HARRISBURG, Pa.--Carly Anthony on Fayuri won the $100,000 Grand Prix de Penn National, beating Olympic veteran Rodrigo Pesoa by just three tenths of a scond on Saturday evenng, Oct. 19 at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show.
Carly Anthony on Fayuri (Photo by Andrew Ryback)Anthony won over starting field of 38, and 14 made the jump-off over the course set by Anderson Lima.
Anthony went ninth in the jump-iffm and the time to beat was 34.462 seconds, set by Peter Lutz on Katriona, but Anthonymade besting that time look easy, stopping the clock in 32.679 seconds to take over the top spot.
Of the remaining five to return, three got between Anthony and Lutz, but none was faster than Anthony.
Olympic veteran Rodrigo Pessoa on Corrie 9 was second in 32.914 , and Caitlin Boyle on Prianti van het Mikkenho was third in 33.067 seconds
Adrienne Sternlicht on Kumina Della Caccia finished fourth on 34.300 seconds, and Lutz on Katriona ultimately held on to fifth place.
“The jump-off was definitely a lot of fun!” said Anthony. “With 14 in it and going near the end, I had an advantage which was really nice. There weren’t too many places you could be different by making an inside turn, leaving a stride out. So, your horse had to be quite quick today. Starting with a good ground speed and keeping it up through the whole jump-off was definitely to your advantage. I think my horse jumped and turned impeccably. I could not have asked for tighter turns and quicker ground speed. He executed exactly how I wanted him to, and I’m very grateful for his effort.”
“HE'S A WONDERFUL horse,” said Anthony. “He has a huge heart, a fighting spirit, and he loves to go fast. We’ve taken a little bit of time to get to know each other. Today, I’d say we definitely clicked. It’s been really fun to enjoy that process with him and to see our work paying off.”
Fayuri was the 1.40m Jumper Champion, and Anthony was the 1.40m Leading Jumper Rider and the 1.40m Leading Lady Jumper Rider.
Anthony last competed at the Pennsylvania National Horrse Show 20 years ago.
“Fast forward 20 years, the history, the pride, the tradition is all the same. The energy that you get when you walk into that ring has not changed,” said Anthony. “I’m very grateful to be here. To be competing at the highest level here was a tremendous honor. The show is exactly the same but different. Obviously, there are new faces; there are more horses. A lot has grown, but the tradition and energy are still the same.”