Alvaro Tejada and Clark Palo Blanco.
Wellington, FL (February 13, 2020) – Turf Tour Week 5 and the first day of Week 6’s competition crowned two Rising Star Classic champions and hosted exceptional show jumping and hospitality at venues To-Kalon Farm and Jim Brandon Equestrian Center. Welcoming horses and riders at all levels from the .80m to the Grand Prix, the back-to-back Wednesday shows drew competitors and spectators to enjoy Wellington’s utopian equestrian settings, rare wines, and the horse-centric show experience The Ridge Turf Tour is known for.
Napa Valley inspired To-Kalon Farm, owned by second generation vinter Jeremy Nickel, transformed its sweeping polo field into two rings of show jumping during Turf Tour Week 5. Dotted by brightly colored jumps in courses designed by Argentina’s Jaime Morillo, the exceptional grass footing at To-Kalon and other venues has become the trademark of the Turf Tour, one of the only shows in the world where all levels can experience jumping on the grass. February 5th’s $5,000 1.30m Rising Star Classic saw Ireland’s Willie Tynan and KEC City Limits best the field, galloping across the grass and through the timers to victory. Tynan, riding for Red Barn Farm out of Boston, has been one of the Turf Tour’s most decorated riders, and for his Rising Star win at To-Kalon Farm was awarded a magnum bottle of The Vineyard House’s rare Cabernet Sauvignon. Second in the To-Kalon Rising Star went to Luis Larrazabal riding for San Francisco Stables aboard Alonzo Z, and third to Kim Farlinger and Stanley Stone of Sher-Al Farm.
Kicking off Week 6, Wednesday’s $5,000 Rising Star Classic saw more than 25 horses and riders jumping over a course designed by Olympic and FEI designer Leopoldo Palacios. Jim Brandon Equestrian Center’s spacious warmups, exceptional all weather arenas, and hassle free trailer parking are a welcome change of pace for competitors on Wellington’s winter circuit. A busy day marked by warm breezes brought victory in the Rising Star for Alvaro Tejada and Clark Palo Blanco, whose exceptionally fast jump-off time was hotly contested but never beaten. A first round double clear by Richard Neil and Electra set the mark at an already fast jump-off time of 30.851 seconds. Not long after, Tejada and Clark Palo Blanco swept through the timers in 29.963. Multiple combinations powered through Palacios’s jump-off, whipping around turns and galloping down bending lines, gradually bumping Neil and Electra into 6th place but unable to match Tejada’s time. With the top 6 horses all within a second of each other’s times, the tight jump-off put Gianni Gabrielli with Chaco 34 into second on 30.035 and Tegan Elizabeth Tracy with Colorado into third on 30.362.
For full results, visit www.HorseShowing.com.
For full schedules and prizelists, visit www.RidgeShowJumping.com.