Georgina Bloomberg and her mount Lilli scored the win over 45 starters in the $127,000 Adequan Grand Prix at the 2015 Winter Equestrian Festival. ©Kendall Bierer/PhelpsSports.
Wellington, FL – January 27, 2015 – New York City’s Georgina Bloomberg notched her first ‘Saturday Night Lights’ victory of the Florida tour on Saturday night in Wellington, as she piloted her partner Lilli to a scintillating win in the $127,000 Adequan CSI 3* Grand Prix at the 2015 Winter Equestrian Festival.
Getting by a star-studded field of 45 starters, Bloomberg then raced past four other riders in the jump-off to nail down her 11th career grand prix win, crossing the finish line a full second ahead of runner-up Laura Chapot and her mount, ISHD Dual Star. Bloomberg clocked in at 46.91 seconds while Chapot was just behind in 48.06 seconds. Wilton Porter took home third place honors, 4/10ths of a second behind Chapot in 48.43 seconds on Diamonte Darco.
Olympic Course Designer Leopoldo Palacios of Venezuela set a tough track with 14 numbered obstacles and17 jumping efforts accompanied by a tight time allowed. Only five horse and rider combinations from a starting field of 45 were able to master the track, with Bloomberg going last in the tie-breaker.
“I thought it was super. Of course, when you win you always like the course,” laughed Bloomberg. “I think it was very fair – the time was tight, as it should be. Five was a good number to have clear for a night class and it makes for an exciting jump-off.”
The list of riders that fell by the wayside tonight was a veritable who’s who of show jumping. Madden, Ward, Pessoa, Engle, Lamaze, Maher, Michaels-Beerbaum, Springsteen, Hough, Goutal, Swail, Kraut and Farrington, many with just a single rail down, couldn’t punch a ticket for tonight’s dash for cash.
Chapot and ISHD Dual Star were the trailblazers for the short course, putting in an impressive, speedy round. Ripping around the four tight turns and galloping boldly to the verticals, Chapot put up an imposing time of 48.06 seconds.
Revved up and ready to go, Todd Minikus and Babalou 41 gave chase as the next to go. And he was fast, very fast. He posted the speediest time of the night, but it came at the expense of a rail down at the vertical going into the #5ab combination. Racing home in 44.77 seconds, the added four fault penalty would relegate the pair to fifth place on the night.
Schuyler Riley challenged next with Dobra de Porceyo, and while she posted her second clear round of the night, her time was a full second and a half off of Chapot’s top pace in 49.66 seconds.
Wilton Porter clocked in at 48.43 seconds with Diamonte Darco as the next to go, just missing Chapot’s mark by a narrow 4/10ths of a second.
That set the stage for Bloomberg’s dramatic win.
She easily was up to the challenge with Lilli, making all of the well planned turns look effortless, and somewhere, somehow, slicing a full second off of Chapot’s time. Bloomberg’s winning time was 46.98 seconds. “I watched Laura go on the screen, but I didn’t get to watch the whole round,” Bloomberg said following the trophy presentation. “I didn’t actually pay that much attention because I thought that, whatever I did, she would be faster than me anyway, so there was no point in watching her go. I think my horse has a big stride and even though her horse is quicker, I tried to make up for the fact that I’m on a bigger, slower horse and I was able to leave strides out between the jumps,” she said.
It was Bloomberg’s first prime-time win under the lights on Saturday night. “I have never won a Saturday night class here before. This is my first big class of the season, so it’s nice to start out on a good note and get that first win,” she smiled. “Going under lights is very good for her. It piques the interest of most horses and sometimes being a little too relaxed during the day can change when you’re jumping under the lights, they’ll pay more attention and be more careful.”
“Lilli is an 11-year-old mare that I’ve been riding for two and half years now,” Bloomberg said of her winning partner. “She’s been serving as a second horse to my good mare Juvina. Our goal is to give Juvina some rest and have Lilli fill in little bit. I felt confident with her and she’s been jumping well over bigger jumps, so I felt like tonight was a good opportunity for her to step up. I was very happy with her. She’s had a good rest. She’s fresh and hopefully will be a good fill in for Juvina.”
But, as Bloomberg explained, the ride on Lilli can be a lot of work too. “She can be a little bit too relaxed. She’s very happy sitting in the field getting fat. So sometimes to get her motivated to show and pay attention to the jumps is difficult. I find that most times I’m a bit winded by the end of the ride, “she laughed.
Allyn Mann of Adequan, tonight’s sponsor, said, “First of all, Georgina, congratulations on your first Saturday Night Lights win. These jump-offs make the sport so exciting. Georgina you were up against having to go clean and beating the clock and somehow you found a way to do it and that’s what it’s all about. It’s the competition, the athleticism and it’s the love which we all have and that’s the horse.”
Bloomberg will represent the United States on the team competing at the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup on February 13, 2015 at 1 p.m. in the Ocala Horse Properties Stadium at HITS Post Time Farm in Ocala, Florida.
Kenneth Kraus for Phelps Media Group, Inc. International
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