Tampa, FL – Friday, March 30, 2012 – The crowd was alive with anticipation as 10 riders moved into the Tampa Bay Welcome Stake jump-off this evening. The nation’s top riders joined the series tonight, attempting to garner the championship prize in the $32,000 Tampa Bay Welcome Stake CSI 2* at the Tampa Equestrian Series. Molly Ashe-Cawley and Carissimo were the top finishers, leading the way as only one of three double-clear efforts. Today marked the third day of competition during the Tampa Bay Classic, held at the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, FL, and riders are only beginning to gear up as the intensity of the competition progresses.
A field of 18 riders showed in the Covered Arena over Michel Vaillancourt’s first round course. It began with a large oxer to a vertical and a sharp right turn to a triple bar leading to a vertical, followed by an oxer-vertical-vertical triple combination. Riders then bended over the oxer-liverpool before making another right turn to the inside vertical-oxer line and continuing over a skinny vertical set on the outside. The course came to a close after a vertical to a vertical-oxer double combination, followed by a large final oxer.