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Grand PrixMarcus Ehning, King of Rio
 Photo: Marcus Ehning, by Cymon Taylor. There was a lot riding on the last day of the GCT: the Million Euro Bonus, the Grand Prix of Brazil and the Leading Rider Award, which itself was worth over 25’000 Euro to the winner. Uliano Vezanni was in charge of building the course to sort them out and the first round produced eleven clear rounds but to the amazement of many, Marco Kutscher, leader of the GCT rankings, was not among them when he had two down with Catoki. And Jos Lansink’s chance of snatching the winner’s part of the Bonus disappeared when Spender S had two fences down. But Marcus Ehning was in the eighteen second round contestants and so was Edwina Alexander, lying in fourth but ready to capitalise on anyone else’s misfortunes. Must Be Minikus! Todd Minikus and Little Annie Capture the $40,000 HITS Grand Prix, Presented by Pfizer Animal Health, to Qualify for the Pfizer Million
 Todd Minikus and Little Annie in the $40,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, at HITS Culpeper. SAUGERTIES, NY (August 24, 2010) — Todd Minikus and Little Annie, owned by Todd Minikus LTD, captured Sunday’s $40,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, to highlight the Winston National at HITS Commonwealth Park in Culpeper, Virginia. The win marked Minikus’ eighth Grand Prix needed to become eligible for the Pfizer Million and he now enters the top 20 of the Eligible Rider Rankings at number 17. Minikus, of Loxahatchee, Florida, and Little Annie were one of 25 horse-and-rider combinations to ride the course designed by Jerry Dougherty of Bokeelia, Florida, which saw six pairs advance to the jump-off. “I thought Jerry [Dougherty] did a great job setting the course and getting six clean,” said Minikus. Georgina Bloomberg and Fiedi 3 Soar to $30,000 Bluegrass Festival Grand Prix Victory at Bluegrass Festival Horse Show
 Georgina Bloomberg and Fiedi 3 won the $30,000 Bluegrass Festival Grand Prix Victory at the Bluegrass Festival Horse Show. Photo By: Rebecca Walton/PMG. Lexington, KY – August 22, 2010 – It was a beautiful and sunny Kentucky afternoon, for the final day of the Bluegrass Festival Horse Show. Today riders competed for top prizes during the jumper divisions in the new Indoor Ring at the picturesque Kentucky Horse Park. The highlight event of the day was the $30,000 Bluegrass Festival Grand Prix where Georgina Bloomberg and Fiedi 3 stole the show after completing an incredible double clear-effort with a blazing jump-off time of 40.83 seconds. Today’s class featured a course designed by Richard Jeffery of Bournemouth, England. The first round included an oxer-vertical double combination and a vertical-vertical-oxer triple combination, with numerous bending lines. Six riders were able to show perfection over the technical first round track and advance to the short course. For the shortened tiebreaker test, they began by jumping a wide oxer in the corner and then made a right turn to the double combination before galloping to the end of the ring to jump a single vertical. Next they made a left turn to another oxer and then had a long gallop to an oxer-vertical bending line. Riders finished by galloping home off the left lead over a tall, single vertical. Laura Kraut Wins Again in Valkenswaard
 Laura Kraut. Photo by Lulu Kyriacou. Laura on the Double! 14/08/10 – There was no stopping Laura Kraut at Valkenswaard today. Having already won the warm up speed class on Unique, she proceeded to cap a memorable day by jumping three clears for the second time in two weeks to clinch her second GCT Grand Prix victory in the same period! The American who prior to Chantilly had never won a Grand Prix on the series, now has a back to back double, something that has not happened in recent GCT history, if ever. Today’s show was also especially notable as His Royal Highness Prince Albert of Monaco was among the audience. The first round was another Uliano Vezzani masterpiece. With nearly every fence falling at some point the bogey fences were probably the combination (vertical, two strides, oxer, one stride, vertical) and the early line which included the open water with five strides to a double. But the course still produced 12 clear rounds from 50 starters, including Laura, GCT rankings leader Marco Kutscher (Cash) and former GCT Champion Jessica Kurten (Castle Forbes Myrtille Paulois). With a share of the