Wayne, Ill. – Aug. 9, 2019 – While the $5,000 National Derby took place in the Main Hunter Arena, jumper competition got underway in the Grand Prix Arena at the Lamplight Equestrian Center. The picturesque backdrop of lush greenery and blue skies made for the perfect morning for some action-packed competition in the High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumpers. Topping the ranks of the Friday morning class was Ashley Shaw and her horse Adico.
Of the riders to take on the 10 obstacle course, only two were able to produce a clear round and advance to the jump-off, one of which was the final horse-and-athlete combination to enter the arena, Shaw and Adico. Moving into the jump-off, Shaw and Adico soared over the shortened course to a time of 43.352 seconds. With no competitors left to challenge their time, the pair were placed at the top of the leaderboard and awarded the blue ribbon.
Adico, a 14-year-old Anglo European gelding, has been under the ownership of Shaw for two years now. Described by Shaw as a great teacher, Adico has brought the young rider through the ranks, reaching the 1.40m height in April. Shaw has plans of taking the gelding to the National Horse Show in the fall to round out her junior career before becoming an amateur.
Previous to Shaw’s winning ride, Lynsey Whitacre and Barillo W tackled the course. Their clean ride in the first round made them the first pair to attempt the seven-obstacle jump-off course. Pioneering a clear track, Whitacre and the 16-year-old Canadian Warmblood gelding stopped the timers at 44.352 seconds to put them in second place at the end of the class.
As the first to try their hand at the course, Jonathan Cohen and Lander put 4 faults on the scoreboard in their first round. Although they did not advance to the jump-off, their first round time of 67.493 seconds was the fastest of the 4-fault rounds, leading Cohen and the 8-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding to the third place position.
Leading up to the High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumpers, the fences were set for the 1.35m Open Jumpers where Jacqueline Steffens rode Andrew Kocher’s Dyrusa H to double clear rounds and the fastest jump-off time to win the class. Racing through the timers after two clear rounds to take second place was Liz Atkins and Carletta, while Steffens also rode to third place with Carson Grisham’s Gap Van de Kai.
Jumper competition will resume at the Lamplight Equestrian Center Saturday, August 9, with the $25,000 Grand Prix set to begin at 4 p.m. For more information about the Equifest show series or the Lamplight Equestrian Center, visit www.lamplightequestriancenter.com
FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE
Ashley Shaw – High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumpers winner
On Adico:
“I got Adico about two years ago and he has taken me from the Low Junio/AOs to the Highs, which we moved up to in April. I would say my favorite thing about him is how much heart he has. He loves to jump, he knows when it’s a jump-off and he is just a really good teammate, he is very forgiving.”
On her rounds:
“I liked the course. I thought it was a good Friday course with some flowing lines and it wasn’t too challenging. My goal was to have a nice clean first round and just to ride well. In the jump-off, I knew I didn’t need to run to win because Adico is a naturally fast horse and we were the last ones to go. I was just hoping to be efficient with my track and make sure that we were fast enough, but not any faster than it needed to be. It was a good round to set up the week.”
On her plans for the future with Adico:
“I age out at the end of this year, so my goal is to take him to Prix des States and ride for Zone 7 in the fall. I also would love to go to National Horse Show with him in Kentucky. I got to do Washington in the 1.30m jumpers last year and that was really fun, so I am hoping to at least to Harrisburg and then the National Horse Show in Kentucky this fall. ”
On Lamplight Equestrian Center:
“I have shown here since I was 13 years old. I did the Children’s Jumpers the first time I was here, so I love riding in the Grand Prix Ring. It is just such a pretty show facility and love getting to come back each year and getting to move up a division”
RESULTS
High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper results:
Place / Horse / Rider / Owner / R1 Faults / R1 Time / R2 Faults / R2 Time
1. Adico / Ashley Shaw / Ashley Shaw / 0 / 69.339 / 0 / 43.585
2. Barillo W / Lynsey Whitacre / Lynsey Whitacre / 0 / 68.171 / 0 / 44.352
3. Lander / Jonathan Cohen / Jonathan Cohen / 4 / 67.493 / – / –
4. Diamond D / Natalie Jayne / Natalie Jayne / 4 / 68.041 / – / –
1.35m Open Jumper results:
Place / Horse / Rider / Owner / R1 Faults / R1 Time / R2 Faults / R2 Time
1. Dyrusa H / Jacqueline Steffens / Andrew Kocher / 0 / 71.900 / 0 / 33.977
2. Carletta / Liz Atkins / Benchmark Stables LLC / 0 / 72.524 / 0 / 34.055
3. Gap Van de Kai / Jacqueline Steffens / Carson Grisham / 0 / 75.842 / 4 / 36.245
4. Catokio / Stephan Foran / Freedom Woods / 4 / 71.833 / – / –
5. Peter Pan / Alexandra Veleris / 4 / 73.606 / – / –
6. Furst / Rebecca Lannoye / Rebecca Lannoye / 4 / 74.540 / – / –
7. Calordo / Jacqueline Steffens / Bertrand Legriffon / 4 / 79.976 / – / –