Wilhelm Genn was enjoying an excellent Sunday before he even set foot in the Grand Prix Field at the Gulf Coast Winter Classic IV today, March 7. This morning he coached his son Ryan, 18, to first place in the $15,000 Nordic Lights High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper classic on his Poco 3.
Wilhelm’s day improved even more when all four of his entries in the $25,000 Harrison County Grand Prix qualified for the jump-off. And it reached incredible heights when he earned the top three placings in the class, and all four of his horses ended in the top five. Wilhelm’s own Happy Z claimed the blue ribbon, Laura Ryan Barnaclo’s Chantal finished second, Wilhelm’s Copyright 3 took third, and Micaela Kennedy’s Loredo left with fifth place.
“I’m not tired yet,” said Wilhelm after the end of the grand prix class. “I’m still too excited!”
Only eight pairs out of the original 32-horse field qualified for the short course, meaning Wilhelm, Lebanon, Ohio, and his rides made up exactly half of the jump-off field.
With Wilhelm riding every other horse in the jump-off, he had the unique challenge of warming up each horse in a matter of minutes—a task made more complicated by the fact that all four horses required completely different rides.
“You have Happy, who is very small and set in her ways,” Wilhelm said. “I can’t do my own thing with her. I have to get on and see how she feels and then adjust my warm-up. I have to challenge Loredo. He’s a big slow horse. Chantal is big, but he’s very sensitive. The green one, which is Copyright 3, I have to pamper a little bit because he’s very fragile mentally. I have to be the most careful with him so that he doesn’t get scared.”
The final results were a slight reversal of the last few weeks in Gulfport, Miss., for Wilhelm and his team of horses. Chantal, 11, won the last three grand prix classes while Happy finished further down the rankings. This week Wilhelm decided Happy had become slightly complacent in her job and gave her a tougher jump school. That made all the difference, according to Wilhelm, and tuned her up for this afternoon’s class. The chestnut mare, 12, jumped both rounds clear and fast.
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“She was still placing; she just didn’t win,” Wilhelm said of the previous few weeks. “I think she was overconfident and didn’t have to try as hard. If you do the same thing over and over again it becomes such a routine that you’re going to make mistakes. I think that’s what happened with her. She felt super today—super sharp and fast. I could have gone faster in the jump-off, but I didn’t think I needed to.”
By the time Wilhelm entered the ring for the jump-off on Happy, he knew he was only competing against himself. Chantal also jumped clear in the short course, but with a time Wilhelm knew he could beat.
“Chantal’s just been on fire. He’s been jumping fantastic, and he loves that field,” Wilhelm said. “But the turns didn’t come up quite as nice for me with him today. From the first jump to the second I had to steady him a little bit. I can’t turn him as tight on the left side. He was great everywhere else. It was a great course and a great class.”
It was the perfect ending to a week of wins for the Genn family. Wilhelm’s older son Theo, 20, finished 12th in today’s grand prix and won Thursday’s $5,000 Open Jumper Classic with Thomas Bruinsma’s Paradox.
“I love having the boys ride with me,” Wilhelm said. “It gives me really valuable information.”
Results:
1. Happy Z/Wilhelm Genn/Wilhelm Genn 0-0/44.980
2. Chantal/Wilhelm Genn/Laura Ryan-Barnaclo 0-0/45.296
3. Copyright 3/Wilhelm Genn/Wilhelm Genn 0-0/46.200
4. Karonda V. Schl’hof Ch/Taylor Land/Taylor Land 0-4/44.160
5. Loredo/Wilhelm Genn/Micaela Kennedy 0-4/47.700
6. Carmen/Tony Font/Deana Blackburn 0-4/52.590
7. Life Is Life 15/Denise Wilson/Blue Gate Farm LLC 0-7/51.050
8. Canguro/Kris Killam/Benchmark Stable 0-16/48.911
9. Santina H/Whitney Owens/DS Holdings 4
10. No Worries/Devin Ryan/Barbara Rowland 4
