Wellington, FL – March 24, 2017 – After two rounds and a test, McKayla Langmeier of East Granby, CT, emerged victorious riding Calberon B in the tenth annual George Morris Excellence in Equitation class, the highlight competition on March 24 at the 2017 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington, FL.
McKayla Langmeier and Calberon B
The eleventh week of WEF features CSI 5*/2* competition at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) on March 22-26, 2017. The feature ‘Saturday Night Lights’ event is the $500,000 Rolex Grand Prix CSI 5* on Saturday, March 25, at 7:30 p.m., preceded by the $130,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic Final at 6:30 p.m. On Sunday, March 26, is the $50,000 Engel & Völkers Grand Prix CSI 2*. The week’s highlights can be viewed on live stream HERE. The 12-week WEF circuit continues through April 2, 2017, awarding over $9 million in prize money.
Thirty-nine horse and rider combinations tackled the first round course designed by Andy Christiansen Jr. and Frank Madden in the Van Kampen Covered Arena at Equestrian Village at PBIEC. Following the initial round, the top 15 riders returned for a second round, and ultimately the top four riders came back for a final test. Without the help of their trainers, the junior riders were responsible for walking the course, warming up their horses, and time management as no outside contact was allowed during the event and riders were required to turn in their cell phones at the start of the class. One groom was permitted to tend to the horse and set jumps during the warm-up.
The riders of the 2017 George Morris Excellence in Equitation class.
The competitors received scores from two panels of judges and a schooling judge, who graded riders in the warm up area and gave a score that ranged from minus two to two. Panel one consisted of Anne Kursinski and Ralph Caristo, panel two was made up of Frank Madden and Bobby Braswell, and Eric Straus acted as schooling judge.
Langmeier, who finished second in the class last year, was sitting in second place going into the final test, but after flawlessly asking all of the test’s questions, she moved up to win the blue ribbon. Ava Stearns of Chilmark, MA, captured the reserve honors, while Taylor St. Jacques of Glen Allen, VA, earned the third place ribbon, and Coco Fath of Fairfield, CT, settled for a fourth place finish.
Madden of Old Salem Farm in North Salem, NY, is a well-established figure in the equitation world and was greatly impressed with the talent demonstrated in the class.
“It was a real privilege to judge the class and be involved in building the courses,” said Madden. “I thought the test was great. I loved McKayla’s [Langmeier’s] horse landing on the right lead and making the flying change. Overall it was a great class, and I hoped the riders enjoyed the courses and the test.”
McKayla Langmeier and Calberon B in their winning presentation with ringmaster Steve Rector, 2016 winner T.J. O’Mara, and Carly Sutherland.
Langmeier piloted Calberon B, a nine-year-old gelding owned by Linda Langmeier, to a first round score of 179 and a second round score of 182 for an overall winning score of 361. The pair have not been partnered together long as Langmeier started showing the gelding, who previously competed in the jumpers, in equitation classes at the start of this winter circuit.
Speaking of her test, Langmeier explained, “Part of the test was to hold the counter lead, and I have had issues in tests not being able to hold it. I was going to try to go inside the hay bales, but I ended up going around. I saw in the previous tests that people held the counter lead after the second fence, but I decided do the flying change.”
Ava Stearns and Eclipse
Although Stearns entered the test in fourth place, her impeccable performance aboard Eclipse, an entry owned by Missy Clark & North Run, earned her the reserve honors. Stearns received first and second round scores of 174.5 and 179, respectively, for a combined score of 353.
“I had a lot of fun tonight!” Stearns exclaimed. “I have an incredible mount, Eclipse. I was really excited to get to compete in the class on him because he is so special, and he handles everything so well. He is so handy, and everything you ask of him he does perfectly, so that made it really fun.”
