Todd Minikus and Babalou 41 (photo courtesy of JRPR).
Wellington, Florida (February, 2016) – Todd Minikus is serious about letting everyone know his goals for 2016. After winning the Saturday night Grand Prix during week one, Minikus came flying back into the International arena and added a second major Grand Prix win at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL this past Saturday night. Minikus, who at 53 is approaching the one of most important years of his wildly successful career, showed the crowd at the Winter Equestrian Festival that he is a serious contender for the United States Show Jumping Team with his horses aimed for the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
During a press conference after his most recent win in the $130,000 Adequan Grand Prix CSI3* with the Two Swans Farm mare, Babalou 41, Minikus said, “I’m very serious about Rio. I think this is an important year, and it can’t hurt to have an extra pair of eyes, to tell me to ‘keep my heels down’ and things.” The extra set of eyes that Minikus was referring to were those of Katie and Henri Prudent. The Prudents are widely respected for their riding and coaching abilities and have helped several other riders achieve their dream of making it on to an Olympic team. “I asked Katie and Henri Prudent to help me on the ground, which I’ve never really had for years and years, decades and decades. This is their first week of helping me so I’m sure they’re very happy,” Minikus laughed.
Although the transition to being sidelined after his injury last fall was difficult for Minikus, he admitted that it has given him and his top horses a much-needed rest before the intense competition schedule of the Winter Equestrian Festival. Babalou 41, the 11-year-old Oldenburg mare (Balou du Rouet x Silvio I) owned by Two Swans Farm of Wellington, FL has proven herself to be a force to be reckoned with in the past year by being a successful part of several Nations Cups teams and competing internationally, with strong results. Minikus’ other partner of four years, Quality Girl, a 12-year-old Oldenburg mare (Quidams Rubin x Dobrock) owned by the Quality Group took Minikus to the win in the $86,000 Marshall and Sterling Grand Prix CSI2* the week before.
Having quality horses and supportive owners is an enormous part of what allows Minikus to continue to be successful in the show ring. “I am very fortunate to be backed by great owners who give me the opportunity to find competitive horses and bring them along,” says Minikus. “Owning a Grand Prix horse is incredibly exciting and can give passionate horse people the ability to be a part of our sport at the highest level and attend some of the most impressive show venues around the world,” Minikus continued. Now Todd Minikus has his eye on a third potential super star in Europe and the Minikus team is in the process of bringing together owners for this exciting partnership. “The success with the current Quality Group has proven that not only is a partnership on an international show jumper exciting, it can also be quite lucrative,” explains Todd’s wife and partner, Amanda Minikus.
When not competing nationally and internationally, Todd Minikus offers sales and training services just minutes from Wellington, Florida’s Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) show grounds. You can also follow Team Minikus on Facebook, Instagram or visit them at www.ToddMinikusShowJumping.com.
Contact: Amanda Minikus
amandajl16@aol.com
562-762-3762
www.toddminikus.com