Angel Karolyi of Venezuela guides Wings to victory. Photo by © ESI Photography.
Ocala, Florida – Angel Karolyi and Wings flew to victory in the $50,000 Purina Animal Health Grand Prix held at HITS Ocala on Sunday, March 8, in Ocala, FL.
Riding for Venezuela, Karolyi was the only entry in the 37-horse starting field to jump double clear. Competing over a course designed by Florencio Hernandez of Mexico, seven horse-rider combinations were clear over the first round track to qualify for the jump-off. Karolyi was in the enviable position of being last to go, and was well aware that a clear jump-off performance would win the class.
“I figured I had to play it safe, not go too slow or too fast, and hope for the clear round,” said Karolyi of his jump-off strategy. “Wings is a veteran. When you are riding a good, experienced horse, if you do things right and give him a good ride, he is going to give you quality and carefulness. It is pretty simple as long as you keep the basics correct.”
Those correct basics led to a clear round, giving Karolyi the win – and $15,000 in first place prize money – in the $50,000 Purina Animal Health Grand Prix. Dr. Fernando Cardenas riding Quincy Car and Kristen VanderVeen riding Bull Run’s Testify placed second and third respectively, having produced the only four fault efforts in the jump-off.
Wings is a horse that Karolyi and business partner Andrea King got last spring from double U.S. Olympic gold medalist, McLain Ward. Karolyi showed the 17-year-old chestnut Dutch Warmblood gelding (Lexicon x Columbus) briefly in the spring of 2014, enjoying a second place finish in the $25,000 Carolina Real Estate Grand Prix in Aiken, SC, before turning his focus solely to his top international mounts, Amigo and Indiana 127, both owned by Hollow Creek Farm.
In what would become a ‘career year’, Karolyi spent the latter half of 2014 embarking on a show jumping world tour. He scored a major victory in the $210,000 Cenovus Energy Classic Derby during the Spruce Meadows Summer Series in Calgary, Canada before competing with Amigo at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France, marking the first time Venezuela had fielded a full team for the major championships.
In the fall, Karolyi was again a member of the Venezuelan Show Jumping Team for its debut in the Furusiyya Nations’ Cup Final in Barcelona, Spain. He then headed to Mexico for the Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz where he won the Silver Medal in the Individual Final riding Indiana 127.
Focusing on his international career meant a lot of travel and time away from the United States, where Karolyi makes his home. With 2014 in the record books, Karolyi, who is now based in Wellington, FL, traveled to Ocala to meet up with Wings, who is cared for by King at her base in Aiken, SC.
In their first competition together this year, Karolyi and Wings enjoyed success, winning the $10,000 1.45m Friday Prix on February 20.
“Wings is a horse that we got from McLain last year,” explained Karolyi. “I showed him a bit in the spring and then he stayed at home with Andrea. He had not been competing for a while, so when he won the $10,000 Friday Prix, it was very exciting for both Andrea and for me. Andrea had been working the horses and keeping them fit while I was gone, so to come off a long rest and win the $10,000 Friday Prix was exciting.”
Two weeks later, Karolyi and Wings were back to contest the HITS VIII Ocala Winter Finals, held March 3 to 8. Karolyi felt that King had put together the perfect plan to lead them to grand prix victory.
“Andrea thought up a strategy for this week,” said Karolyi of the renowned horse trainer. “We jumped a Level 6 class on Wednesday, gave Wings a day off, jumped the $10,000 on Friday, gave a day off, and then jumped in the grand prix on Sunday. I discussed it with Andrea, and we thought it was the perfect plan for the horse. It worked out, and ended up being a great result.
“I am really excited for Andrea,” continued Karolyi, 28, who has worked with King for the past seven years. “She has worked so much on these horses without me being there for the past eight or nine months, and they are all going beautifully. I am focusing on my career down in Wellington, but that is not stopping us from working together and continuing to have success.”
Karolyi’s major goal for 2015 is to compete for Venezuela at the 2015 Pan American Games, hosted in Toronto, Canada. The Pan American Games act as a qualifying event for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games where Venezuela hopes to be one of two teams to earn an Olympic berth.
Contact: Jennifer Ward
Starting Gate Communications
Cell: (613) 292-5439
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