North Salem, NY – May 8, 2013 – The first week of the Old Salem Spring Horse Show continued today with championships in the professional hunter divisions as well as opening classes for the Open Jumpers. The show goes through Sunday, May 12, and the second week will be held on May 14-19 at Old Salem Farm in North Salem, NY.

Moshi, owned by Stephanie Riggio and ridden by Sandy Ferrell, was champion in the combined Conformation Hunter division. Their top placings also earned them the Grand Hunter Champion title. The nine-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding by Quintus stood for second place in the model class, won three over fences classes and fourth in the remaining jumping class, and won the under saddle class. Reserve champion was Galaxy, ridden by Brooke Baldwin-DeGrazia and owned by Tina Allen. Galaxy won the model, was second under saddle, and picked up two seconds and two thirds over fences. 

Sandy Ferrell and Moshi

Ferrell, of Bernville, PA, and Moshi have had incredible success at the biggest shows in the country. Moshi has also been successful in the Amateur-Owner Hunter division with his owner Stephanie Riggio of New York, NY.

Ferrell described, “He’s still goes to win. He’s still a winner. He tries hard every time he goes in the ring. I show him sporadically because Stephanie had so much success in the amateurs. This is his first week back since Florida, and he was fantastic. He has grown up so much over the past year and knows his job. It was nice to ride him and be able to go in the ring and keep winning.”

Ferrell and Moshi were lucky to show earlier today before the heavy rain. “When he went today, the weather was okay,” Ferrell said, “but he’s a good mudder. He doesn’t mind the rain.”

In the past few years, Ferrell has shown at the Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows. She remarked, “The ring is beautiful. (Course designer) Paul [Jewell] did a great job. The jumps were big and full, and there was a bit of galloping, which was nice.”

In the first division of the day, Casino, a seven-year-old Oldenburg gelding by Argentinus, was named champion in the division that combined the High Performance Hunters sponsored by The Gochman Family and the Second Year Green Hunters. Casino was first, first, second, and third over fences and won the under saddle class. The reserve championship went to Smoking Gun, ridden and owned by Cynthia Williams. They placed first, second, fourth, and fourth over fences and second under saddle in the division.

Louise Serio and Casino

Casino is owned by Bridget Hallman and Merrylegs South and has been at Serio’s Derbydown stable for over a year. Casino and Serio showed in the First Year Green Hunters in 2012, winning the Grand Hunter Championship at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show. “He’s had a very nice career,” Serio acknowledged. “I was particularly happy with him here. He was really relaxed and I thought he jumped really well both days. He has a big, slow step and is very lovely to ride. He definitely can jump a big jump, so jumping a little bit bigger (from last year) keeps him sharper and keeps his style nice.”

This is Serio’s first time ever showing at Old Salem Farm. She stated, “I’m really enjoying it. The whole facility is just beautiful and the area is nice. I thought the ring was lovely and the courses were really good and galloping. The courses were really nice and just enough of a challenge. I thought all of my horses just tried so hard and really benefitted from yesterday. When you get to gallop and jump, it makes them sharper.”

Louise Serio and Casino in their winning presentation

Serio and Hallman celebrated another championship win with Constellation, a seven-year-old Westphalian gelding by Christiano, who won the First Year Green Hunter championship. They placed first, second, and fifth over fences and were third under saddle. Brodeur, ridden by Patricia Griffith and owned by Madeline Placey, were reserve champions after they finished first, third, fourth, and fourth over fences.

Louise Serio and Constellation

Serio recalled of Constellation, “We bought both horses on the same day and tried them on the same day too. He did the Pre-Greens and Adult (Hunters) last year. He’s really coming along nicely. He’s fun and very, very quiet. He’s a really nice jumper. They’re very similar, both of them are a little bit quiet.”

Open Jumpers Start Competition 

While rain forced competition to move from the grass Grand Prix Field to the all-weather footing of the Annex Ring, it didn’t dampen the competitiveness of the horses and riders in the Open Jumper 1.40m class. Course designer Guilherme Jorge set a track for 44 entries. Twenty-six of them found the clear round to the jump-off, and 18 of those were double clear. 

Tuxedo, a 12-year-old KWPN gelding by Gentleman x Hamilcar, was the last to go in today’s Open Jumper 1.40m class and sped to the win in 29.230 seconds in the 2b format. Ridden by Todd Minikus and owned by Legacy Stables, the talented horse continued the success he had in Florida this winter, where Minikus started riding him halfway through the season. Minikus was also fourth with Legacy Stables’ Uraguay, who stopped the timers in 31.190 seconds.

Minikus noted that Tuxedo won “some nice classes in Florida” and also placed well in the grand prix classes. “He comes to this country with a reputation of being a winner and holds true to form,” Minikus said. “He’s a little spicy and has got a lot of action that goes along with him, but it’s more show than what it actually feels like. He’s a professional. Once he’s in the ring, he’s all business.”

Minikus added that the move to the Annex Ring did not affect his ride. “The footing was unbelievably good. It was a lot of horses and the footing held up perfect.” Speaking of his jump-off ride, he said, “One to two was real quick, and I went inside of the timer to number seven. I’m sure the rest of it was the same as everyone else. He’s just quick. It’s a rat race; you gotta have the fastest rat!”

