Georgina Bloomberg Rides Radio City to Win in $5,000 Welcome Stake, CSIO
Wellington, FL – March 3, 2010 – Today’s schedule at the 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival featured show jumping at two facilities of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. The USEF World Equestrian Games (WEG) Show Jumping Trial #3 was held at The Stadium, while the CSIO competition opened up on the main show grounds in the International Arena. In Trial 3, McLain Ward of Brewster, NY, and Rothchild, owned by Sagamore Farms, came home with the win over Rich Fellers of Wilsonville, OR, and Flexible, owned by Harry and Molly Chapman. Third went to Beezie Madden of Cazenovia, NY, and Abigail Wexner’s Danny Boy.
For the current standings in the USEF WEG Trials, Richard Spooner of Agua Dulce, CA, is leading the way with six faults on Cristallo, owned by Show Jumping Syndicate. Tied for second with eight faults are Nicole Shahinian-Simpson of Thousand Oaks, CA, on Ilan Ferder’s Tristand and Candice King of Wellington, FL, on Skara Glen’s Davos, owned by Skara Glen Stables. Laura Kraut and Cedric, along with Lauren Hough and Quick Study have both been awarded byes to join McLain Ward and Sapphire on the long list.
Georgina Bloomberg (USA) aboard Radio City owned by Gotham Enterprizes produced a flawless round today in a time of 66.310 seconds to capture the win in the $5,000 Welcome Stake CSIO. Second place honors went to Alexander Hufenstuhl (GER) on his mount Lacapo 4 owned by Sabina Illbruck. The third place award was given to Jonathan Millar (CAN) on Piccobello Du Val De Geer owned by Millar Brooke Farm & Irish Oaks Farm.
The eighth week of the FTI WEF is sponsored by CN and runs through Sunday, March 7. The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of competition that conclude on April 4, 2010, and they will be awarding almost $6 million in prize money through the circuit.
Guilherme Jorge of Brazil designed the course for the USEF WEG Trial 4 at The Stadium. It featured 13 numbered jumps for the Time First Round format, and there were three double combinations. There were 32 entries in the Trial, and six found the way to a clear round.
The first to score a clear round was Jeffery Welles on Armani, owned by Abigail Wexner and Triton Ventures, who would finish in fifth place for the class and have a total score of 16 faults in the standings.
Immediately following him was Rich Fellers with Flexible, who would also finish with 16 faults in the standings but second in the class. “It always feels great to have a clear round, especially in a class like that,” Fellers conceded. “I was confident that he would jump well. The performance we had the other night was the worst score of his career with me riding him. He’s always been a pretty courageous, bold horse. I didn’t think that this would back him off at all, and it didn’t. He came in and redeemed himself.”
Ashlee Bond and Chivas Z, owned by Little Valley Farm, were clear to finish fourth in the class and stay at 14 faults in the standings. Beezie Madden and Danny Boy have 12 faults in the standings after their clear round for third place in the class.
Ward and Rothchild, a nine-year-old SBS gelding by Artos xx Elegant De L’ile, had the fastest clear round of the day in 74.07 seconds to win today’s class and finish on nine faults in the standings. Going fast was not Ward’s initial plan, but became more of a necessity.
“My horse felt great, but green. I had really no choice but to go forward with his lack of experience, so having the fastest time wasn’t an option. I was just kicking and hoping that it worked out,” he laughed. “I’ve always really believed in this horse. He had a pretty amazing year as an eight-year old. He’s inexperienced, and this is a lot for a nine-year-old horse. He’s a little bit of a funky horse. He does it his own way, but his greatest asset is that he gets the idea to leave the jumps up.”
The final clear round was Shahinian-Simpson and Tristan, who finished sixth in the class and have eight faults in the standings to sit in second place. The pair have only been together since last May, but they gained valuable experience showing at Spruce Meadows and have competed on grass before as well. “He’s very brave and I felt confident that it would go okay,” she said. “Having him go as well as he did gave me a lot of confidence to know that he can walk in anywhere.”
Candice King is tied for second place with Shahinian-Simpson with eight faults in the standings on Skara Glen’s Davos, who had just four faults today. She also rode Toronto to a eight fault performance.
King said, “Today I was pleased with both of my horses. I had a bad fall at the beginning of last Florida, so they didn’t get to compete last Florida down here. They had about eight months off because of my injury, so coming into these trials, they’re relatively inexperienced. I was looking forward to trying to get in that top 15 and get to Europe to get that experience this year. It’s been about four years since I’ve had a top horses. Both are two of the nicest horses that I’ve had in my career. This year I’d like to just give them as much experience and positive mileage as I can.”