Taylor St. Jacques and Charisma
St. Jacques was sitting on top when the final four entered the test; however, Madden explained that her hand gallop in the test dropped her down to finish in third place. The talented junior guided Charisma, owned by Heritage Farm, Inc., to a first round score of 182, and the highest second round score, 187.5, for an overall total of 369.5. Charisma, a ten-year-old Warmblood gelding by Stakkato, won the honor of Best Equitation Horse after the first two rounds.
“Charisma was incredible today,” St. Jacques praised. “Everything I asked him to do he did perfectly, and he could not have gone any better. It was a really good class overall! The class is a different atmosphere than we are used to, and I think it is a lot of fun under the lights.”
Coco Fath and Class Action
Fath rode veteran equitation mount, Class Action, owned by Hillside Farm, LLC, to a fourth place finish. The pair earned first and second round scores of 177 and 178, respectively, for a combined total of 355.
Speaking of the her first time showing in the class, Fath said, “It was such a fun experience! Not having trainers was something new and different that I have not experienced before. I rode Class Action, who has done this many times. I could not imagine doing this on any other horse. He is so special and perfect, he could basically do it by himself.”
Samuel Parot and Couscous van Orti Win $35,000 Illustrated Properties 1.45m CSI 5*
It was an emotional win for Chile’s Samuel Parot in Friday’s $35,000 Illustrated Properties 1.45m CSI 5* at the Winter Equestrian Festival, as the rider was competing his mount Couscous van Orti for the final time.
Parot found Couscous van Orti from Belgium’s Pieter Devos in 2015 and rode the gelding at the Pan American Games in Toronto that year. The pair has since earned numerous victories and had a very successful partnership. The horse will now compete under the flag of El Salvador with rider Juan Manuel Bolanos.
Samuel Parot and Couscous van Orti
Course designer Guilherme Jorge (BRA) set the speed track for 35 starters in Friday’s five-star 1.45m competition, yielding ten clear rounds. Last to go, Parot and the 15-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding (Nabab de Reve x Cash) raced to victory in 60.48 seconds.
Darragh Kenny (IRL) finished second in 62.24 seconds riding Kerry Anne LLC’s Chanel. Eric Lamaze (CAN) guided Torrey Pines Stable’s Thalis de la Roque to third place in 63.25 seconds, and Richie Moloney (IRL) placed fourth aboard Equinimity LLC’s Slieveanorra in 64.19 seconds.
Samuel Parot and Couscous van Orti in their winning presentation with Waverly Ernst of the Maya Group at Illustrated Properties and ringmaster Steve Rector.
“Today is the last show and the last class we will jump together because he is sold, so it is a nice goodbye,” Parot said of his mount. “I am very happy to win with him one final time.
“I was lucky to go last, so I watched a lot of riders,” Parot continued. “The course was fast and very careful. In the beginning, I went a little bit slower, but on the last part of the course I went very fast. I think where I won it was the last line. I galloped down and left out a stride to the last jump, and he did it easily.”
Also competing in the International Arena on Friday, Amy Millar (CAN) and AMMO Investments’ Heros won the $35,000 1.45m CSI 2* jump-off.
Amy Millar and Heros
Week eleven of the Winter Equestrian Festival continues in the International Arena on Saturday featuring the $130,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic Final at 6:30 p.m. and the $500,000 Rolex Grand Prix CSI 5* on Saturday, March 25, at 7:30 p.m. The Engel & Völkers Large Junior Hunters 15 & Under will determine championship and reserve honors in the E.R. Mische Grand Hunter Arena. For full results, please visit www.PBIEC.com.