Todd Minikus and Tuxedo

Second and third place in the class went to local rider and Olympic gold medalist McLain Ward of Brewster, NY. Ward and Wings, a 15-year-old KWPN gelding by Lexicon x Columbus, finished the jump-off in 30.782 seconds for second place.

Wings, a usual ride for Ward’s wife, Lauren, in the Amateur-Owner Jumpers, had a “huge international career in Europe” with such top riders as Gert-Jan Bruggink of Holland and Pia-Luise Aufrecht of Germany. 

Ward explained, “I’m going to use him in Spruce Meadows in the speed division, so we’re just getting a leg up here. He’s super careful and he’s got lots of experience. He’s 15 and he’s been everywhere in the world. He’ll go back to my wife after Calgary, but I’m going to try and win a few classes while we’re there. She was kind enough to let me borrow him. She has some other horses she’s going to show there. Calgary has a great speed division with a lot of money in it, so it’s a great opportunity to do well.”

Third place went to Sandor de la Pomme, an 11-year-old Belgian Sport Horse gelding by Vigo D’arsouilles x Darco, who finished just a hair off Wings’ pace in 30.989 seconds. Unsurprisingly, Ward made the ride look easy on Sandor in their first ever class together. Sandor is owned by The Wannahave Group and trained by Missy Clark. Along with Sandor, Ward picked up the ride on Wannahave.

“I’m excited to ride the two horses; they’re a great addition to my string,” Ward commented. “I’m trying to get to know (Sandor), but I’m very happy so far. He’s really easy to ride and he’s quite careful. He has a good record over some really big courses. I think he’s going to be a horse that wins a lot. Missy and I have done great (together) in the past. We had Hurricane years ago, and Sapphire and Goldika – she was involved in that relationship – so we’ve had a lot of success together in the past.”

Agreeing with Minikus, Ward felt that the footing was great. He added, “It’s nice that they have the option (to move the ring) with the little unpredictable weather this time of year. It’s funny, we had a three-week drought and now the first day of the show, we get a lot of rain. It’s a shame because the field looks beautiful. But it will be fine.”

The $50,000 Old Salem Farm Grand Prix, presented by Suncast, on May 12, the $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby, presented by Houlihan Lawrence Real Estate, on May 18, and the $100,000 Empire State Grand Prix, presented by The Kincade Group, on May 19 will all be broadcast on the USEF Network.com presented by Smartpak. Watch live streaming of every round in the ring during both weeks on www.shownet.biz and tune into USEF Network to watch these three highlight events! 

The Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows, rated the #11 show in North America by the North American Riders Group, has a full schedule of fun events for exhibitors and spectators. General admission, set at $20.00 per car on Friday-Sunday, generates proceeds to support the Old Salem Farm Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization.

ATTENTION EXHIBITORS: The Young Jumper 7/8 Year Olds, Open Jumper 1.30m, Open Jumper 1.40m, and High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper 1.40m classes will all be held in the Annex Ring again tomorrow, starting at 8 am.

Tomorrow’s schedule will include championship results for the Adult Amateur Hunters, while the jumper divisions for the Young Jumpers, as well as the Children’s, Adult, Junior, and Amateurs, open up competition. For more information please visit www.oldsalemfarm.net/mayhome and for full results, please visit www.horseshowsonline.com. 

Final Results: Open Jumpers 1.40m

1 TUXEDO, TODD MINIKUS, LEGACY STABLES: 0/0/29.230

2 WINGS, MCLAIN WARD, MCLAIN WARD: 0/0/30.782

3 SANDOR DE LA POMME, MCLAIN WARD, THE WANNAHAVE GROUP: 0/0/30.989

4 URAGUAY, TODD MINIKUS, LEGACY STABLES: 0/0/31.190

5 RONALDO DE LA POMME, CHRISTINE MCCREA, CANDY TRIBBLE & WINDSOR SHOW STABLES: 0/0/31.550

6 ONYX DU HAUT BOIS, DARRAGH KENNY, ALEXANDER LLC: 0/0/31.573

7 EVEREST DE MUZE, DARRAGH KENNY, ALEXANDER LLC: 0/0/32.126

8 CLEAR FOZ AS WELL, DARRAGH KERINS, DARRAGH KERINS: 0/0/32.299

The Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows celebrate its 31st year in 2013 and offer two weeks of exceptional equestrian sport on May 7-12 and May 14-19 at one of the nation’s premier and newly renovated equestrian facilities, Old Salem Farm, in North Salem, New York. Old Salem’s beautifully manicured grounds, list of elite horses and riders, and fantastic social gatherings draw spectators from Westchester County and beyond to watch horses and ponies of every size compete for almost $500,000 in prize money. The Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows feature over 130 hunter and jumper classes each week, bringing together top competitors, including Olympic show jumpers, from across the country. For more information, please visit www.oldsalemfarm.net/mayhome.

Photo Credit: Photos – © The Book LLC. These photos may be used only in relation to this press release and with proper credit.