Seventh place in the class went to Spooner and Cristallo, who finished with one time fault in the class. Added to their five faults from the first two trials, they now lead the trial standings with a total of 6 faults.
“My plan was to have a clear round, but I made a decision after the first night to not be concerned with the time allowed,” Spooner stated. “That took a little bit of the burden off of me. I had the one time fault the second night. It gave me an extra three seconds today. I just went slow and cautiously and wanted to give him a nice round on the grass field and keep him fresh.”
He said of Cristallo, “He jumped fantastic. He never ceases to amaze me.”
Hillary Dobbs and Quincy B, who returned last in the class with just one fault, dropped two rails on today’s course, but still only have nine total faults in the standings, tied with Ward and Rothchild.
Ward thought today’s “test” of being on the grass field at The Stadium was good for the horses and riders. He explained, “To come out here and walk straight in is a challenge, but in the end I think the good riders really stepped up and people were really well prepared. The horses who have the right experience handled it relatively well. I think a real championships horse should be able to jump in just about any venue. Maybe they jump in one a little bit better, but they should be able to handle all the venues.”
At the conclusion of the Trials, per the USEF Selection Procedures, nine horse/rider combinations will be named to the USEF Long List based on their final overall placing from the USEF Selection Trials for Jumping. There are also up to six places on the long list available at the recommendation of the USEF selectors. Lauren Hough/Quick Study, Laura Kraut/Cedric and McLain Ward/Sapphire have already been named to the USEF Long List. A total of 15 horse/rider combinations will be named on Monday, March 8, 2010.
Guilherme Jorge of Brazil designed the course in the International Arena for a field of 67 competitors in the $5,000 Welcome Stake CSIO. There were 12 numbered obstacles, which consisted of a track of 1.45 meters and included spreads up to 1.50 meters. There was an option to do a water jump as obstacle 8.
There were nine clear rounds, and the first competitor to set the pace was Pablo Barrios on his mount G&C Blanchee Z, owned by Gustavo and Carolina Mirabal. The pair produced a time of 77.05 seconds and became the automatic leaders after a faultless round. This would eventually assume the seventh position in today’s class.
Shortly after, the lead changed hands when Alexander Hufenstuhl entered the ring on his mount Lacapo 4, owned by Sabine Illbruck. The pair was able to jump straight to the lead when they whisked through the timers in 71.45 seconds and the pair would later receive second place honors.
Ramiro Quintano (ARG) on his mount Q’s Charm, owned by Kathryn Quirk, were added to the good list when they had a quick time of 72.26 seconds. The pair was just shy of taking the top spot, but the round would be good enough for fourth place.
Shortly after the drag break, Ashlee Bond (USA) and her horse Apache, owned by Little Valley Farm, stopped the timers at 74.150 seconds after producing a clear effort. This would eventually capture the sixth position.
Jonathon Millar produced a clean effort when he entered the ring on his horse Piccobello Du Val De Geer, owned by Millar Brooke Farm & Irish Oaks Farm. After producing a clear round in a time of 71.840 seconds, they would finish in the third spot.
Nearing the end of the class with Hufenstuhl still in the lead, Georgina Bloomberg entered the ring on her mount Radio City, owned by Gotham Enterprizes. The duo claimed the top spot after blazing through the timers in 66.31 seconds, which was five seconds faster than the current leading time.
One of last of the challengers to produce a faultless round was Christine McCrea (USA) and her mount Baloubet Junior Z, owned by Candy Tribble and Windsor Show Stables. Mccrea had a clear round, but were unable to capture the lead after having a time of 73.150 seconds. The pair finished in the fifth place position.
Bloomberg remained in the top position today and was very pleased with her mare Radio City. Bloomberg said of the nine-year-old mare, “We have had her since she was a young horse and we have been bringing her up slowly, trying to build up her confidence.”
This year is Bloomberg’s first time competing the horse in the bigger classes and she spoke of her strategy today stating, “The plan was to go as quickly as possible.” She continued, “A lot of the other people in today’s class had to think about the rest of the week, but I am showing my other horse tomorrow.”
Bloomberg plans to show the mare in the $10,000 Speed Stake CSIO on Saturday.
The CN CSIO week of the 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival continues tomorrow with the $30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Round Eight CSIO.
The USEF WEG Trials continue with the $30,000 1.60m CSIO fourth trial will run on Friday, March 5, at 2 p.m. in the International Arena, while the FEI Nations Cup, presented by CN, follows that evening at 7 p.m. The fifth trial will run in conjunction with the $150,000 CN U.S. Open Grand Prix, CSIO 4*, on Sunday, March 7, at 1 p.m. All three classes are available for live viewing at: www.universalsports.com/equestrian.
