When Rodrigo Pessoa headed back first for the jump-off in the $75,000 Budweiser Grand Prix de Penn National CSI-W aboard Let’s Fly, he knew he’d have to find a way to shake off the five strong riders following him.
“When you go first with good riders coming behind you, you have to come up with something,” said Pessoa. “There was this little gap after fence 2 to go inside, and I thought if I did that it would be hard enough to be beat. I thought I had to do it and take the chance, and it worked out for me.”
Pessoa made that tight turn look effortless, and sure enough, he clocked an unbeatable time to take the top check before an appreciative Harrisburg, Pa., audience tonight, Oct. 17. Tonight’s win elevated Let’s Fly and Pessoa to the open jumper championship.
Erynn Ballard kept the rails in the cups but stopped the timers a full 5½ seconds behind Pessoa aboard the striking Robin Van Roosendael. The unconventional but capable Russian pair Ljubov Kochetova and Aslan added nothing to their first round total as well but took a conservative track to finish third. She lost a stirrup two from home but dug in to stay aboard and power through.
Carlos Boy suffered a rail midway through the shortened course despite a tactful ride by Ken Berkley to finish fourth, and Mario Delauriers on Vicomte D and Leslie Burr Howard on Lennox Lewis 2 took two apiece to finish fifth and sixth.
“I knew that I couldn’t beat Rodrigo, and it wasn’t even worth trying,” said Ballard, Hillsburgh, Ont., Canada. “But I knew that I could probably end up second if I was high enough. I was aiming for second place.”
Let’s Fly has proved a solid contender for Pessoa since the two paired up a year and a half ago, winning the Green Cove Springs CSI-W (Fla.), the Loro Piana Grand Prix (Italy) and the $450,000 Charlotte Jumper Classic CSI*****. Despite his success with the Double H Farms entry, Pessoa isn’t aiming him at the World Cup Final, instead looking to Rufus, his mount in the 2009 World Cup Final in Las Vegas (Nev.) for the chore.
“This horse is really good indoors,” said Pessoa of Let’s Fly, who is by Lordanos and out of Famm, the same dam who threw Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum’s three-time World Cup champion Shutterfly. “To ride he’s really simple. He’s very intelligent, and he makes the rider look good because he’s really not complicated.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Harrisburg show jumping afficionados also reveled in this evening’s action. Pessoa graciously signed autographs and posed for photos before and after the press conference, and riders in the victory gallop were issued extra ribbons to throw to the crowd during the victory gallop. Ballard’s mount earned lots of fans when the black gelding entered the ring and stood stock still for 30 seconds before beginning the course.
“It’s part of his routine,” said Ballard. “He stands and he stares, and he’ll look, then he’s ready to go. He’ll tell you.”
Another crowd favorite McLain Ward seemed unbeatable during this year’s Pennsylvania National, winning the $25,000 Pennsylvania Big Jump, the $25,000 NAL Open Jumper Speed, $10,000 Gem Twist Gambler’s Choice and a pair of $5,000 open jumper classes. He only loosened his stranglehold on the blue ribbons in tonight’s World Cup Qualfying class when Phillipa took a tall oxer a little too loftily and felled the back rail to finish 10th.
But tonight wasn’t a complete wash-out for Ward, who added the open jumper leading rider trophy to his mountain of prizes.
Full results for jumpers and hunters are up.
