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Peter Lombardo Captures Numerous Championships in His Alltech National Horse Show Hunter Premiere

Peter Lombardo and Jane Fraze’s Academy Award. Photos by Shawn McMillen Photography.

Lexington, KY – November 3, 2013 – The bluegrass fields of Kentucky held more than beauty for professional hunter rider and trainer Peter Lombardo. The rolling fields were the ideal setting for the West Coast rider as he took his talented mounts on trail rides leading up to their premiere at the Alltech National Horse Show, 130th Edition, and it worked. Lombardo successfully captured the High Performance Hunter Championship with Ante Up, took the Green Conformation Reserve Championship aboard Academy Award and even navigated Typecast alongside Sybil Rose to the Performance 3’3″ Hunter Championship. Although the Los Angeles-based trainer had to do a little convincing to his clients and owners, the 2013 Alltech National Horse Show became a reality for the team at Frontier Farms. It took long trips for both the riders and horses, but Lombardo had his heart set on attending the prestigious competition.

“I really wanted to come to this horse show,” Lombardo explained. “I had to do some talking to convince everyone that we should do it. I think everyone is really happy and glad that we decided to make the trip, and they enjoyed the horse show. I had heard so much about this horse show, and for me the National Horse Show has so much meaning.”

The first time Lombardo competed at the National Horse Show, he was a 13-year-old. He fondly remembers his time in Madison Square Garden. “The Garden just had such excitement being in a city,” he said. “But it wasn’t necessarily the easiest for everybody, especially the horses. This has it all, because it is a very nice facility. Kentucky is really nice, and they really enjoyed it. It has a real flare to it. It is the equine epicenter – the racing, steeplechasing, American Saddlebreds, dressage, eventing and hunter/jumpers are all here.”

Lombardo relocated to Moorpark, CA about 13 years ago, and making the trip from California has proven to be not only a real commitment but also a special experience.

The winner’s circle saw Lombardo and his students several times throughout the week of competition. He rode Ante Up, owned by Janie Andrew, to the High Performance Championship, a special win for both Lombardo and Andrew, since he has been training her for the last five years.

“He’s a very experienced horse,” Lombardo said of Ante Up. “It was a nice division, and there were really good courses. The handy was a very difficult track. I watched a few horses go and then developed a strategy to do it smoothly, and to keep him calm. It was very hard, but it was really exciting. I think it affected him in a way that he jumped extremely well. He paid attention. I think my stake was the best class; he just jumped great.”

Janie Andrew and Ante Up
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Janie Andrew and Ante Up

Ante Up went on to show in the Amateur-Owner Over 35 Hunters on Thursday and Friday with Andrew. Lombardo stood ringside as he watched the pair tackle the courses where they took a third over fences and in the under saddle, and returned to watch as Jane Fraze and Academy Award took on a similar course in the Amateur-Owner 3’3″ Over 35 Hunters. Fraze rode the bay gelding to the second in the under saddle and earned good ribbons over fences.

Earlier in the week Lombardo had shown Academy Award in the Green Conformation Hunters, where they were awarded the reserve championship. They also nabbed top ribbons in the First Year Green Working Hunters, winning the blue ribbon in the stake.

“Academy Award was just imported about a year ago now from Denmark, and he only started jumping 3-foot, 6-inches in late April,” Lombardo described. “So he has really come along fast. He is very competitive. Jane has done him in the Low Amateur-Owner Hunter division. He is only a 6-year-old, so I don’t let her do it all the time, but she had enough points to qualify for the Alltech National Horse Show, so she also showed him here, too.”

Lombardo continued, “I think for Academy Award, winning was very exciting for us. He was so great his first time indoors. To do so well, we of course thought he might, but you never know the outcome. He was right there, and just wonderful.”

It was an dual effort in the Performance 3’3″ Hunters as Lombardo rode Typecast the first day to the first and second place over fences, and then Sybil Rose guided him to the championship with their second day placings sealing their rank. In the Amateur-Owner 3’6″ 18-35 Hunters, Rose again turned in top performances aboard Typecast. They finished second in the first over fences class, fourth in the handy round and second in the under saddle.

Sybil Rose and Typecast
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Sybil Rose and Typecast

“I would like to come back,” Lombardo expressed. “For me, the story I tell the other trainers is that I really trail rode all week. I didn’t go to any rings, and that helped the horses to be fresh, happy and jumping well. You would think that if you keep doing Indoors, they would get better, but I thought I would think outside of the box so it wouldn’t get stale. The Kentucky Horse Park is a true horse oasis, and we utilized everything it had to offer.”

The Alltech National Horse Show, for the second year in a row, received a top ranking from NARG, the North American Riders Group and was named the Show Hunter Hall of Fame Horse Show of the Year in back to back years. The 130th edition came to a conclusion today with the ASPCA Alfred B. Maclay Finals, but plans are already in the works for the 2014 Alltech National Horse Show.

About Alltech:
Founded by Dr. Pearse Lyons, Alltech is a global animal health and nutrition company with 31 years’ experience in developing natural products that are scientifically proven to enhance animal health and performance. With more than 2650 employees in 128 countries, the company has developed a strong regional presence in Europe, North America, Latin America, the Middle-East, Africa and Asia. For further information, visit www.alltech.com. For media assets, visit www.alltech.com/press.

Alltech is the proud title sponsor of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2014 in Normandy. For more information about these prestigious global championships, visit www.alltechfeiweg2014-normandy.com.

Kendall Bierer for Phelps Media Group, Inc. International

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