Junior and Amateur-Owner Hunter Champions Are Crowned
Wellington, FL – February 18, 2012 – As the sixth week of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival begins to wrap up, the $25,000 Suncast 1.50m took place today in the Mogavero ring. David McPherson of Great Britain rode Silver Exchange II for the win and Leonitas for second place. Nicolas Pizarro (MEX) and Saskia finished in third place. Junior and Amateur-Owner hunter champions also received
Week six of the FTI WEF, sponsored by Equine Couture/Tuff Rider will run through February 19. The $50,000 G&C Farm Jumper Derby is the highlight event on Sunday at The Stadium at 3 p.m. The 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of competition that conclude on April 1, 2012, and they will be awarding more than $6 million in prize money through the circuit.
The course designer this week in the Mogavero ring is Anthony D’Ambrosio of Red Hook, NY. There were 7 clear rounds over his course that began with 27 entries.
McPherson and Silver Exchange II, a 2001 Oldenburg gelding by Landjung x Lavallo, went early in the class and were the second to go clear. Silver Exchange II completed the jump-off course with a time of 43.295 seconds. When he returned as the last to attempt the jump-off course, McPherson was just shy of beating his leading time in 45.812 seconds on Leonitas, giving Nicolas Pizarro (MEX) third place with his time of 46.076 seconds on his mount, Saskia.
Of the course, McPherson said, “I walked the track and thought, ‘This is strong.’ I thought he [Anthony D’Ambrosio] was going to get five, maybe six, clears. It was technical; you had to have rideability, very careful.”
McPherson described his plan for today’s class: “My tactics were real simple. I just wanted to jump clean rounds with these two. They’re not up to speed to go and do heroics, at this moment in time anyway. Thank God all of my dressage is paying off somewhere down the line.”
Silver Exchange II and McPherson have been a pair for just over a year. According to McPherson, Silver Exchange II “finished off last year wonderfully and did some really good things. Then he was on a long layoff; he had a slight injury. I’ve come here and basically just jumped last weekend and this weekend, so I’m delighted with him. All of my horses came after a long holiday.”
He added with a smile, “The first three weeks for me have been a bit of a struggle. This is the third week and I’m slowly catching up. I’ve had sleepless nights about the rails I’ve had.”
McPherson and Leonitas received third place in the $8,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Jumpers earlier this week. In the year that McPherson has owned the 2001 stallion by Leone x Zeus (XXX), he states, “You could write an encyclopedia about what could go wrong. It’s not his fault ever though. So he’s playing catch up big time.”
When talking about his horses, McPherson said, “They were both 1.40m horses, coming into 1.45m. Last year both of them did do some big things, but I did have a catalogue of mishaps. Hopefully it all stays glued together this year. I’m very pleased with these two. This tour was meant to bring them on and hopefully spring, summer we can go to work in Europe.”
Being his first time at WEF, he noted, “There is no facility in the world like this, that I’ve been to anyway. It’s just unbelievable.”
Hunter Divisions Wrap Up Championships to Qualify for Hunter Spectacular
An impressive performance by Victoria Colvin this week led to championship tricolors in both the Anatares Large Junior Hunter and the Marley Goodman Small Junior Hunter 15 & Under divisions. Colvin secured 30 total points over fences to win the Large Junior Hunter division on her mount, Inclusive, a nine-year-old gelding owned by Scott Stewart. The young rider also earned reserve honors on her second mount, Way Cool, a ten-year-old chestnut gelding owned by Dr. Betsee Parker.
Colvin’s success continued as she scored another 30 points in the Marley Goodman Small Junior Hunter division atop her mount, Ovation, a twelve-year-old bay gelding also owned by Dr. Betsee Parker. Reserve championship honors went to Kate Ross and her mount, Friday Night, an eight-year-old bay gelding owned by Kar LLC; the pair finished second overall with 15 points.
Shawn Casady and Kristen Lutz achieved top honors in this week’s 16-17 Junior Hunters divisions. Casady topped the Antares Large Junior Hunter division with 21 points atop his mount, Avalon, a twelve-year-old bay gelding owned by Visse Widel. Casady was also named reserve champion on Blue Steel, an eleven-year-old gray gelding owned by Abigail McArdle.
In the Marley Goodman Small Junior Hunter division, Kristen Lutz emerged victorious, scoring 22.5 points on her mount, Huntington, a thirteen-year-old chestnut owned by Stratford Stables. Reserve champion honors went to Schaefer Raposa who scored 17 points on Winter Place, an eleven-year-old gray gelding owned by Caitlin Ziegler.
In this week’s Bainbridge Amateur-Owner Hunter 18-35 division, Adrienne Sternlicht finished on top with her mount, Mimosa. The pair collected two seconds over fences to win the division with 12 points. The reserve tricolor went to Heather Hooker and her mount, Castlekeep.
For the Elite Shavings Amateur Owner Hunter Over 35 division, Katie Robinson and her mount, Rock Steady, secured the win. Robinson and the twelve-year-old bay gelding sported the championship tricolor after winning a first and second over fences and fifth under saddle for a total of 17 points. A close reserve went to John Ingram and his nine-year-old chestnut gelding, Costar. The pair scored a second, third and fourth over fences and a fourth under saddle, finishing in reserve with 14 points.
The FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival continues this evening with the USHJA WCHR Hunter Spectacular of Palm Beach and tomorrow with the $50,000 G&C Farm Jumper Derby taking place at The Stadium.
For full results please visit www.showgroundslive.com.
About the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival
The 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of top competition running from January 11 through April 1. The FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival is run by Equestrian Sport Productions, LLC and Wellington Equestrian Partners and held at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. All 12 shows are “AA” rated and Jumper Rated 6, and more than $6 million in prize money will be awarded.
About FTI Consulting
FTI Consulting, Inc. is a global business advisory firm dedicated to helping organizations protect and enhance enterprise value in an increasingly complex legal, regulatory and economic environment. With more than 3,800 employees located in 23 countries, FTI Consulting professionals work closely with clients to anticipate, illuminate and overcome complex business challenges in areas such as investigations, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory issues, reputation management, strategic communications and restructuring. The company generated $1.4 billion in revenues during fiscal year 2010. More information can be found at www.fticonsulting.com.
Please visit www.equestriansport.com or call 561-793-5867 for more information.