million Euro bonus at stake and only Rio left to score points towards winning it, there was a lot to play for as the second round started over a changed but slightly shorter course. Pressure was put on the leaders by the first of the four faulters from the first round, Judy Ann Melchior with Levisto Z. The grey made it all look easy although Kevin Staut matched the feat on another grey, Silvana, but it was looking for a while as if a double clear would never happen. The capacity crowd groaned as Patrick McEntee (Chivas Mury Marais), Penelope Leprevost (Topinambour), Jos Lansink (Valentina Van T’Heike), Beezie Madden (Coral Reef Via Volo), Alvaro de Miranda (AD Ashleigh Drossel Dan) and Jessica Kurten all lowered one rail each leaving all of them on a total of four over two rounds. Laura was the first to go double clear and then she was joined by Christian Alhmann and Taloubet Z, Denis Lynch with Latinus and almost inevitably, Marco Kutscher. Read more> http://www.horsesinthesouth.com/article/article_detail.aspx?id=11805 The Global Champions Tour 2010, Valkenswaard, HollandThe Global Champions Tour Comes Home The emerald grass arenas of Stal Tops, home to Global Champions Tour (GCT) President and Founder Jan Tops, welcome the series he created home this weekend coming. The world’s best riders and horses will descend on Holland hoping to win the Grand Prix of Holland presented by the VDL Groep but there is also a full supporting programme in Valkenswaard to keep everyone entertained before and after that class. Horse Festival Valkenswaard will run the second week of their CSI** concurrently and there is also the exciting Derby to watch on Sunday afternoon so there will always be some top class jumping for visitors to enjoy. And with general admission and parking completely free, over 30’000 people made the most of the experience in 2009. This year the show is hoping all of the world’s top five will be attending, although Eric Lamaze is waiting for final clearance from his doctor at the beginning of the week. But Puis Schwizer, Kevin Staut, Marcus Ehning and Rolf Goran Bengsston are confirmed at time of writing. In addition, the three top ranked ladies, Jessica Kurten, Edwina Alexander, and Penelope Leprevost, are confirmed. And of course, the home fans will be waiting cheer the return of their winning Nations Cup team from Dublin, especially double clear round hero, Eric Van Der Vleuten. This is the first year that the GCT is proud to welcome Jaeger Le Coultre to Stal Tops in their role as official time keeper after a successful start to the collaboration between the two companies in Turin and Cannes. Please visit the GCT website at www.globalchampionstour.com for more details on Jaeger Le Coultre as well as the full show programme. Lulu Kyriacou GCT Press Agent Crelido and Michael Morrissey Dash to Victory in $50,000 Rood & Riddle Grand Prix at Kentucky Summer Classic
 Michael Morrissey and Crelido won the $50,000 Rood & Riddle Kentucky Grand Prix at the Kentucky Summer Classic. Photo By: Kenneth Kraus Lexington, KY – August 7, 2010 – An incredible crowd turned out tonight at the Kentucky Horse Park to watch the nation’s best riders compete for the top prize during the $50,000 Rood & Riddle Grand Prix at the Kentucky Summer Classic. The first round featured a long and demanding track that only five riders were able to complete without fault. The jump-off proved to be even more exciting when Michael Morrissey and Crelido beat Margie Engle aboard Indigo by just two-tenths of a second for the hard fought win. Thirty-one riders competed over Dave Ballard’s first round course tonight in the new Indoor Ring at the Horse Park in Lexington. There were sixteen jumping efforts which included a liverpool fence, a double combination and a triple combination. The technical aspects of the course and tight time allowed proved difficult for many riders. Five riders were able to complete clear rounds, but only two riders had four-fault efforts while numerous other incurred faults from rails and time. Adelinde Cornelissen & Jerich Parzival Win Exquis WDM Freestyle at Hickstead
