Kent Farrington and Gazelle fly to victory over the final fence in Friday’s $126,000 Scotiabank Cup. Photos © Spruce Meadows Media Services.
Ward and Swail Win on Day Two of ‘Continental’ Tournament
Calgary, AB, Canada – June 12, 2015 – Spruce Meadows hosted the second day of competition at its ‘Continental’ Tournament CSI 5* on Friday with world-class show jumping featured in the Meadows on the Green. The highlight $126,000 Scotiabank Cup 1.55m was held in the evening with a win for USA’s Kent Farrington aboard the nine-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare, Gazelle (Kashmir van Shuttershof x Indoctro). McLain Ward (USA) and HH Azur finished second, and Pablo Barrios (VEN) and Zara Leandra placed third.
Also competing on Friday, Ward guided HH Carlos Z to victory in the $40,000 AltaGas Cup 1.45m, and Conor Swail (IRL) and Viva Colombia topped the $40,000 Friends of the Meadows Cup 1.45m.
The second week in Spruce Meadows’ Summer Series, the ‘Continental’ Tournament continues through Sunday, June 14. Upcoming highlights include Saturday’s $85,000 Repsol Cup and Sunday’s $400,000 CP Grand Prix.
Anthony D’Ambrosio (USA) is the course designer for international competition in the Meadows on the Green this week. For the $126,000 Scotiabank Cup, D’Ambrosio saw 70 entries contest his first round 1.55m track, with 18 clear rounds. In the jump-off, only seven were able to clear the course without fault.
McLain Ward and Double H Farm & Francois Mathy’s HH Azur were the first duo to clear the short course in 37.05 seconds and eventually placed second. Pablo Barrios and ZL Group, Inc.’s Zara Leandra were also clear in 37.73 seconds to earn third place honors. Up next, Eric Lamaze (CAN) jumped into fourth with his time of 38.61 seconds aboard Artisan Farms LLC’s Coco Bongo. Kent Farrington immediately followed with the winning round in 36.56 seconds riding his own and Robin Parsky’s Gazelle.
One of Farrington’s up-and-coming horses, Gazelle was recently named as his mount for July’s Pan American Games in Toronto. He got the mare at the end of her seven-year-old year and has been slowly been bringing her along with high hopes for the future.
“This year she has really stepped up to a new level and I am really excited about the horse,” Farrington noted. “She is extremely careful. She is a little bit sensitive, but I think she is a great competitor. What more can you ask for?”
Gazelle proved exactly why she is ready for the big leagues by jumping a great first round clear followed by a fantastic jump-off Friday night.
Commenting on his winning round, Farrington remarked, “These classes here are very competitive. You have extremely fast riders on a big, open field. There were a large number of horses in the jump-off today, so you knew that it was going to be very competitive.”
“I got to watch McLain go, so I knew the track that he did and what it was going to take to win,” he continued. “I took a risky move today to the last jump. I was not sure if it was possible to do eight strides, but after McLain went, I thought that was maybe the only chance to catch him. My horse has a pretty big step, so we went for it.”
The risk paid off and earned Farrington the winning prize of $41,580. Margie Engle (USA) was fifth with a clear jump-off round aboard Elm Rock LLC’s Royce in 39.39 seconds. Hardin Towell (USA) guided Jennifer Gates’ Emilie de Diamant AS to sixth in 39.40 seconds, and Emanuel Andrade (VEN) jumped the only other double clear round in 43.91 seconds aboard his own Hardrock Z to place seventh.
Ward Wins with HH Carlos Z
Earlier in the day, the $40,000 AltaGas Cup 1.45m featured 44 competitors and 13 clear rounds to jump-off. The short course saw eight double clear rounds, of which McLain Ward (USA) and Double H Farm’s HH Carlos Z completed the fastest time of the day. Ward and his speedy mount cashed in for their second win of the Summer Series, last to go in the jump-off, with a time of 34.14 seconds.
“He is like a little ATM,” Ward said of the 13-year-old Zangersheide gelding (Chellano Z x Voltaire). “He reminds me of a mare that I had years ago called Goldika, who was very similar. She was a little, pretty bay just like him, and she could also step up. She also jumped the grand prix here at the ‘Masters’ great one year, but could win any class at the show. She was a bit of an ATM too, so it is always nice to have a horse like that in your string.”
Prior to Ward’s final round, Hardin Towell (USA) was leading the jump-off with Jennifer Gates’ Lucifer V, and eventually finished second with his time of 35.49 seconds. Molly Ashe (USA) finished third and fourth with Louisburg Farm’s Balous Day Date in 36.38 seconds and Nutmeg Group LLC’s Cocq a Doodle in 36.55 seconds respectively.
“I was lucky to go at the end,” Ward remarked on his jump-off. “I did not see Hardin’s round, but I know that he is a very fast rider and he is always really competitive. I believed that we could get four strides down the first line, and I actually maybe even over did the first jump because I got the four easy. I had a little slip; the horse could have refused easily there, but he is a trooper and he jumped it. We got away with that, and then I pushed on to the last and it worked out great.”
Swail Soars to Victory
Ireland’s Conor Swail got a win in the first competition of the day riding Ilan Ferder’s Viva Colombia on Friday. The $40,000 Friends of the Meadows Cup 1.45m saw 49 entries over Anthony D’Ambrosio’s first round course, with six clear to advance to the jump-off, and four double clear rounds.
Vanessa Mannix (CAN) set the challenge with the first clear over the short course in 40.78 seconds aboard Nirvana de Terlong, eventually settling in fourth place. Olivier Philippaerts (BEL) finished in 38.21 seconds riding Ludo Philippaerts’ Aragon van Schuttershof to take the second place prize. Leslie Howard was next to go with a clear round in 38.33 seconds to finish third aboard the Utah Group’s Utah. Swail and Viva Colombia completed the final clear jump-off round in the winning time of 37.52 seconds.
A ten-year-old Oldenburg mare (Couleur Rubin x Landor S), Viva Colombia is a horse that Swail began riding at the end of the winter this year. The pair won a FEI World Ranking competition in Palgrave, Ontario, this spring and also finished third in last week’s $35,000 Encana Cup 1.45m.
“I am just getting to get to know her and I think she is a very nice horse,” Swail described. “The plan is for her to be a grand prix horse. Kirsten Coe rode her in a few big classes in Florida, so the mare has had that experience, but it is a new relationship. For me, I like to teach them to be able to go fast and run and win also, so it is nice to do the 1.45m and 1.50m competitions as well just to get to know the horse. She really is learning fast with me. She does what she is asked every time she comes out, so I am very pleased.”
Detailing his winning jump-off, Swail explained, “There were only six of us, which was nice with the amount of numbers here. It was one of those jump-offs where you did not really have much to lose. I felt I was a little slow at the start to be honest. I could have had a better shot to jump one and I probably did too many steps to fence two. The six-stride was a bit too patient for her because she has such a big step, but I think after that it was very good. Coming home, I was extremely fast, so obviously that is just where I beat the other guys.”
The ‘Continental’ Tournament continues in the Meadows on the Green on Saturday featuring the $85,000 Repsol Cup 1.50m.
For a complete tournament schedule and full results, please visit www.sprucemeadows.com.
Lauren Fisher for Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.
Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.
info@jenniferwoodmedia.com