Lori Sawyer-Lyons Has a Blue Ribbon Finish aboard Senna M in Ariat National Adult Medal
Wellington, FL – February 8, 2013 – Irish show jumper Shane Sweetnam is on a roll during week five of the 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) with a set of back to back wins in Friday’s $6,000 Spy Coast Farm 1.40m speed and jump-off classes to follow up a victory in Thursday’s $8,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Classic. All three wins were on Spy Coast Farm owned horses – the 1.45m aboard Everly Chin de la Pomme and Friday’s 1.40m speed aboard Cyklon 1083 and jump-off class riding Beluga.
Week five of the FTI WEF circuit, sponsored by Adequan, runs February 6-10. The remainder of the week will feature the $82,000 Adequan CSI 2* Grand Prix on Saturday evening and the $25,000 Suncast 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic on Sunday afternoon. The 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival features 12 weeks of competition running from January 9 – March 31, 2013, and awards almost $7 million in prize money throughout the circuit.
Shane Sweetnam and Cyklon 1083 were the winners in Friday’s $6,000 Spy Coast Farm 1.40m Speed Challenge jumping a track set by Olympic course designer Bob Ellis. Fifty-six entries contested the class with 16 clear rounds and a win for the pair in 65.339 seconds. Sweetnam and Cyklon, a twelve-year-old Swedish Warmblood stallion by Cardento x Cortus, won over Alexander Zetterman and Canora’s time of 66.844 seconds. Daniela Cordero and Don Chiqui placed third in 71.094 seconds.
Spy Coast Farm bought Cyklon as a new mount for Sweetnam last winter and the duo has formed a great partnership. Sweetnam detailed, “From the start it has been very successful with him. We got him around this time last year and we had some good results straight away. During the summer he placed in La Baule, Rome, won a class in St. Gallen, won a class in Spruce Meadows and won a class and was second and third in the Hamptons. He basically wins wherever he goes normally, with a bit of luck.”
“He is a little fighter,” Sweetnam noted. “He really wants to win and he can sometimes be a little bit hard to ride because he wants to win so much. He doesn’t listen all the time, but when we get it right, it seems to work out well.”
Commenting on his winning ride in the class, Sweetnam stated, “He had a good round. It felt very smooth and everything worked out. When I finished, I thought it would be hard to beat. There are a lot of good riders here, so you never know, but I was really happy with the way he jumped.”
Sweetnam went on to his second victory of the day in the $6,000 Spy Coast Farm 1.40m Jump-Off class riding Beluga. Sixty-six entries showed in that class with 20 competitors qualifying for the jump-off, and ten completing double clear rounds. Sweetnam and Beluga had the fastest time of 31.949 seconds over second place finishers Ben Maher and Dolores, owned by Mrs. Wang, in 32.095 seconds.
Sweetnam has been riding for Spy Coast Farm for six years now and was pleased to win both Spy Coast sponsored classes for owners Robert and Lisa Lourie.
“It is always good to win the classes for Spy Coast, and Lisa Lourie was here to watch us, so she was very excited,” he acknowledged. “These were good classes to win.”
“We have had a lot of success with a lot of great horses,” Sweetnam added. “One of the first ones that we bought was Little Emir and we still have him and he is still going. Amaretto d’Arco as well was one of the early ones and we have had a lot of successes. It is always great to win for them.”
Lori Sawyer-Lyons Has a Blue Ribbon Finish aboard Senna M in Ariat National Adult Medal
Lori Sawyer-Lyons edged out the competition to win the Ariat National Adult Medal class during week five of competition for the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF). Sawyer-Lyons, of Fort Lauderdale, FL, rode Jimmy Torano’s Senna M to first place. Sawyer-Lyons had a narrow margin of victory in a competitive class with the top three finishing only one tenth of a point apart.
Sawyer-Lyons and Senna M finished first with 77.2 points. Meredith Combs and Cassius, owned by Jennifer Combs, placed second with 77.1 points. Sally Gibbs and Castelano, owned by Linda Langmeier, scored 77 points for third place. The top four was rounded out by Julia McNerny and Norgan, Inc.’s Micenas, who finished with a score of 72.
Sawyer-Lyons is a veteran of the Ariat National Adult Medal class, but was particularly thrilled with today’s win aboard Senna, a fourteen-year-old warmblood gelding. “I’ve done the Ariat for a while now, but this is my first time winning with Senna, which is great. He’s a different ride from my horse, and I’m an amateur, so I’m having to figure it all out. I finally feel like I did today. Hopefully, I’ll win some more with him!” Sawyer-Lyons stated.
“Senna is an amazing equitation horse. He’s been awesome. I’ve had a harder time adjusting to him since he’s a little different than my horse, but the horse is fabulous and it’s great that it finally came together,” Sawyer-Lyons continued.
Sawyer-Lyons was highly complementary of the course laid out by Steve Stephens. “The course was great. It was really fun and I thought it was beautiful. I liked how it was a little more flowing then last week. It still had a little bit of everything,” Sawyer-Lyons described.
The top four riders were called back after completing their initial courses for another test to determine each rider’s final score. Competitors were asked to hand gallop a single diagonal fence, followed by trotting in to and cantering out of a line headed directly for the in-gate. Riders were expected to halt before exiting the arena on a relaxed rein.
“It was nice to have a hand gallop in the test, but it was challenging to go from a hand gallop right to the trot jump. Senna is so amenable, though, that he just came back to me and did his job perfectly,” Sawyer-Lyons stated.
Riders who have accumulated the most points in each of the USEF regions will be invited to compete at Ariat National Adult Medal Finals, which are held in conjunction with the Capital Challenge Horse Show in Upper Marlboro, MD, in early October.
Week five of the FTI WEF, sponsored by Adequan, will continue Saturday with the Taylor Harris Insurance Services (THIS) National Children’s Medal 14 & Under class, hosted in the Equine Tack and Nutritionals Ring 6. The $82,000 Adequan CSI 2* Grand Prix will be the feature “Saturday Night Lights” event at 7 p.m. in the International Arena. For full results, please visit www.showgroundslive.com.
Lauren Fisher and Laura Cardon for Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.
About the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival
The 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of top competition running from January 9 through March 31. The FTI WEF 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 $7 million in prize money will be awarded. For more information, please visit www.equestriansport.com.
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 24 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 $1.56 billion in revenues during fiscal year 2011. More information can be found at www.fticonsulting.com.
Please visit www.equestriansport.com or call 561-793-5867 for more information.
Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.
Equestrian Public Relations
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