Wayne, Il. – August 3, 2017 – The $25,000 Welcome Grand Prix kicked off at Lamplight on Thursday afternoon with 33 horse and rider combinations. Leopoldo Palacias’ course featured technical spreads and combinations, as well as various options for strides and turns. Only seven pairs would advance to the jump-off, with Charlie Jayne and Ever Blue ultimately taking home the first place finish.
Riders had numerous rails down on the course during the first round, as well as a few incurring time faults, failing to stay under the 79-second time-allowed. Charlie Jayne and Tou La Moon as well as Hayley Barnhill and Imprimis were the first two contenders to go clear, eventually battling it out for the win in the jump-off.
Jayne and Tou La Moon, owned by Alex Jayne, were first to attempt the jump-off round, claiming the early lead with no faults and a quick 31.504 seconds. Barnhill and Imprimis, owned by Windswept Farm, followed Jayne, taking over the lead with a slightly faster time of 31.200 seconds.
Competitors after Barnhill tried to take over the lead, but none could catch her speedy round. Jayne re-entered the jump-off as the last to go, this time riding Alex Jayne’s Ever Blue. Focused on reclaiming his first place spot as he raced through the course, Jayne surpassed Barnhill’s lead with a 30.166 second finish to take the win.
Jayne and Tou La Moon brought home the third place finish, and fourth place went to Shannon Hicks and Emir D, owned by Helen Gilbert, finishing in 32.142 seconds. The fifth place ribbon was presented to Ashland Show Stables LLC’s Auckland De L’Enclos and Ashley Fleischhacker, finishing their jump-off clear in 35.315 seconds.
The $50,000 Grand Prix will take place on Saturday, August 5, at 4:00 p.m., with the $20,000 Jumper Derby kicking off at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 6.
RESULTS
$25,000 Welcome Grand Prix
Place / Horse / Rider / Owner / R1 Faults / Time / R2 Faults / Time
1. Ever Blue / Charlie Jayne / Alex Jayne / 0 / 75.386 / 0 / 30.166
2. Imprimis / Hayley Barnhill / Windswept Farm / 0 / 71.860 / 0 / 31.200
3. Tou La Moon / Charlie Jayne / Alex Jayne / 0 / 77.391 / 0 / 31.504
4. Emir D / Shannon Hicks / Helen Gilbert / 0 / 76.907 / 0 / 32.142
5. Auckland De L’Enclos / Ashley Fleischhacker / Ashland Show Stables LLC / 0 / 78.485 / 0 / 35.315
6. Carl Loui TSP / Sydney Swarr / High Hopes Farm L.L.C. / 0 / 77.687 / 4 / 32.900
7. Triompf / Holly Shepherd / Loretta Patterson / 0 / 78.516 / 4 / 33.301
8. Cezarro / Bryn Sadler / Showcase 81 LLC / 3 / 81.265
9. Ilan / Michael Tokaruk / Maarten Huygens / 3 / 81.557
10. Always Me / Giavanna Rinaldi / Carben Farms LLC / 4 / 68.580
11. Juju VDM / Todd Minikus / Todd Minikus LTD / 4 / 72.619
12. Winchester / Emma Sargent / Emma Sargent / 4 / 73.100
FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE
Charlie Jayne – $25,000 Welcome Grand Prix winner
On the course:
“I thought it was a very nice course, [Leopoldo Palacias] did a great job. I think there were options based on the horse you were riding. There were inside turns if you had a slower horse, there were round turns for maybe a smaller horse that’s naturally quicker. So you had the options there. I thought that all of the doubles rode tricky enough where they were, the lines were great, and I thought my horses jumped great today. I was really happy with how they performed. There were 33 strong athletes and I thought it was a great jump-off.”
On his jump-off strategy:
“My strategy going in with Tou La was being slick to the first three, and one to two I probably did one more stride than I should have with her and that’s where I lost it. The nice part is that when you have two in the jump-off, you can fix your errors. Both of my horses that were in the jump-off jumped fantastic today.”
On Ever Blue:
“That was [Ever Blue’s] first jump-off. He’s 8 years old. We bought him last year, about a year ago today was my first class with him doing the 7-year-olds. This was his first grand prix here, and I am very happy with the way he has progressed.”
On Tou La Moon:
“Tou La I’ve had for two years. As a young horse she actually had babies. Her mother was quite a famous horse for Kirsten Coe, Baroness Van D’abelendreef. She’s been great. She just stepped up to do FEI this year, so she’s done 2*, 3* and grand prix classes. Today she was fantastic. It was a nice double clear for her.”
On Lamplight:
“I love being here at Lamplight. I can’t say enough good things about it here. Nina has done a fantastic job, the facility looks great. I’ve been showing here since I could remember and I live ten minutes from here. All of my other horses that aren’t doing the grand prix classes I ship in and out and ride in the morning. I think it’s one of the prettiest facilities in the country. It’s really developed over the last 20+ years, however long it’s been here, and there was some great competition today.”
Rheinheimer Wins ASPCA Maclay, Shaw Victorious in USEF Pessoa National Hunt Seat Medal
Several competitive classes took place in the main WEC hunter arena this Thursday for Equifest II. In the ASPCA Maclay, Callie Rheinheimer aboard Steel Magnolia, owned by Heather Zuber, took first place after both the over-fences and under-saddle portions.
Finishing in second just behind Rheinheimer was Bailey Strunk on RCKL Family Limited Partnership’s Casparo 9. Rounding out the top three in the class was Stella Swarr and TJC’s Champaign, owned by The Jaeckle Centre.
Just after the ASPCA Maclay wrapped up, riders took to the ring once again for the USEF Pessoa National Hunt Seat Medal class. Ashley Shaw rode Amanda Shaw’s Contemporary into the winner’s circle after impressing the judges with their two rounds.
The second of the two rounds was a “test” round, which asked riders to navigate a tighter course with several roll-backs and a trot fence. It also had them come to a complete halt after the last fence before exiting the ring in a sitting-trot. Shaw explained that Contemporary’s handiness and balance helped her complete the test round so smoothly.
Emma Dubinsky and VDL Zingaro H, owned by Big Hollow Farm LLC, took second place in the class. Rheinheimer and Steel Magnolia were once again in the top three, claiming third place in the USEF Pessoa National Hunt Seat Medal.
In the USHJA Green Hunter Incentive earlier in the morning, Ashleen Lee and Stardust, owned by Freedom Woods, took home the championship title after earning a score of 84 in their round. Sharon O’Neill’s Talladega and Jennifer Alfano claimed second place in the class, earning a score of 79. Lee and Bel Ami, owned by Lauren Robishaw, rounded out the top three with a score of 77.
Competition will resume in the main WEC hunter arena Friday, August 4 with classes in the Amateur-Owner division and Junior Hunter divisions. The $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby and the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby sponsored by Equo US are still to come this weekend in the Smart Pak Grand Prix arena.
FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE
Ashley Shaw – USEF Pessoa National Hunt Seat Medal
On Contemporary:
“[Contemporary] is my sister’s amateur-owner hunter. I just started doing some equitation on. I’m still kind of learning on him but he’s a great horse and super fun to ride. He really shines in handys, so that makes him really good at equitation courses too. He’s very good at turning and staying smooth.”
On her rounds:
“The test round we were a little slow, but he helped me out. He was really super.”
On Lamplight:
“This is my third or fourth year at Lamplight. I have two low junior jumpers, so I love showing them in the big grand prix ring. I like how pretty the scenery is too. It’s a really cool show!”