her veteran mount My Boy and was even more excited to ride for her randomly matched charity due to a personal connection to the JDRF. Pasmore’s uncle was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes and passed away at a young age. The connection gave Pasmore extra inspiration.
Catherine pasmore and My Boy. Photo © Sportfot.
“It is personal to me,” she stated. “Obviously all charities are a great cause, but riding for something that hits so close to home was very exciting. It gave me the extra drive to really go for it.”
Pasmore also enjoyed the camaraderie of the evening. “It is just a really fun class,” she declared. “We get to come out and work as a team and I think we all definitely pulled our weight; it was exciting.”
Eighteen-year-old Meg O’Mara echoed her teammates’ sentiments and explained that this was her first time even seeing the class let alone competing in it.
“I definitely was lucky to be able to watch all 24 teams before me because I didn’t really know how it went,” O’Mara noted. “I had a really fast horse, so I was happy about that.”
O’Mara showed Mavis Spencer’s Valencia in the class. She noted, “It was really fun. I would definitely do it every other year. This was my first type of team experience.”
Meg O’Mara and Valencia. Photo © Sportfot.
Lora Hazelwood, Executive Director for JDRF, the greater Palm Beach County Chapter, was on hand to accept the $150,000 check for her great cause and cheer on the team. Hazelwood explained that this was the JDRF’s fourth year trying to get in to the FTI GCC.
“The first year we were too late when we applied,” Hazelwood admitted. “The first and second year that we did get in for the lottery we (weren’t chosen from the random draw). This year was our third year (being eligible) and we thought that three times would be the charm, but we had no expectation. We would have been thrilled with just $10,000. We are just completely overwhelmed.”
“It means a tremendous amount to win,” Hazelwood added. “This is a lot of money for any non-profit organization, especially coming off of a recession. This is the most exciting thing that has happened to us in a number of years. We were really pleased to learn that our team sponsor, Jessie Pasmore, has a personal connection to type-1 diabetes and we were not even aware of that. The teams are just randomly assigned, so we think there was some serendipity; there is no such thing as coincidence. We thought that was amazing.”
Winning team presentation. Photo © Sportfot.
Full results and more information on the competition and winning charities of the 2013 FTI GCC will be available soon. For more information, visit www.ftigreatcharitychallenge.com.
Peter Wylde and Wannahave Win $25,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic
The highlight of Saturday’s afternoon session in the International Arena at PBIEC was the $25,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic with 28 entries competing over a course set by Uliano Vezzani of Italy.
In an exciting eight-horse jump-off, Peter Wylde and The Wannahave Group’s Wannahave were victorious by three-tenths of a second with the fastest of six double clear rounds in 35.512 seconds. The ten-year-old KWPN gelding by Manhattan x G. Ramiro Z is a new mount for Wylde since his recent collaboration with North Run trainers Missy Clark and John Brennan, and he is excited to have the ride.
“I actually sold him to Missy and John two years ago,” Wylde noted. “I tried him in Europe and I loved him. The horse was brought here and they tried him here and bought him. It is a very special horse. It has all the scope in the world; it has championship scope. It is really one of the most powerful horses I have ever ridden.”
Peter Wylde and Wannahave. Photo © Sportfot.
Since taking over the ride on Wannahave, Wylde has taken some time to really get to know the horse and now feels like they have begun to form a good partnership.
“The horse took me a little bit to get used to,” Wylde admitted. “I must say, I had some up and down rounds with him. He is so powerful that he actually threw me out of the saddle in the beginning when I started to jump him. I am used to riding horses sort of loose and soft and he has so much power going up, it is incredible. I am learning it obviously, because it is going well.”
Wannahave’s previous rider, Darragh Kenny, finished second and third aboard two of his new mounts. Kenny finished second riding Samantha Tuerk’s Watch Me VD Mangelaar in 35.815 seconds and also took third place honors with Mavis Spencer’s Valentino in a time of 36.673 seconds. Leslie Howard and Jane Clark’s Tic-Tac finished fourth in 37.020 seconds. Ben Maher and Dolores, owned by Mrs. Wang, finished fifth in 37.784 seconds. Athina Onassis de Miranda placed sixth with a time of 41.268 seconds aboard AD Welcome du Petit Vivier, owned by the rider along with Victory Equestrian.
Peter Wylde and Wannahave in their winning presentation with ringmaster Cliff Haines and Jeannie and Tom Tisbo of Suncast. Photo © Sportfot.
For his winning round, Wylde was able to watch the first few riders go in the jump-off and judge the ride accordingly.
“That was a fast jump-off,” he declared. “The horses were really going. I watched Ben and I watched Darragh’s first round (with Valentino). I had an idea of what to do because they had similar strides. I have a huge stride with that horse. That kind of a jump-off is perfect for him because you can really go and he covers so much ground and then he is really careful when you get to the jumps.”
Wylde left out a stride in the beginning of the course that he believes made up those three-tenths of a second difference. Kenny followed with his second mount, Watch Me VD Mangelaar, and did come quite close.