For full results and more information, please visit www.shownet.biz or www.equestriansport.com.
Final Results: $40,000 USEF WEG Selection Trial #4
1. ROTHCHILD: 2001 SBS gelding by Artos xx Elegant De L’ile
MCLAIN WARD, SAGAMORE FARMS: 0/74.07
2. FLEXIBLE: 1996 ISH stallion by Cruising xx unknown
RICH FELLERS, HARRY AND MOLLY CHAPMAN: 0/75.23
3. DANNY BOY: 2000 BWP gelding by Clinton xx Alexis Z
BEEZIE MADDEN, ABIGAIL WEXNER: 0/75.53
4. CHIVAS Z: 1999 Zangersheide gelding by Cumano xx Lord Gotthard
ASHLEE BOND, LITTLE VALLEY FARM: 0/76.97
5. ARMANI: 1995 KWPN gelding by Guidam xx G. Ramiro Z
JEFFERY WELLES, ABIGAIL WEXNER AND TRITON VENTURES: 0/76.99
6. TRISTAN: 2000 KWPN gelding by Lancelot xx Ferro
NICOLE SHAHINIAN-SIMPSON, ILAN FERDER: 0/78.08
7. CRISTALLO: 1998 Holsteiner gelding by Carentino xx Cicero
RICHARD SPOONER, SHOW JUMPING SYN.: 1/84.01
8. URICO: 2001 KWPN gelding by Zandor Z xx Fedor
MARIO DESLAURIERS, JANE CLARK: 4/73.00
9. ATHENA: 2000 BWP mare by Toulon xx Capital
CHARLIE JAYNE, THE LOUDON GROUP: 4/74.86
10. UBLESCO: 1997 BWP stallion by Darco xx Flamingo
CARA RAETHER, TRELAWNY FARM: 4/77.38
11. SKARA GLEN’S DAVOS: 2000 Zangersheide gelding by Carthago Z xx Pericles XX
CANDICE KING, SKARA GLEN STABLES: 4/77.53
12. KILKENNY RINDO: 1998 KWPN gelding by Indorado xx Doliart
NICOLE SHAHINIAN-SIMPSON, KILKENNY CREST: 4/78.05
Final Results: $5,000 Welcome Stake CSIO
1. RADIO CITY: 2001 Holsteiner mare by Liatos xx Carthago
GEORGINA BLOOMBERG (USA), GOTHAM ENTERPRIZES: 0/66.310
2. LACAPO 4: 1999 Oldenburg gelding by Landor S xx Argentinus
ALEXANDER HUFENSTUHL (GER), SABINA ULLBRUCK: 0/71.450
3. PICCOBELLO DU VAL DE GEER: 1999 BWP mare by Kannan xx Skippy II
JONATHON MILLAR (CAN), MILLAR BROOKE FARM & IRISH OAKS FARM: 0/71.840
4. Q’S CHARM: 1999 KWPN gelding by Burggraaf xx Akteur
RAMIRO QUINTANA (ARG), KATHRYN QUIRK: 0/72.260
5. BALOUBET JUNIOR Z: 2000 Zangersheide stallion by Baloubet du Rouet xx Darco
CHRISTINE MCCREA (USA), CANDY TRIBBLE & WINDSOR SHOW STABLES: 0/73.150
6. APACHE: 1999 Selle Francais/Thoroughbred gelding by Mescalaro xx unknown
ASHLEE BOND (USA), LITTLE VALLEY FARM: 0/74.150
7. G&C BLANCHEE Z: 2001 BWP mare by Utrillo van de Heffinck xx Darco
PABLO BARRIOS (VEN), GUSTAVO & CAROLINA MIRABAL: 0/77.05
8. WARCO VAN DE HALHOEVE: 1999 BWP gelding by Darco xx Lugano van la Roche
ALI NILFORUSHAN (IRN), ALI NILFORUSHAN: 0/78.140
9. G&C NAPOLEAN: 2001 Selle Francais gelding by Flipper d’Elle xx Papyrus de Chivre
LOISSE GARCIA (VEN), GUSTAVO & CAROLINA MIRABAL: 0/78.810
10. LISONA: 2001 ISH mare by OBOS Quality 004 xx Porsch
DARRAGH KERINS (IRL), KEVIN BABINGTON: 1/82.460
11. TWISTER:
JOHN PEREZ (COL), DAVID VAINER: 1/82.810
12. UNANIMOUS: 2001 KWPN gelding by Andiamo xx Libero H
MAC CONE (CAN), UNANIMOUS GROUP & SOUTHERN WAYS: 2/83.630
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.