NORTH SALEM, N.Y.--Olympic gold medalist Will Simpson on Chacco P won the $38,700 FEI 4* Speed Stake over a field of 18 on Saturday, Sept.14 at the Old Salem Farm September Horse Shows, Week 1.
Will Simpson on Chacco P (Photo by SEL Photography)Simpson was clean in 53.76 seconds, two seconds faster than any other competitor.
Nine were clean over Ken Krome’s 14 fence, 1.45m course in the Speed Stake.
No one could catch Simpson’s fast time, but fellow Olympic veteran Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil came the closest in 55.82 seconds on Corrie 9.
“This horse is a very fast horse,” Simpson said. “He’s got unbelievable footspeed. He’s 18 hands tall, but he can turn on a dime. It’s a lot of fun to ride him. He’s not the most careful horse in the world, I have to really concentrate on holding him off the jumps, but we can still go extremely fast around a course."
“It feels incredible to be back at Old Salem after not showing here for a while,” he said. “I love the direction show jumping is going in with all the new facilities, all the phenomenal venues popping up that are great for horse showing, but there’s nothing quite like an old-time horse show on historic grounds like this. It really brings back the nostalgia and passion for the sport. I’ve had a great time here this week.”
Georgina Bloomberg finished third, clean in 56.04 seconds on Sempa Fidelis.
THE AFTERNOON finished with the $40,000 Old Salem Farm 2* Grand Prix, where 39 entries representing nine nations competed over Krome’s 16 fence, 1.45m course.
Of the six riders who returned for the jump-off, Joao Eduardo Ferreira De Carvalho of Brazil had one of only two clean rounds on Quolonko Van Het Weidse Hof to win in 34.23 seconds.
“I went second in the jump-off, and I focused on just going clear,” Ferreira De Carvalho said. “My plan was to go a bit fast in the beginning because the first two lines rode well for my horse. I took one stride off each line there, then did nice turns through the rest of the course.
“This horse is younger at 8 years old, and I ride him a bit alongside his owner, Alison,” he said of the gelding owned by Alison Firestone LLC. “Right now, she wants to spend more time with her kids, so she gave me the opportunity to jump him. It’s an amazing opportunity and a really wonderful horse. It’s a pleasure to be paired with this horse.”
France’s Marie Hecart was second, clean in 34.63 seconds on Edonna D’Udine, and Ilan Bluman of Columbia was third with the fastest four round of 34.16 seconds on Ginger Chianti.