Tag Archives: Grand Prix

Laura Chapot on Her Way to Another Streak at HITS Saugerties

©ESI Photography. Laura Chapot and Umberto cruise to a victory in today’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix.

SAUGERTIES, NY (August 31, 2012) – After winning four in a row during Weeks V and VI at HITS Saugerties this summer, Laura Chapot is off to another great start as she and Mary Chapot’s Umberto rode to a win in today’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health. They topped a field of 30 horses who rode over Jerry Dougherty’s track and pocketed the last $25,000 grand prix before HITS Championship Weekend arrives September 7-9.

Dougherty of Bokeelia, Florida set a 13-obstacle course, which included 16 jumping efforts. He tripped up most riders with a one-stride to a two-stride triple combination at fence eight and a tight one-stride double at fence eleven. The two combinations alone ruined all hope for clear rounds for nine riders, while eleven persevered to the jump-off.

“You never know what you are going to get on Friday because the field is so mixed – there are a lot of young horses here and there are a lot of horses who are in it to prepare for Sunday’s grand prix,” said Chapot of Neshanic Station, New Jersey. “But, all-in-all, I think the course was really nice and I was very pleased with how my horses jumped it.”

Continue reading Laura Chapot on Her Way to Another Streak at HITS Saugerties

Patty Stovel Steals the $40,000 HITS Grand Prix at HITS Culpeper’s Winston National

©ESI Photography. Patty Stovel and her own Carigor Z jump their way to victory in the $40,000 HITS Grand Prix.

CULPEPER, VA (August 20, 2012) – HITS is back in Virginia and Patty Stovel got things started in the Grand Prix ring this weekend with a win in the $40,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, aboard her own Carigor Z. Nineteen horses took to Jerry Dougherty’s 13-obstacle course and six conquered it to move onto the jump-off.

The Bokeelia, Florida course designer built a technical course that presented an oxer-to-oxer double combination at fence five and a triple combination at fence 12, which boasted tall verticals to yet another large vertical at the final fence of the course.

“This course was very careful, but it fit the group of horses that showed up to jump it very well,” said Stovel.

After watching six rounds, three of which were clear, Stovel and her 11-year-old Argentinean gelding made it four and joined the jump-off. Stovel and Carigor Z have been together since she purchased the horse as a three-year-old.

Continue reading Patty Stovel Steals the $40,000 HITS Grand Prix at HITS Culpeper’s Winston National

Paige Johnson and Chiron S Secure $40,000 Bluegrass Festival Grand Prix Victory at Bluegrass Festival Horse Show

Paige Johnson and Chiron S won the $40,000 Bluegrass Festival Grand Prix Victory at the Bluegrass Festival Horse Show. Photo By: Kendall Bierer/PMG

Lexington, KY – August 19, 2012 – It was the final day of the Bluegrass Festival Horse Show, and the excitement was high as the $40,000 Bluegrass Festival Grand Prix got underway in the Rolex Stadium. It was a bittersweet finale to the fourth week of the Kentucky Summer Series, with 41 entrants competing for the top prize. Paige Johnson and Chiron S were one of only four to move into the short course, stealing the show and riding to a double-clear effort with a blazing jump-off speed of 38.371 seconds. Although trailblazer Andrew Welles piloted Boo Van Het Kastanjehof to a clean short track, they fell a nick shy of the winning title to collect the second place award.

Allen Rheinheimer created a course that took on a life of its own this afternoon. He included an oxer-vertical-oxer triple combination, a vertical-liverpool double combination, an open water jump, a triple bar opening to a vertical, as well as numerous turns, rollbacks and technicalities that could challenge horse and rider.

Each rider entered the Rolex Stadium with the hopes of securing the winning title on the final day; however, it was not until the eighteenth in the order, Andrew Welles and Boo Van Het Kastanjehof, that anyone was able to tackle the track. The only other rider to come close was Shane Sweetnam and Siri, owned by Spy Coast Farm. The pair had made it through the course with a clear effort, but a tick over the time earned them two time faults, and the eventual fifth place honors.

Continue reading Paige Johnson and Chiron S Secure $40,000 Bluegrass Festival Grand Prix Victory at Bluegrass Festival Horse Show

Yann Candele Wins $50,000 NationWide Auto Warranty Grand Prix at Inaugural Orangeville Show Jumping Tournaments

Yann Candele and Carlotta Singular la Magnifica won the $50,000 Grand Prix. Photo by Ben Radvanyi

Orangeville, Ontario – Yann Candele of Caledon, ON, claimed his second grand prix victory in a row at the inaugural Orangeville Show Jumping Tournaments held August 15-19 at the Orangeville Agricultural Society (OAS) Event Centre in Orangeville, ON.