“I only caught a glimpse of Darragh’s second ride,” Wylde stated. “We were just enjoying the moment with Wannahave outside of the ring and then I heard people yelling, so we skipped up to see what was going on and if he was going to beat me. It looked like he was; he was really close.”
Wylde is very happy with his new venture with North Run and looks forward to a great season as he gets to know all of his new mounts.
“We have had great results with six different horses in the last few weeks,” he noted. “This team and this collaboration are working so well and I am so happy about it. It makes it really fun.”
Wannahave will now have a break from showing but continue to work at home as he gears toward the bigger classes at the end of the circuit. Wylde explained, “He is a big horse and he needs to be fit and strong, so he is going to stay working in a really intense fitness program. We have done three shows in a row now just trying to get him stronger and trying to get me and him together. Every rider and every horse needs to develop a rapport, a connection, and I needed to do that. Now I have and it is so exciting. I feel like we are there.”
Final Results: $25,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic
1. WANNAHAVE PETER WYLDE THE WANNAHAVE GROUP: 0/0/35.512
2. WATCH ME VD MANGELAAR DARRAGH KENNY SAMANTHA TUERK: 0/0/35.815
3. VALENTINO DARRAGH KENNY MAVIS SPENCER: 0/0/36.673
4. TIC – TAC LESLIE HOWARD JANE CLARK: 0/0/37.020
5. DOLORES BEN MAHER MRS. WANG: 0/0/37.784
6. AD WELCOME DU PETIT VIVIER ATHINA ONASSIS DE MIRANDA ATHINA ONASSIS DE MIRANDA & VICTORY EQUESTRIAN: 0/0/41.268
7. ZINNIA ANDREW WELLES ANDREW WELLES: 0/4/38.251
8. NOUVELLE LAURA KRAUT EVITA GROUP: 0/4/40.329
9. CAPALL ZIDANE RONAN MCGUIGAN RONAN MCGUIGAN: 4/74.909
10. KING KOLIBRI LAUREN TISBO TEQUESTRIAN FARMS, LLC: 4/75.321
11. CARLOS V.H.P.Z. NICHOLAS DELLO JOIO EMILIE MARTINSEN: 4/75.992
12. COLGATE PABLO BARRIOS PABLO BARRIOS: 4/76.513
Way Cool and Victoria Colvin Continue Reign Over Large Junior Hunters 15 and Under
Way Cool and Victoria Colvin were named champions of the Antarés Large Junior 15 and Under Hunter division during week three of competition for the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF). Colvin and “Coolie,” an eleven-year-old Hanoverian gelding, were first in one over fences round during day one of competition for the division. On day two, the pair won another over fences class before placing third under saddle.
Reserve champion was Statement and Lili Hymowitz. Hymowitz piloted her seven-year-old Westphalian gelding to fourth and first places over fences on day one, followed by seventh and second place ribbons over fences and sixth under saddle on day two. Hymowitz also took home Rider/Owner Championship honors for the division.
Way Cool and Victoria Colvin. Photo © Sportfot.
Way Cool has amassed substantial winnings over the last three years with Colvin as his dedicated partner. Dr. Betsy Parker, who owns the chestnut gelding, is the first to admit he can be a difficult ride.
“He has the most remarkable snap and correct jump, but he has a lot of opinions about things that happen around the ring. Tori has to ride him with a lot of what I call ‘friendly persuasion’ to get around,” Parker stated.
“I think people get a lot of entertainment value from Coolie going around. He used to have the nickname ‘Win or Spin.’ But when he does go, he’s so magnificent and he teaches everyone so much about how very tremendously athletic our hunters can be,” Parker continued.
Parker attributes Way Cool’s string of winning performances to Colvin’s loving and persuasive technique with the chestnut gelding. “He draws confidence from his confident rider, and he knows that she loves him,” Parker stated. “Tori is the person he loves the dearest in the world and he will do anything for her.”
Colvin and Way Cool started day two of the division off with a refusal before recollecting to win the stake round of over fences. “The second time in the ring I think he was used to everything. It’s his first week back [showing]. National [The Alltech National Horse Show in Kentucky] was his last show, so it’s been a while. I think he was pretty good for being off for so long,” Colvin stated.
Colvin, of Loxahatchee, FL, has been showing at the FTI WEF since childhood. She grew up riding Parker’s ponies and at the age of 15 is already a seven-season veteran of the FTI WEF. “It’s big and beautiful with great footing,” Colvin described. “And it’s very fun!”
Week three of competition for the FTI WEF concludes on Sunday with the Voltaire Design Large Pony Hunter division, which will name its champion in Ring 11. The $50,000 CSI 2* Grand Prix will be held at 2 p.m. on the grass derby field at The Stadium at PBIEC. For full results, please visit www.showgroundslive.com.
Photo Credit: Photos © Sportfot, An Official Photographer of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival, us.sportfot.com, and Anne Gittins Photography, An Official Photographer of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival, www.annegittins.com. These photos may be used only in relation to this press release and must include photo credit.