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| Leslie Howard on Lennox Lewis 2. Photo by Spruce Meadows Media Services |
McLain Ward celebrated the 4th of July by winning one title that had previously escaped him—the $400,000 ATCO Power Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Spruce Meadows. It was the first major grand prix title for his exciting new horse, HH Azur. You can read more about it here. As if his weekend couldn’t get better, he then followed that up with the top check in the $85,000 Enbridge Cup on HH Carlos, a horse who has proven to be a versatile performer for Ward. “He is a remarkable little horse,” Ward said. “I have been lucky enough over the years to have a few like him. He is just a great little competitor.”
Leslie Howard scored a big title at Spruce, too, taking the $210,000 Cenovus Energy Classic Derby aboard the 16-year-old Lennox Lewis 2, a horse she’s ridden for more than a decade. “The key is just to have a good horse, and it is really that simple,” Howard said. “There are not a lot of horses that you would show in a derby, but the ones that do it well can do it with their eyes closed. I have had three or four now that are just really good at it.”
See full Spruce Meadows North American tournament results.
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| Schulyer Riley on Dobra de Porceyo. |
Down in Tryon, N.C., Schuyler Riley ended a bit of a dry spell in the grand prix ring with a top finish in the $127,000 Ariat Grand Prix aboard Dobra de Porceyo. “This is my first grand prix win in probably two or three years and it’s the first grand prix that she’s ever won, so this is a very exciting and special night for us,” Riley said.
“She’s just 9 and we did her first grand prix last fall at indoors at the Kentucky National. She really stepped up this past winter in Florida,” noted Riley. “We just know each other so well the hardest part is trying not to tell her too much. We try to keep a very clear and smooth communication, and she always looks to do the right thing for you.”
The mare has been under Riley’s guidance for most of her career, as she purchased her as a difficult and moody 6-year-old. The duo formed an inseparable bond, which was evident to the crowd tonight, as they made easy work of two technical tracks.
“She was tough. She was really difficult at the beginning and she’s a chestnut mare,” Riley said with a smile. “I took my time with her and let her know that we were going to work as a team and I was never going to try and overpower her. We channeled all of her fiery energy into what I have now. She’s probably one of my most favorite horses that I’ve ever sat on.”
See full results for Tryon Summer 2.
Irish phenom teenager Bertram Allen jumped to his first win in the Longines Global Champions Tour by claiming the Paris stop of the series. You can read more about his win aboard Romanov here.
See full results for the Longines GCT of Paris.
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| Laura Chapot on ISHD Dual Star winning the $75,000 Equine Insurance Services/Great American Grand Prix at Lake PLacid. Photo by The Book LLC |
Fifty years to the week after her mom, Mary, won the first show jumping grand prix ever held in the United States, Laura Chapot won the $75,000 Equine Insurance Services/Great American Grand Prix at the 46th annual Lake Placid Horse Shows.
One of four starters to reach the jump-off by riding without penalty over the 16-jump, first-round course designed by Richard Jeffery, Chapot was the last to try the eight-jump tiebreaker course at the North Elba Show Grounds. Chapot blazed over the course on ISHD Dual Star, a 13-year-old, Irish Sporthorse mare, and took the win.
“You really had to go fast the entire course,” Chapot said. “The one in the lead had gone very fast and if there was going to be any chance to win I knew I had to go fast right from the start. I had no intention of holding back. You might as well not go in the ring at all if you’re not going to go for it.”
Fifty years ago this week, Chapot’s mother Mary, a two-time Olympian and an inductee in the Show Jumping Hall of Fame, won the first show jumping grand prix ever held in the United States at the Chagrin Valley Horse Show in Cleveland, Ohio.
In the $15,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby at Lake Placid, Adrienne Iverson jumped to the bluw with Chapman ET.
The two judging panels of Chance Arakelian with Mindy Minetto and Jeff Ayers with Scott Williamson gave the 8-year-old, Dutch Warmblood winning scores in both the Classic (178.5) and Handy Hunter (193.0) rounds. His two-round total of 371.5 easily outdistanced the 347.0 scored by second-place finisher Captain 33, owned by Remeta Sky LLC and shown by Elle Young.
“He really is such an amazing horse,” said Iverson. “He was born to do this; it’s so easy for him. He’s so brave and has so much scope that a class like this shows off all his best qualities. I started riding him this winter and at first we had him in the first-year division but we quickly realized that he was ready for high performance. We made the move and he did well right from the start. [owner Doreen Toben] shows him in the amateur division and does very well and I really appreciate her letting me show him in this division.”
See full I Love NY Horse Show results.
Amanda Flint took the top two spots in the $30,000 Vermont Summer Special Grand Prix on July 4, winning with Superbad and placing second with VDL Wittinger at the Vermont Summer Festival. “He’s always fighting you a little bit, but he loves to run and jump,” said Flint of Superbad, who was named after the 2007 hit comedy film.
The $30,000 Vermont Summer Special Grand Prix was the only class that Superbad jumped during the first week of the Vermont Summer Festival. It’s a strategy that is paying off for Flint.
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“We did the same thing last year, saved him for Saturday and won this grand prix then, too,” she said.
See full results from the Vermont Summer Special.
Christian Heineking pulled off his own one-two double in Parker, Colo., in the $75,000 Adequan Grand Prix.
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| Christian Heineking on AJE Cluny in the $75,000 Adequan Grand Prix in Colorado. |
Heineking claiming both first and second place on his own AJE Cluny and NKH LLC’s NKH Quanto, respectively. AJE Cluny stopped the clock in 40.33 seconds while NKH Quanto crossed the timers in 41.40 seconds. John Pearce and his own Chantico finished third in 41.97 seconds. Karen Cudmore placed fourth aboard Blair Cudmore’s Super Bad in 43.23 seconds. Heineking, originally from Germany, is married to Erin Davis-Heineking, who also competed in today’s Grand Prix, claiming in sixth place aboard October Hill Hunters and Jumpers’ Alamo. Together, the couple has a 10-month-old child.
“Both of the horses [I rode today] are very different,” Heineking said. “[AJE] Cluny is a pretty new horse. I got him a year ago, and he won a grand prix at [Colorado Horse Park] last year. He is 11 years old, and he is a little bit spooky. NKH] Quanto is a mount I have had for three years, and he is 9 this year. He is just coming back from a colic, so I am very happy with him today.”
See full results from Summer In The Rockies IV.
Also see full results from:
Kelly’s Ford Horse Trials in Remington, Va.
Chattahoochee Hills Horse Trials in Fairburn, Ga.
Camelot Equestrian Park Horse Trials in Butte Valley, Calif.
