WELLINGTON, Fla.--Paul O’Shea of Ireland on Chancelloress won the $140,000,1.50m Championship Jumper Classic Final during “Saturday Night Lights” on March 26 at the Winter Equestrian Festival.
Paul O'Shea on Channcelloress (Photo by Sportfot)During the day, Laura Chapot of Neshanic Station, N.J., won the $50,000 Grand Prix CSI2*, while on the grass Derby Field Jimmy Torano won the $50,000 USHJA International Derby.
During “Saturday Night Lights” it was announced that the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, the venue of the Winter Equestrian Festival as well as nearly 30 weeks of horse shows, will now be called “Wellington International.”
The new owners at the Global Equestrian Group promise many improvements to be made to the show grounds in the near future.
in the Jumper Classic Final, only five went clean from 48 starters in the first round over the course designed by Olaf Petersen Jr.
THE JUMP-OFF came down to a battle between the U.S. and Ireland, with Spencer Smith, Laura Kraut and Alex Matz against Ireland's Mark McAuley and O’Shea.
With three to follow, McAuley was the first clean in a time of 36.97 seconds on O’Hara ELS, but O’Shea immediately followed and shaved over a second off of McAuley’s effort in 35.51 seconds.
“I knew Alex would be fast, and that Laura was after me too,” said O’Shea. “I didn’t get to see Mark go but he is always fast, so I just tried to do the best round that I could.”
“Chancelloress felt in top form tonight, and everything was coming up easily,” he said. “She is going to do the $500,000 Rolex Grand Prix next week, and I kept that in mind when I was riding tonight so I wouldn’t overdo it.”
Second place went to McAuley as he was the only fault-free competitor besides O’Shea.
“My horse is quite inexperienced at this level, and I think this is the most important class she has ever jumped,” said McAuley. “I wasn’t really planning on being competitive tonight. I just wanted to give her a bit of experience, so I was already incredibly proud of how she coped. She has come out of this circuit with a lot of experience, and tonight I felt like she was on the same page with me and fighting with me to stay clear.”
“There were a few elements of the jump-off that were quite difficult, so I just decided I would try to jump the jumps instead of worrying about being fast,” said McAuley. “The blue double-combination was already difficult in the first round so I knew turning tighter back to it would be hard, and the last oxer was very delicate. I knew no matter what I did, the riders that were behind me would most likely be faster, so I am just happy to have left the jumps up.”
Matz on Cashew CR, owned by Dorothy Matz, looked as if they would beat O’Shea in the final moments but had the last oxer on course down for four faults score in a time of 34.77 seconds.
“He is an incredible horse, and he has been everything for me,” said Matz. “He introduced me to doing the grand prix level, and he is an amazing fighter with a big heart. He doesn’t have all of the scope in the world, but he makes up for it with determination.”
For the 25-year-old, to be on the podium with McAuley and O’Shea was a special moment.
“I look up to both of these riders tremendously, and it is an honor to be competing against them,” said Matz. “I have a lot to learn from them, but it is helpful when I get to see them in action.”
Ireland's Shane Sweetnam was the overall victor of the 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic Series.
Despite never having worn the winning cooler, Sweetnam’s consistency and six top-five placings throughout the season with four different mounts was enough to earn the honors.
“This series produces an incredibly tough class every week, and the level of competition in these classes is set at a very high standard,”said Sweetnam. “You need to have a good string of horses. This year I had an up-and-coming group of horses as well as some older ones, and it worked out well. While I did not win any, I was consistent at being towards the top of the class each week and that consistency is what ended up winning it overall.”
CHAPOT on Chandon Blue couldn't be caught in $50,000 Grand Prix CSI2*
Laura Chapot on Chandon Blue (Photo by Sportfor)Forty-five competitors advanced from the field of 89 field in Thursday’s qualifier for the Grand Prix, and 15 of those went clean to makeit to the jump-off.
“My plan for the first round was just to keep him focused all the way through the course, because he tends to want to get a little bit running towards the end,” said Chapot. “In the last line coming away from home, I wasn’t sure I was going to quite make the turn to it. Fortunately, he’s fast enough and got his eye on the jump, and once he gets his eye on the jump, he’s good to go.”
Conor O’Regan of Ireland was the first in the jump-off and was clean on Mendini DR in 36.95 seconds.
Alison Robitaille then shaved off a few tenths of a second, crossing the timers in 36.41 seconds on Oakingham Lira.
Chapot was eighth to go and finished in 35.42 seconds.
Jessica Springsteen on Naomi van het Keizershof came very close, but ended up in second place in 35.46 seconds, with Robitaille third and O’Regan fourth.
“It wasn’t really my favorite jump off for him, because it was very twisty-turny, especially with the inside turn to the third jump,” said Chapot. “Fortunately, I was late enough in the order that it became obvious that that turn was absolutely necessary to win. I tried to just take my time and not let him get too strong to that point.”
“I kind of had to rein back my inner desire to go faster and just trust that he’s such a quick horse. I know if I can keep him thinking and looking, he carries a lot of speed naturally, so more often than not, he’ll finish up in the top group.”
In addition to this win, Chandon Blue ,17, also won the $50,000 National Grand Prix, held under the lights during week 2.
“He felt fantastic this whole week. He was really rideable and just so into it,” she said. “I think he’s actually just coming up to his high point. He’s started to finally get relaxed in the ring and get down to business, so I’m feeling like we’re really prepared for the rest of the year.”
“In the schooling area, he bucks and plays after the jump. You can tell he really enjoys the job and really understands when he does it well,” Chapot said. “We have to disregard the number on his passport a little bit and just keep looking to the horse for him to tell us what he wants to do or not. We always want to be a little cautious with him, but for now he comes out every time and wants to go, so he hasn’t shown us he wants to slow down just yet.”
TORANO once again won on the grass on Laskano, beating a field of 30 in the $50,000 USHJA International Derby.
Jimmy Torano on Laskano (Photo by Sporfot)Torano was one of the top 12 from the start to return over Ken Krome’s handy course.
Krome designed a handy phase that included multiple rollbacks, a trot fence, and a two-stride combination in a bending line to a bounce, and competitors could earn four additional points for high options and were rewarded with extra points for handiness.
The top 12 returned in reverse order and after returning 10th, Hannah Isop on Red Ryder scored a total of 210 in the handy, which put Isop in the lead and put the pressure on Torano.
“I really had the advantage of coming in with the pressure off of me today since we were so low in the order,” said Isop. “I just went in and decided to have some fun, but he was jumping out of his skin and turning as tight as he could have.”
Torano however earned another score over the 200-mark with a total of 206 points to again led the field, and Torano with Laskano had an overall score of 393 points.
“I had seen Hannah’s round and knew it was going to be hard to top, but I didn’t know what some of the other competitors that were ranked higher had gotten,” said Torano. “My plan was then just to ride the track I had originally decided on and to not let up the pressure anywhere. I could have easily lost the class after Hannah, so I pulled out all of the stops and took risks everywhere I could.”
“Bottom line, he is just a good horse,” said Torano. “I can always count on him, and I know him like the back of my hand. He followed me the entire way from start to finish today, and he didn’t have one lead change the entire course. If I think left, he goes left; we know each other that well.”
Kelley Farmer was third on Story To Tell, a horse that is competing for the first time in the U.S.
“My horse is a bit green, and yesterday was only his first derby experience ever,” said Farmer. “I didn’t know what to expect, but he’s a beautiful jumper and incredibly brave. I wanted to be as handy as I could, and for his second horse show I was pretty proud of him. He has a beautiful style, and I knew he could go around nicely today.”
