Up Chiqui just can’t be stopped.
When you’re hot, you’re hot. And right now, Up Chiqui and Kent Farrington are smoking.
They put on a show at the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute Grand Prix CSI-W on Sept. 28 during the Lexington National (Ky.), turning and burning for the top check. And two days later, they added to the week’s paycheck with second place in the $85,000 New Albany Classic (Ohio).
Add to that a $30,000 bonus for Farrington, as the leading rider in the Hagyard Challenge Series for the summer shows at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, and it makes quite a payday.
The Lexington CSI-W was the 10th grand prix win this year for Up Chiqui, and in September he’s been flying. On Sept. 9, he won the $75,000 Fidelity Invest-ments Grand Prix (Mass.). Then, on Sept. 15, he was third in the $75,000 Evergreen Invita-tional (Wis.).
It all came down to one turn in the jump-off of the Lexington CSI-W. Course designer Leopoldo Palacios asked the riders to negotiate an extremely tight rollback turn to a large, airy liverpool oxer.
That liverpool oxer had been the bogey fence of the first round, where Palacios set it a tight five or long four strides after a tall vertical. Then, a bending line to a tight one-stride combination followed.
“It was challenging because you had to jump a vertical out of a turn, then come forward to the liverpool, and then organize to bend in six strides to the double,” said Peter Wylde, who had two horses in the jump-off. “It was a really challenging line.”
In the jump-off, Palacios asked the riders to turn back on the liverpool oxer off a 180-degree turn. Wylde went first of the six jump-off contenders on the big gray Campino.
Campino lost his footing a bit on the rollback turn and lost momentum, hanging up over the oxer and coming down on the back rail. They finished with 4 faults in 45.52 seconds.
| Footing Has To Be The Priority
Peter Wylde—a U.S. rider who’s been based in Europe for the past seven years—has been showing on the East Coast this fall with a string of four horses. And he’s noticed something.
“We have a big problem in this country with footing. It’s so glaring to me, coming here from Europe,” Wylde said. “I showed at the Hampton Classic [N.Y.] and the Fidelity Jumper Classic [Mass., in early September] and then went back to Europe to a smaller show in Belgium. There, we showed on perfect sand footing. I’ve been to a lot more of the smaller shows in Europe this year, and the majority of those shows have beautiful footing. And that’s not something you can say about even the bigger shows in the United States. “Footing is a major concern in Europe, and the riders refuse to show if the footing is bad. Here, the priority is not being put on good footing, and we as a group—riders, owners and show managers—need to look at the issue and address it. We accept mediocre footing, and we really shouldn’t,” Wylde noted. Wylde pointed out that both of his horses in the jump-off of the $50,000 Lexington CSI-W slipped on the same rollback turn. “As riders, we need to hone our skills of riding fast, and we can’t if the footing doesn’t allow it. You need to have trust in the footing to go fast. And then there’s the factor of the damage done to the horse—physically and in their confidence—when slipping,” he said. In general, the top European horses seem to have much longer careers at the top level, and European riders show them regularly. “I’d say that’s in a large part to do with the fact that they don’t have to show on bad footing,” Wylde said. “When you consistently ride in beautiful footing, the horse can do much more.” ADVERTISEMENTWylde cited the Wachovia Securities American Gold Cup (Ohio) as the only show he’s done this fall with footing that meets top standards. “David Steffee should really be commended for getting it right there,” he said. “There are so many choices of good footing out there now, [and] there’s really no excuse for having bad footing. I know it’s a budget problem, usually, but there really should be no excuse for not making good footing the top priority. The horsemanship is getting lost here.” |
Margie Engle and the big-jumping Hidden Creek’s Quervo Gold followed Wylde’s track on the rollback turn and cleared the oxer, though they rattled the back rail. A quick gallop down the long side to the last oxer brought them home clean in 45.62 seconds for the lead.
Wylde then tried again on Esplanade. He swung wide in the rollback on the flashy chestnut mare.
“I’d slipped so badly with Campino that I went slowly in that turn on her,” he said.