Candele claimed victory in the $50,000 Grand Prix, presented by NationWide Auto Warranty, on Sunday, August 19, riding Carlotta Singular la Magnifica.  Two days earlier, he had won the $25,000 Hayes Co. Grand Prix aboard Game Ready, a 12-year-old bay Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Susan Grange, while Carlotta Singular la Magnifica placed second.

As the traveling alternates for the Canadian Olympic Show Jumping Team at the 2012 London Olympic Games, Candele and Carlotta Singular la Magnifica were making their first competitive appearance since arriving back on Canadian soil.  The long trip home didn’t hamper their performance.  The pair jumped to the top of the starting field of 22 horses to take the win in the $50,000 Grand Prix, presented by NationWide Auto Warranty.

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Yann Candele Sweeps $25,000 Hayes Co. Grand Prix

Yann Candele, pictured here on Carlotta Singular la Magnifica, won the $25,000 Hayes Co. Grand Prix. Photo by Victoria Clermont

Orangeville, Ontario – Yann Candele of Caledon, ON, captured the top two spots in the $25,000 Hayes Co. Grand Prix on Friday, August 17 at the inaugural Orangeville Show Jumping Tournaments running August 15-19 at the Orangeville Agricultural Society (OAS) Event Centre in Orangeville, ON.

Fresh off his return from the 2012 London Olympics, where he was the traveling alternate for the Canadian Olympic Team for Show Jumping, Candele was one of only three riders to post a clear round over the track set by two-time Olympic course designer Leopoldo Palacios of Venezuela, who also arrived direct from London.  Candele advanced to the jump-off with two mounts, Game Ready and Carlotta Singular la Magnifica, both owned by Susan Grange.

First to return to the ring was 2008 Olympic team silver medalist Mac Cone of King, ON, riding Amor Van de Rostal, a 12-year-old bay Belgium Warmblood gelding owned by Chadburn Holdings Inc.  The pair laid down a clear round, stopping the clock in 46.08 seconds and putting the pressure on those still to come.

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Vale Edges Out Welles for the Win in the $30,000 Russell Fortune Memorial Grand Prix at Traders Point Hunt Charity Horse Show

Andrew Welles and Tornado

Zionsville, IN – August 10, 2012 – The 2012 Traders Point Hunt Charity Horse Show and Country Fair continued on Friday with cooler weather and a momentary, passing shower. The horses were feeling fresh and ready for competition at Wild Air Farms in Zionsville, IN.

Exhibitors and guests enjoyed the annual Paws to Applause dog show mid-day and exciting show jumping action in the jumper arena and the Russell Fortune Arena all day long. The coveted $30,000 Mr. and Mrs. Russell Fortune Jr. Memorial Grand Prix, held at 5:00 p.m. was the highlight of the day and filled the tents around the grass arena with cheering crowds.

“We’ve got a pretty good field tonight, we have faces – plenty of folks who are ready,” said course designer, Phil DeVita. “The course this afternoon is along the same theme that we’ve been doing all week.”

“I’m kind of a serpentine guy,” continued DeVita. “I don’t do a lot of technical straight-line distances. I tend to keep turning you and bending you and making you steer and make you stay in control.

Continue reading Vale Edges Out Welles for the Win in the $30,000 Russell Fortune Memorial Grand Prix at Traders Point Hunt Charity Horse Show

Jeffery Welles Is on His Way to the Pfizer Million with a Win in Sunday’s $100,000 Strongid C 2X Grand Prix

©ESI Photography. Jeffery Welles and Aries look focused as they jump their way to a win in Sunday’s $100,000 Strongid C 2X Grand Prix

SAUGERTIES, NY (August 6, 2012) – Jeffery Welles’ Pfizer Million fate was sealed on Sunday as he and Aries jumped to a win in the $100,000 Strongid C 2X Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, and picked up his final required qualifier for September’s Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix. Welles, who has earned over $48,000 aboard Aries on the road to the Pfizer Million, is now eligible and excited to be a part of the coveted feature class of HITS Championship Weekend, scheduled for September 9.

Thanks to Sunday’s $30,000 winner’s check, Welles jumped from 26th in the Pfizer Million Top 40 Rider Rankings to sit comfortably in the top ten. He piloted Aries – a nine-year-old gelding owned by Noel Love Gross – to the top of a 31-horse field and used an impressively big stride to beat all comers in the jump-off. Welles produced the third clear round of the day over a course set by Canada’s Danny Foster. He was later joined by two more riders in a five-horse second round.

