Conor Swail and Dillinger win $15,000 1.4m Grand Prix at The Ridge at Wellington Turf Tour.

Wellington, FL – January 16, 2015 – The second Friday of the Ridge at Wellington’s Turf Tour hosted by the International Polo Club saw a number of talented horse and rider pairs trying their hand at Chris Jones’ courses. Conor Swail picked up the victory in the 1.40m Grand Prix on Dillinger, owned by Susan Grange.

The International Polo Club provided a lively backdrop for the talented show jumpers, with tennis and polo taking place on either side of the grass fields.   A bit of drizzle held off some of the competitors, but the afternoon saw a strong showing once the weather brightened up.

Chris Jones, one of Canada’s rising international course designers, composed two beautiful sets of courses for the second Friday of the Ridge at Wellington’s Turf Tour. For ten years, Jones has been assisting some of Canada’s top designers and traveled to Wellington to assist Eric Habrouck during the first week of competition at WEF. This week, Chris designed the courses for the Turf Tour with assistance from Hasbrouck.

Riders commented on the Grand Prix course, remarking on how fair it was while being technical, requiring quite a bit of rideability. Fourteen horses went on from the field of 38, making for a competitive jump-off. Riders from both rings praised his designs and are looking forward to his future work with the Turf Tour.

Conor Swail once again proved unbeatable in the $15,000 1.4m Grand Prix at The Ridge at Wellington’s Turf Tour. Last week, he claimed the top spot on Fortis Fortuna, owned by Susan and Ariel Grange. This week, he bested a field of 38 to claim victory aboard Susan Grange’s Dillinger. Swail rode in the latter half of the day and posted a swift time of 36.945 seconds to top the field.

“I thought it was a very nice course today,” noted Swail. “It’s different from last week just for obvious reasons – it’s in a different arena, so there are more open spaces and a lot more for them to look at. It’s just fantastic for the young horses; it’s a great education for them. There’s beautiful footing and there’s a bit of prize money, so if things go well you can get a check.”

Samuel Parot posted a very fast time early in the day on his own Thea. Although only the fourth horse in the ring, Parot knew where he needed to make time and blazed through Jones’ course. The mare Thea is extremely new to him, having only had the ride for the last two weeks since she was just imported from Germany. Last week they competed in the first stop of the Turf Tour, going clean in the first round and finishing with a rail in the jump-off. This week Parot was not afraid to try to capture the class, riding an extremely tight rollback to the last line of the jump-off course and finishing with a time of 37.297 seconds.

Beth Underhill was third on her own Viggo, finishing with a time of 38.555 seconds. Darrin Dliin, riding Susan Grange’s Tennyson, finished fourth, less than a half of a second behind Underhill with a time of 38.871 seconds. Jeffery Welles rode Herbert Sambol’s Broken Heart with a time of 39.635 seconds to a fifth place finish. Adolpho Franco was right on his heels and rode his own Chambery 25 to a sixth place finish in 39.757 seconds.

The second ring saw a number of trips throughout the day. While the early divisions were a bit light due to less than ideal weather, the $2000 Marshall & Sterling/NAL WIHS Child/Adult Classic and the $3000 NAL Junior/Amateur Owner Classic were very popular and the schooling jumper classes were well received by the competitors.

Candy Tribble riding her own Centrefold, and Alexandra Robinson riding her own Levita Ballou each finished with a blue ribbon in the Low Schooling Jumpers.

Denise Wilson, who rode Blue Gate Farm LLC’s Norbert, won the first Medium Schooling Jumper course. Ansgar Holtgers, riding his own El Casper, finished second.

Ansgar Holtgers continued his successes, winning the Second Medium Schooling Jumper class on his own Way of Life. Roosje Brouwer, riding for Javier Salvador Stables, finished second on Excellent and fifth on Baileys. Darrin Dliin captured third place with Susan Grange’s Somerset. Nicolas Paillot finished in fourth place on his own Ti Amo Bo Regard and sixth on Sabine Des Ibis.