Esplanade also slipped quite badly, but she had a few extra strides to recover, and they jumped clean in 42.80 seconds to take over the lead.
Farrington and Up Chiqui made it clear they were going for the win, shaving the rollback and getting a perfect jump. A furious gallop to the last oxer made the crowd catch their breath, but Up Chiqui cleared it in his signature tail-flipping style, and they made it home clean. Their 40.72-second time looked hard to beat.
Jonathan McCrea made a good effort on Costa, but the big mare’s lopey stride couldn’t catch the leader, and a rail at an oxer cost them 4 faults.
McLain Ward has a talented young mare in Phillipa, and he started out strong. But an extremely tight rollback to the liverpool cost them, as Phillipa hovered in the air and then came down on the back rail. Another rail at the next fence, and Ward cantered home for 8 faults in 48.16 seconds.
“Peter’s horse is fast, but she’s a slower mover. Up Chiqui is really fast,” Farrington said. “I normally have to watch that I don’t go too crazy, and I almost did go crazy to the last fence. But he got it done—he’s an amazing horse.”
Farrington trusted his horse’s cat-like ability to make the liverpool oxer work.
“Because he has a shorter step, it’s easy for him to make a short turn. And if it doesn’t work out perfectly, it’s easy for me to make a fast adjustment. He can move up really quickly. He’s so sensitive—you just think it, and it happens,” he said.
And while Wylde wished he’d been able to stop Farrington’s streak, he tipped his hat to them.
“Kent and that horse are brilliant together. He rides that horse beautifully, and I applaud him for it,” said Wylde.
And Esplanade showed Wylde that she’s ready for her own win next time.
“I’m so excited about her. This was her first really big grand prix in America. She’s green, but I think she’s going to turn out to be an overall class horse,” he said of the 9-year-old mare.
Her former owners sent a video of Esplanade to Wylde last year, and he wasn’t thinking grand prix when he first watched it.
“I thought they were trying to sell her to me as a hunter. She was young and just jumping little fences, and she jumped so well,” he said. “But when I tried her, I realized she’s an amazing jumper. She’s just got fantastic natural quality.”
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 Pfeiffer In First For Zone 5 Horsemanship
During the Kentucky National, U.S. Equestrian Federation Zone 5 junior riders warmed up for the fall indoor equitation finals by duking it out in the Zone 5 Horsemanship Finals.
After three tough rounds of competition, Henry Pfeiffer ended up on top. “I’ve never won this before, and the last time I did [the class] was a couple of years ago,” Pfeiffer said. “It was a lot of fun, especially being my last [junior] year.” Pfeiffer won the over fences phase with a 92 and finished just out of the ribbons in the flat phase. He didn’t place in the written test phase, but his combined scores carried him to the win. “This class is neat because it’s three phases—the flat, the over fences and the written test. And any of us who are showing—adult, professional or junior—should be able to do all three phases. The written test was just basically schoolwork. It was all information from George Morris’ book [Hunter Seat Equitation], so it was basic knowledge,” Pfeiffer said. Pfeiffer rides out of his family’s Fox Meadow Farm in Temperance, Mich., and trains with Polly Howard. He’s a force to be reckoned with in the junior jumpers and has started his grand prix career. In 2005, he was 10th in the Pessoa/USEF Medal Finals (Pa.). He rode the same horse, Gordy, for that top finish as he did in Lexington. Gordy has been a reliable equitation mount for Fox Meadow students for years. “I think he’s probably been to indoors at least six times,” Pfeiffer said. Pfeiffer is looking forward to his last tour of the equitation finals. “I can do a little more than I used to, and I can understand what my trainer is telling me. Back then, if she told me to do something, I might not have understood why, but now I’m more mature and usually understand and can do what she says. Or at least try!” he said, laughing. Going into the fall with the Zone 5 title on his résumé will help as well. “This was a very good warm-up, and whenever you win, it’s a confidence builder,” he said. Pfeiffer plans to finish his senior year of high school this year. “I love going down to Florida, but I think this year I’ll stay back and get school done. And then, I’ll be able to show all summer,” he said. He plans to attend the University of Toledo (Ohio). |
Molly Sorge