Final Results: George Morris Excellence in Equitation
1 4216 CALBERON B MCKAYLA LANGMEIER
R1/J1 88.00 90.00 1.00 179.00
R2/J2 89.00 91.00 2.00 182.00 361.00
2 802 ECLIPSE AVA STEARNS
R1/J1 84.50 88.00 2.00 174.50
R2/J2 87.00 90.00 2.00 179.00 353.50
3 2540 CHARISMA TAYLOR ST JACQUES
R1/J1 90.00 91.00 1.00 182.00
R2/J2 90.50 95.00 2.00 187.50 369.50
4 912 CLASS ACTION COCO FATH
R1/J1 87.50 88.50 1.00 177.00
R2/J2 90.00 87.00 1.00 178.00 355.00
5 4851 BELLA VIDA GIAVANNA RINALDI
R1/J1 84.75 89.00 2.00 175.75
R2/J2 85.75 84.00 2.00 171.75 347.50
6 927 STALLONE MADISON GOETZMANN
R1/J1 87.00 79.50 2.00 168.50
R2/J2 88.00 88.00 2.00 178.00 346.50
7 922 KASKADE SAMANTHA COHEN
R1/J1 84.25 87.50 2.00 173.75
R2/J2 85.50 85.00 1.00 171.50 345.25
8 4197 ACTION PAINTING SARA MCCLOSKEY
R1/J1 84.00 87.00 2.00 173.00
R2/J2 83.00 86.00 1.00 170.00 343.00
8 938 GEMBER EMMA WUJEK
R1/J1 86.00 85.00 2.00 173.00
R2/J2 86.00 82.00 2.00 170.00 343.00
10 6192 CARL EMMA KURTZ
R1/J1 86.75 85.75 1.00 173.50
R2/J2 86.50 81.00 2.00 169.50 343.00
11 5682 BALLON HALEY REDIFER
R1/J1 86.50 84.50 2.00 173.00
R2/J2 85.00 78.00 1.00 164.00 337.00
12 949 COPPERFIELD 39 ELLI YEAGER
R1/J1 83.50 86.00 -2.00 167.50
R2/J2 82.00 77.00 2.00 161.00 328.50
Final Results: $35,000 Illustrated Properties 1.45m CSI 5*
1. COUSCOUS VAN ORTI: 2002 Belgian Warmblood gelding by Nabab de Reve x Cash
SAMUEL PAROT (CHI), Samuel Parot: 0/60.48
2. CHANEL: 2008 Oldenburg mare by Challan x Lordanos
DARRAGH KENNY (IRL). Kerry Anne LLC: 0/62.24
3. THALIS DE LA ROQUE: 2007 Selle Francais mare by Kannan x Quand Viens Tu
ERIC LAMAZE (CAN), Torrey Pines Stable: 0/63.25
4. SLIEVEANORRA: 2002 Irish Sport Horse gelding by Voltaire x Flagmount Diamond
RICHIE MOLONEY (IRL), Equinimity LLC: 0/64.19
5. CON TOUCH S: 2006 Westphalian mare by Con Cento x Capitol I
LAURA KRAUT (USA), Julius Peter Sinack: 0/67.52
6. ERES TU: 2009 Argentine gelding
LUIS PEDRO BIRABEN (ARG), Claudia Pedrozo & Luis Pedro Biraben: 0/67.59
7. INDRA VAN DE OUDE HEIHOEF: 2008 Belgian Warmblood mare by Casantos x Action-Breaker
SHANE SWEETNAM (IRL), The Blue Buckle Group: 0/67.63
8. CHEMAS: 2008 Holsteiner gelding by Clearway x Carthago
VANESSA MANNIX (CAN), Vanessa Mannix: 0/70.66
9. DAKAR VDL: 2008 KWPN gelding by Cardento x Marlon
TINA YATES (USA), HKC Collection LLC: 0/74.98
10. KINO: 2008 Holsteiner gelding by Lord Z x Chambertin 3
KAREN POLLE (JPN), Karen Polle: 0/77.51
11. TNT EXPLOSIVE: 2007 Hanoverian gelding by Tinka’s Boy x Calypso II
CHLOE REID (USA), Live Oak Plantation LLC: 1/78.16
12. DAISY: 2008 KWPN mare by Excenel V x Timeless
MEREDITH MICHAELS-BEERBAUM (GER), Artemis Equestrian Farm LLC: 1/78.19
Photo Credit: Photos © Sportfot, Official Photographer of the Winter Equestrian Festival. These photos may be used only in relation to this press release and must include photo credit.