Temecula, Calif. — June 1, 2022 — Competition kicked off Wednesday morning at the Nilforushan Equisport Events’ Temecula Valley National III, marking the start to the last week of spring competition. The 1.15m Jumpers took place mid-morning in the Jumper 1 ring, where 35 athlete combinations tackled the course. In the end it was Ariel Marx taking the blue ribbon aboard the gelding, Swipe Right, owned by Danine Summers.
The 14-effort, two-phase course included two one-stride combinations and a number of bending lines. Fence seven bending to eight proved to be a challenge for a number of horse and rider combinations, who ultimately had fence eight down which was a maroon musical theater vertical. Marx took being the last to face the course to her advantage. Marx and her mount Swipe Right, who also competes in the Adult Jumpers with his owner, stopped the timers in 27.25 seconds.
Right behind them was long time class leader and second place finisher, Camryn Chalmers and Camira Z. Chalmers, who owns her mount, held the time of 28.36 seconds for two-thirds of the class. Her swift turns and efficiency was thought to be unbeatable until Marx came in and ultimately beat her time and was one of only three to post a time faster than 30 seconds.
Rounding out the top three as the only other combination to cross the timers in under 30 seconds was Krista Merassa and her own Eldorado SK. Merassa piloted Eldorado SK efficiently through the course, stopping the time at 29.35 seconds, less than a second behind Chalmers and her mount. Jumper Ring 1 will round out the afternoon of competition with the 1.0m Jumpers, while the Grand Prix Ring will end the day highlighting the $5,000 1.35m Welcome Stake, sponsored by First International Bank of Pasco.
FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE:
Ariel Marx — Winner of the 1.15m Jumpers
On Swipe Right:
“He is a horse we imported a few years ago for one of our amateur clients — she owns him. I got to do him this first day and he is just such a fun ride. I am lucky to be able to ride him.”
On her winning ride:
“I thought he handled the course well — he’s pretty speedy naturally and really game for all the inside turns. So it’s fun because he’s very confident about what he is doing and loves his job.”