 Adelinde Cornelissen on Jerich Parzival holding aloft the Exquis World Dressage Masters trophy with Mike Rutherford and wife, Angie, on left and WDM Chief Executive Officer Anthony Kies, and Tosca and Kees Visser of Moorland Stables. © 2010 Ken Braddick HICKSTEAD, England, Aug. 1 — Adelinde Cornelissen and Jerich Parzival dominated the final Exquis World Dressage Masters of the year with a resounding victory in the Grand Prix Freestyle Sunday with Dutch team mate Hans Peter Minderhoud on Exquis Nadine was runner-up. Adelinde and the 13-year-old chestnut gelding ranked No.2 in the world, received a score of 85.650 per cent with Hans Peter and the mare receiving marks of 78.850 percent in the €60,000 (US$78,000) freestyle. Great Britain’s Laura Bechtolsheimer and Andretti, who had finished second behind Adelinde in the Grand Prix, was third on 78.250 per cent. Adelinde and Parzival had won the Grand Prix with a score of 81.362 per cent, a margin of eight percentage points over the second placed pair. Great Britain’s Carl Hester, in the first CDI5* since getting the ride back on Liebling II, won the €30,000 (US$39,000) Moorlands Grand Prix Special earlier Sunday, and most likely secured a place on Great Britain’s team for the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky next month. Henri Kovacs and Sassicaia II Race to $40,000 KY Summer Grand Prix Victory at Kentucky Summer Horse Show
 Henri Kovacs and Sassicaia II won the $40,000 KY Summer Grand Prix at Kentucky Summer Horse Show. Photo By: Kenneth Kraus Lexington, KY – August 1, 2010 – The curtain closed on the Kentucky Summer Horse Show, the first in the summer series, and the last event of the week did not disappoint. The week featured classes such as the NAJYRC finals and the $30,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic, and the most prize money was offered in this evening’s $40,000 Kentucky Summer Grand Prix, sponsored by Audi of Lexington. As the sun set over the Kentucky Horse Park’s Main Outdoor Stadium it was 20-year-old Hungarian Henri Kovacs garnering the win with Plain Bay Farm’s Sassicaia II in their third Grand Prix victory as a team here in Lexington. Thirty-two entries competed over today’s 13-obstacle, 1.50 m course, designed by Olaf Petersen, Jr. The technically demanding track included a wall fence, triple bar, a double combination and a triple combination. The distances in the related lines required control of the mount, and a tight time allowed required a precise route to break the beam within the 80-second time allowed, which already had been lengthened from the original 72 second limit. Adelinde & Parzival Post Best Ever Grand Prix Score to Win Exquis World Dressage Masters at Hickstead
 Adeline Cornelissen and Jerich Parzival. © 2010 Ken Braddick HICKSTEAD, England, July 31 — Adelinde Cornelissen rode Jerich Parzival to victory at the Exquis World Dressage Masters Saturday with their best ever Grand Prix score of 81.362 per cent while Laura Bechtolsheimer and Andretti turned in their best ever result of 73.362 per cent for runner-up and home side joy. Hans Peter Minderhoud and Exquis Nadine, selected to be on the Dutch team with Adelinde at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky in September, finished third with 70.936 per cent. The €10,000 (£8,320/US$13,000) Grand Prix kicked off the fifth and final CDI5* event for 2010, the second year of the richest lineup of dressage competitions that started with Palm Beach, USA, then moved to Munich, Germany, Cannes, France and Falsterbo, Sweden for the first time. Each of the events carries total prize money of €100,000 (£83,200/US$130,000). Ward Is In! McLain Ward & Goldika 559 Won the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix at HITS-on-the-Hudson IV to Earn a Spot in the Pfizer Million Eligible Rider Rankings
 © ESI Photography. McLain Ward and Goldika 559 in the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, at HITS Saugerties. SAUGERTIES, NY (July 27, 2010) — Olympic Gold Medalist McLain Ward and Goldika 559 won the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, on Sunday, marking the third Grand Prix victory for the duo this year in the Strongid® C 2X Stadium at HITS Saugerties. Ward, of Brewster, New York and 18-year-old mare Goldika 559, owned by McLain Ward & Blue Chip Bloodstock, were one of 27 horse-and-rider combinations to take the field on a course designed by International Course Designer Florencio Hernandez of Mexico City, Mexico, which saw just four pairs advance to the jump-off. Hernandez’s first-round course proved challenging, as the first six competitors pairs failed to go clean, with a majority of faults coming in the two double combinations. The time allowed, at 83 seconds, was tight as well and caused many to incur time faults over the course. |
