Lexington, Ky. – July 31, 2021 – The feature event of the Kentucky Summer Horse Show, the $50,000 Rood & Riddle Grand Prix, was held Saturday evening in the Rolex Stadium with an enthusiastic crowd excited to cheer on the field of competitors during the Kentucky Horse Park’s Hats Off Day. Eleven horses advanced to the tiebreaker with clear rounds, but only David Beisel was able to master the jump-off course with Essince W as the first to return, securing a wire-to-wire victory. Kady Abrahamson and Any had the fastest 4-fault effort for second place, while Celso Ariani (BRA) and Ukulman De La Nutria rounded out the top three.
Twenty-three athletes gathered at the Rolex Stadium to compete over Anderson Lima’s (BRA) course. Winding through the expanse of the arena, the 13-effort track included an oxer-vertical-vertical triple combination, a vertical-oxer double combination and a final oxer as athletes galloped towards the gate. Eleven horses advanced to jump-off where four turns provided options to make up time as they galloped towards the final oxer once again, but only one athlete was able to answer all of the questions posed during the second phase of competition.
As the second to go during the first round, Beisel was the first to return for the tiebreaker with his own Essince W, a 12-year-old KWPN gelding by Chacco Blue. He kept a quick pace to make sure the other riders would have to chase him, but carefully left all the fences intact knowing there were 10 riders still to go, crossing the finish line in a clear 45.758 seconds.
Abrahamson, who went to her first horse show with Beisel as her trainer, was next in the ring with Any and opted to go for the victory, trying to speed around the track with her 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding. They had the pace to beat Beisel, but it came at the expense of a single rail for a 4-fault effort in 43.059 seconds, which would be good enough for second place.
Thursday’s winners of the $25,000 Kentucky Summer Classic, Ariani and Ukulman De La Nutria, were the only other pair to finish the track in less than 45 seconds, but they also lowered the height of a fence for 4-faults in 44.943 seconds for the third-place honors.
Beisel’s careful round with Essince W would prove to be the lone double clear of the night as they captured the night’s winning title. The victory was made extra special for Beisel with Abrahamson, his former student, placing second. Beisel, who won the same grand prix in 2017 with Ammeretto, has been riding Essince W for three years and appreciates the talented gelding’s consistency in the ring.
The Rolex Stadium will resume jumper competition at 8:00 a.m. Sunday morning with the Low Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic. Following the conclusion of competition on Sunday, jumper competition will resume on Tuesday, August 3, during the Kentucky Summer Classic.
FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE
David Beisel – $50,000 Rood & Riddle Grand Prix winner
On Essince W:
“I’ve had him for three years and I’m quite fond of him. This is maybe his second time in Kentucky, last summer I had one rail down in the grand prix, so it’s nice to come back and be clear!”
On the course:
“I love this arena – it’s always magical. I love Anderson’s courses. I think he does a great job and the jump-off was a lot of fun.”
On his strategy:
“For the first round, I thought he set a fairly straightforward course, not too many tricks. Then for the jump-off, I haven’t had him out in too many galloping fields like this but he loves to go. So I was trying to let him gallop but still give a little time for the jumps. It’s hard when you have 10 people coming behind you. I was trying to go fast enough, maybe put a little pressure on everybody to try and go fast. He jumped fantastic – he loved it out there!”
On Kady Abrahamson:
“She’s all grown up now, but I started teaching her on ponies. I took her to her first horse show. So long-time trainer, so it’s fun to see her grow up and do so well. It was nice to get to beat her because she’s been beating me lately!”
On showing at Kentucky:
“It’s pretty special! It’s been a long time since I won a grand prix here. It’s great to do that again. I think it’s a great place and the crew here puts on a fantastic horse show.”
RESULTS
$50,000 Rood & Riddle Grand Prix:
Place / Horse / Rider / Country / Owner / R1 Faults | Time / R2 Faults | Time
1. Essince W / David Beisel / USA / David Beisel / 0 | 84.983 / 0 | 45.758
2. Any / Kady Abrahamson / USA / Abrahamson Equestrian LLC / 0 | 79.501 / 4 | 43.059
3. Ukulman De La Nutria / Celso Ariani / BRA / Ricardo Romero / 0 | 83.755 / 4 | 44.943
4. Dandy / Kaitlin Campbell / USA / HD Horses / 0 | 81.650 / 4 | 45.635
5. Valmont De Vizy / Kelly Ariani / USA / Marigot Bay Farm / 0 | 81.374 / 4 | 46.815
6. Haydee M / Mattias Ekeroth / SWE / Mattian Ekeroth LLC / 0 | 81.397 / 8 | 46.725
7. La Belle SCF / Summer Hill / USA / Summer Hill / 0 | 84.860 / 8 | 49.879
8. Love / Nora Gray / CAN / Molly Ohrstrom / 0 | 83.037 / 8 | 57.873
9. Feramoon G / Danielle Torano / USA / Danielle Torano / 0 | 82.485 / 9 | 58.200
10. Caiman Des Sequoias / Nicole Loochtan / USA / Nicole Loochtan 0 | 80.349 / EL
11. My Pleasure / Hayley Barnhill / USA / Riley McKesson / 0 | 83.033 / RT
12. Vagabon De La Vallee / Chris Ewanouski / USA / Chris Ewanouski / 4 | 80.313