Lexington, Ky. – May 14, 2023 – After a full week of lively competition, the first half of the Kentucky Spring Horse Show nears a close with the pinning of the $15,000 Under 25 Grand Prix in the Rolex Stadium. Only one round showcased the sport of show jumping’s greatest, young talent, but only Daisy Farish and Orwell SCF were prosperous enough to finish the day on a fault-free round, despite 15 other horse and rider combinations making equally valiant efforts. Sabrina Lefebvre and RF Most Wanted were right on her tail coming into second place, and Tanimara Maria Macari Carillo and Feminka joined the two on the podium in third.
This unique division presents opportunities for show jumpers between the ages of 16 and 25 to compete at a level that is comparable to international, serving as a stepping stone between the Junior Jumpers and Grand Prixs. Fences can reach up to 1.50 meters in height in the Under 25 (U25) jumper division.
Making a return to the Rolex Stadium was Olympics-level course designer, Guilherme Jorge (BRA), who recently designed the season-ending $500,000 Rolex Grand Prix CSI5* at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Fla. Riders were required to maintain focus and accuracy on today’s 12-combination track, as Jorge is known for making connections between each jump, regardless of placement as a single or in a line. The first round’s course exemplified this characteristic, asking the horse and rider combinations to ride through S-shaped bending lines and a triple combination.
Fence 7a in the triple combination and the oxer at fence 6 tested many, making the list of four-faulters plentiful. Having a Time Allowed (TA) of 82 seconds, most athletes were able to cross the timers coming off of forward, steady rides; however, the first clear round wasn’t seen until the seventh combination, Lefebvre and RF Most Wanted, who still incurred two time faults.
Laurel Walker and Brume Barbotiere made a promising ride within the TA, but they had an unfortunate knock-down at 12a, which was a part of the last set of obstacles in the course. It was Farish and Orwell SCF that shook up the results with the second clear round as the second-to-last in the order of go, crossing the timers at 76.377 seconds. This effort granted the two the championship in the Grand Prix.
Orwell SCF is a 9-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding bred by Spy Coast Farm, LLC of Lexington, Ky. Owned by Lanes End Showjumping, Farish began competing with Orwell SCF in March of this year, making today’s win their first victory together.
After two eliminations, one retirement and only two rounds without jumping faults, the U25 jump-off was forewent by default. This result promised a second place spot for Lefebvre and Raylan Farms, Inc.’s 10-year-old Warmblood gelding, RF Most Wanted. Macari Carillo and her own Feminka, a 2010 KWPN mare, took third as the fastest four-faulter of the group. The two have multiple U25 podium finishes under their belt.
The Kentucky Spring Horse Show’s first week of jumper competition will conclude with the $35,000 Commonwealth Grand Prix, Sponsored by Audi of Lexington, at 2 p.m. today. Fans can watch the class live here, and the series continues next Wednesday, May 17.
Results
$15,000 Under 25 Grand Prix
Place / Horse / Rider / Owner / R1 Faults / R1 Time
- Orwell SCF / Daisy Farish / Lanes End Showjumping / 0 / 76.377
- RF Most Wanted / Sabrina Lefebvre / Raylan Farms, Inc. / 2 / 83.858
- Feminka / Tanimara Maria Macari Carillo / Tanimara Maria Macari Carillo / 4 / 71.403
- Etonemoi de Cabalero / Daisy Farish / Lanes End Showjumping / 4 / 72.406
- Brume Barbotiere / Laurel Walker / Laurel Walker / 4 / 73.883
- Crown Royal / Hayley Mercer / Hayley Mercer / 4 / 75.447
- Jack Van’t Kattenheye / Claire Schreder / Ceahorse, LLC / 4 / 76.143
- Happy Time / Claire Schreder / Ceahorse, LLC / 4 / 76.702
- Jolly-Jessy / Summer Hill / Tal Milstein / 4 / 81.147
- RMF Retro / Alexandria Beneson / Alexandria Beneson / 8 / 78.881
- Armani / Laurel Walker / Laurel Walker / 12 / 73.721
- Caiam d’Ivraie / Campbell Brown / MMK Equestrian, LLC / 12 / 74.799