Continue reading Jeffery Welles Is on His Way to the Pfizer Million with a Win in Sunday’s $100,000 Strongid C 2X Grand Prix

Blythe Marano and Urban Lead $50,000 Rood & Riddle Grand Prix Victory Gallop at Kentucky Summer Classic

Blythe Marano and Urban won the $50,000 Rood & Riddle Grand Prix at the Kentucky Summer Classic. Photo By: Kendall Bierer/PMG

Lexington KY – August 4, 2012 – The applause and excitement could be heard resounding throughout the Kentucky Horse Park tonight as the $50,000 Rood & Riddle Grand Prix got underway in the Rolex Stadium. It was the fifth day of the Kentucky Summer Classic, and the nation’s top riders gathered to show under the bright lights of the stadium for a share in the prize money, and the desired $8,000 SSG ‘Go Clean for the Green’ Digital Riding Glove promotion bonus. Out of 33 entries only five were able to ride the first course clear, and progress into the arduous jump-off. It was Blythe Marano and Urban who wowed the crowd tonight, taking the top earnings and the bonus money. Aaron Vale piloted Palm Sunday to the second place finish as the only other rider to go double clear.

Anthony D’Ambrosio designed tonight’s track, using bending lines, tight turns, a vertical-oxer double combination, an open water jump, and a triple bar-oxer-vertical triple combination. The jump-off course began over a standalone vertical near the in gate and moved them with a left turn over an oxer. From there, they then had to use their mount’s pace to their advantage to clear a large space and ride to a vertical and make a hard right rollback to a skinny vertical. Upon landing, they then navigated toward the triple bar-oxer combination, shortened from the previous round, and with a right turn take an oxer along the outside and race to the final vertical to break the beam.

Continue reading Blythe Marano and Urban Lead $50,000 Rood & Riddle Grand Prix Victory Gallop at Kentucky Summer Classic

Laura Chapot Finds a Winning Formula with Another $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix Victory at HITS-on-the-Hudson

©ESI Photography. Laura Chapot and Quointreau Un Prince get some serious height over the CWD fence in Friday's $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix

SAUGERTIES, NY (August 4, 2012) – Laura Chapot just extended her impressive mid-summer winning streak with another victory in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, at HITS-on-the-Hudson. Friday’s triumph marked the fourth consecutive win for Chapot in the last two weeks and the second victory aboard Quointreau Un Prince, an 8-year-old mount she bought three years ago from McLain Ward.

The winning streak started during the first week of the summer series on Sunday, July 24 when she piloted Quointreau Un Prince to the blue in the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health. She then followed that with another stellar performance in last week’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, aboard Mary Chapot’s Umberto. Two days later, she and Umberto returned to take it all again in Sunday’s $75,000 Chartis Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health.

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Laura Kraut and Belmont Capture First Place Finish at Casas Novas in the Gran Premio Telefonica

Laura Kraut showed Belmont to his first Grand Prix win in the Gran Premio Telefonica at Casas Novas on July 29, 2012. Kraut and Belmont pictured at the 2012 Winter Equestrian Festival. Photo By: Kenneth Kraus/PhelpsSports.com

A Coruña, Spain – August 3, 2012 – Laura Kraut guided several top mounts to the CSI 4* at Casas Novas, winning the Gran Premio Telefonica on the final day with Belmont, owned by Mrs. B. Widdowson. She exhibited the 11-year-old bay gelding to the first place finish in a stunning time of 44.25 seconds, beating some of the world’s best. Casa Novas got underway from July 27-29, 2012, with Kraut picking up the top placing throughout the three-day show jumping competition.

On the final day of the CSI 4* Casas Novas, Kraut entered the ring as the 39th rider out of the field of 46 entrants. She posted a fantastic effort over the first round course, and then guided Belmont to a seemingly flawless first place finish over the challenging second round.

Javier Trenor of Spain designed the demanding course with obstacles that challenged both horse and rider alike. It consisted of bending lines, unrelated distances, a triple bar, an oxer-vertical-oxer triple combination and a liver pool. The second course demanded a speedy delivery as riders maneuvered the quick turns and raced against the clock. Kraut guided Belmont to the first place finish with a double-clear effort in 44.25 seconds to claim the top award.

Continue reading Laura Kraut and Belmont Capture First Place Finish at Casas Novas in the Gran Premio Telefonica