Whitney Lind won the first Child/Adult 1.15M class on Paradysz Farm’s PF Twister II. Olivia Melody claimed second, ridden by Cynthia Hampton for Hampton Farms LLC. Dana Rizzo was third on her own Wisteria.

The $2,000 Marshall & Sterling/NAL WIHS Child/Adult Classic was won by Isabel Jolicouer on Andrea Neves’ Shaitan D’altenbach. Rene Johnson picked up a second place ribbon on her own Maximus. Jennifer Knobel on her own Stash finished third.

Paul Yanke continued his successful Turf Tour with a victory aboard his own Carle in the first Junior/Amateur Owner 1.30m class. Alexandra Robinson rode her own Levita Ballou to finish second. Chloe Field, riding for Hidden Brook Farm, picked up a third place on Via Veneto and a fifth place on Estar. Hidden Brook Farm horses also rounded out the ribbons, with Click for Quality finishing fourth and Carpathia K finishing sixth, with Marshall Field VI in the irons.

Kathy Kitterman dominated the $3000 NAL Junior/Amateur Owner Classic. She rode Javier Guerra’s horses to claim the top four placings. First went to Accetto Du Lys, second to Catch Me Z, third to Bengt and fourth to Louis K2.

The next stop of the Turf Tour will be at The Ridge at Wellington. The Ridge’s address is 14415 Palm Beach Pt. Blvd, Wellington FL.

Meadowbrook Horse Transport will provide transportation to and from the horse show and other locations throughout Wellington for both the Wednesday and Friday events. The transportation is a nominal fee of $50 per horse, and will be calculated into the final show fees. To make a reservation for one of the three pickup times, 8 a.m., 11 a.m., and 2 p.m., please call Peter Tufano of Meadowbrook Horse Transport at (954) 415-7217, or call Nona Garson at (908) 500-0996.

The Ridge at Wellington Horse Show Series Fast Facts

Events:
The Ridge at Wellington Turf Tour offers their popular 1.40m Invitational Grand Prix for its third year, with an open in gate format taking place once a week at beautiful venues throughout Wellington. The Ridge at Wellington Grand Prix Finale will take place March 27, 2015.

The Turf Tour also will host 1.30m-1.35m Jumpers every Wednesday beginning January 7, 2015 and running until March 18, 2015.

Young Jumper Classes and both Children’s/Senior Jumper Classics will find their home intermittently throughout the Wellington Turf Tour, running concurrently with the 1.30-1.35m and 1.40m Jumpers.

The Ridge at Wellington offers Equitation Shows every Tuesday of the month from January 6 – March 23, 2015. There will also be a series of schooling shows at the Ridge at Wellington for all experience levels.

Two USHJA International Hunter Derbies will take place February 6, 2015 and March 20, 2015.

What:
The Ridge at Wellington series includes several weeks of competition throughout the Winter Season with USEF Rated Equitation Shows. This winter will also feature five two-day schooling shows. The Ridge at Wellington Turf Tour will offer 1.30m-1.35m Jumpers, 1.40m Invitational Grand Prix, Young Jumpers, Children’s/Adult Classics, Masters Jumpers, Junior/Amateur Classics, two hunter derbies and the Pre-Green Incentive Stake.

Information:
Before Show – (561) 791-1471, Email: RidgeShows@aol.com
During Show – Telephone: (561) 791-1471, Fax: (561) 791-1543
Text: (908) 500-0996

Website: http://www.theridgefarm.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/359668144211383/

Management:
Nona Garson
14415 Palm Beach Point Blvd. East
Wellington, FL, 33414
(561) 791-1471 (show office)
(908) 839-3859 (show cell)
(561) 791-1543 (show fax)
Email: RidgeShows@aol.com
Website: http://www.theridgefarm.com

Media Contact:
Phelps Media Group, Inc.
12012 South Shore Blvd.
Suite 105
Wellington, FL 33414
561-753-3389 (phone)
561-753-3386 (fax)
pmginfo@phelpsmediagroup.com
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