Stevenson and Lennox Capture Ariat National Adult Medal Victory
Wellington, FL – March 16, 2012 – Hillary Dobbs, of Sussex, NJ, rode her speedy mount Marengo to victory in Friday morning’s $6,000 Spy Coast Farm 1.40m Speed Challenge at the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF). Other top finishers for the day included Ireland’s Conor Swail and Donatello, owned by Hara de la Rogue and Normandie Connection, in the $32,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Classic. Laura Chapot (USA) and Umberto won the $6,000 Spy Coast Farm 1.40m jump-off class.
Sponsored by Artisan Farms, week ten features two classes on Sunday, March 18, on the grass field at The Stadium. Starting at 10:30 a.m., the $15,000 Artisan Farms Young Rider Grand Prix Final runs first and is followed by the $80,000 Pennfield Feeds Grand Prix CSI 2* at 2 p.m.
Ten entries out of 74 jumped clear in this morning’s $6,000 Spy Coast Farm 1.40m Speed Challenge showing over a course set by Michel Vaillancourt, of Aiken S.C. Hillary Dobbs and Marengo, owned by The Dobbs Group, had the fastest time by almost four seconds in 59.736 seconds to earn the top prize.
Laura Chapot and Elizabeth R, owned by Chapot and Barbara Rockford, were the first pair to clear the speed track and set the time in 63.947 seconds, which would eventually finish third. Second place went to Michael Murphy and Audi’s Allouette Van Het Lambroeck, owned by Murphy & Team Rakowsky, with their time of 63.840 seconds.
Class winner Hillary Dobbs has made a great comeback this season after some significant time off in 2011. Dobbs had knee surgery over the winter and did not ride for almost six months. She started showing again in Vermont at the end of the summer, but missed indoors after being out for most of the year.
Even with so much time off, Dobbs came back in full force at the beginning of this year’s FTI WEF circuit with three wins in a row with Marengo. The pair won the $6,000 Spy Coast Farm 1.40m Speed Challenge during both weeks one and two and then returned for another 1.40m victory during week four. They also placed third in the Speed Challenge during week eight.
Marengo is a fourteen-year-old Holsteiner gelding by Quantom x Lesanto. He is known for his speed, and has galloped to many victories throughout North America with Dobbs in the irons. After a long break from the show ring, the gelding is back to his winning ways.
“He felt great today. He started out the circuit fresh and strong and won classes the first three weeks that we showed,” Dobbs recalled. “We had a little bit of a dry spell there for a few weeks, but these last weeks we have started getting into our groove again. Today he felt just like his old self. He came out fresh and just the way he is when he is in top form. He makes my job easy; he is so fast and ready to turn and competitive. He is as competitive as I am and having a horse like that really makes your job so much easier.”
“It feels very good on many levels to come back this season so strong with him. I am a little short on horses right now, so it means a lot that he is coming through for me so consistently in these classes,” Dobbs stated. “I am in a transitional phase right now. My parents are getting out of the sport and they have been very gracious in supporting me for the last few years. Now I am looking for potential owners and trying to get a syndicate together so that I can hopefully rebuild my string of horses and continue in the sport at this level.”
Dobbs knows Marengo’s strengths perfectly and explained that the options in today’s course suited his style. “I thought the course was brilliant today. There was an option to make a very tight turn back on a single jump, which was good for me. There were also options to leave out, but for my horse it is quicker for me to add and then make a sharp turn back.”
“It was an exciting course. I thought it was really well done today, and I’m not just biased because I won. I thought that before I went in,” she laughed.
She concluded by acknowledging the sponsors. “I want to thank the Lourie Family and Spy Coast Farm for their continuous sponsorship of the 1.40m classes, making it possible for all of us to compete. Their ongoing support for this sport does not go unnoticed and I am very grateful.”
In the second Spy Coast Farm 1.40m class, held in jump-off format, Laura Chapot won another class in the division this week, this time on Umberto, owned by Mary Chapot. Their clear jump-off round in 34.627 seconds took the lead away from Ronan McGuigan (IRL) on Capall Zidane, who finished in 35.123 seconds. Third place went to Katherine Monahan-Prudent and V, who had a time of 35.346 seconds.
Adult Medal Rider Rises to the Top after Law School Sabbatical
Vanessa Stevenson of Southampton, NY, rode to the top of this week’s Ariat National Adult Medal atop her mount, Lennox. After taking several years off to attend law school in Rhode Island, Stevenson settled into the irons and entered the show ring for the first time in years to win today’s Ariat National Adult Medal with a high score of 83. Stevenson, one of the top four riders called back to test, reserved her first round lead after riding against Amy Davies, Kira Iscol and Sarah Ingram. Following Stevenson, Ingram and Fairway placed second, Iscol and Julius placed third and Davies and Well To Do finished fourth.
The winning mount, Lennox, is a ten-year-old Royal Dutch Warmblood by Concorde. Affectionately known as Lenny in the barn, the black gelding was raised by Stevenson from the early age of two and a half. “I went to Holland and picked him out,” Stevenson explained. “He was supposed to be a breeding stallion, but he wasn’t cut out for it. It was weird how it all came about. I had a really nice Junior Jumper who I showed in the Amateurs and then, when I got older, my parents were like ‘How long do you think you’re going to do this for?’ So I was like, ‘Oh man, what can I do? What kind of horse can I get with what I’ve got? Then, I figured, finding a young one in Europe would be the best option and I sort of wanted a project anyway.”
Describing the process of finding Lenny, Stevenson explained, “We went to this amazing farm in Holland with literally hundreds of babies. We walked through the barn and they were all in together – geldings on one side and mares on the other. But Lenny stood out, you can see why. It was the black and white face and the four white socks that sold me. The second I saw him out there, I was like, ‘That’s the horse that is coming home with me, and they were like, ‘Oh no, not for sale.’ They had already committed him to a stallion auction and couldn’t back out, so they finally agreed to bid on him at the auction for me.”
Following today’s win, Stevenson gushed about Lenny’s performance in the show ring. “He was amazing today,” she said. “This has been my first show in years. Even though the circuit has been going all winter and we’ve been here, I wasn’t pushing it. I’m just enjoying riding again and showing is the icing on the cake. I liked today’s course, although I wish it was a bit more challenging. I have to remind myself that I’m in the adult equitation and not the Medal and (ASPCA) Maclay, though. I think I focus harder when the course is more technical. I was a little nervous today about how I’d be and what I would remember, but the minute I picked up the canter I was just kind of in the zone. It felt great.”
In the coming weeks, Stevenson plans to continue taking it day by day with Lenny. The pair hopes to do the Beval Palm Beach Medal this Sunday before making any plans for next week. Reflecting back on her history with Lenny, Stevenson added, “Lenny’s a big mush, I swear he would sit on my lap if he could. I don’t just love him because he can cruise around the ring; I love him because I’m proud.”
In the hunter arenas this week, Louise Serio and Kelley Farmer swept their respective divisions to earn both champion and reserve tricolors. Serio claimed the CWD 3’6″ Performance Working Hunter division, earning 46 total points on Castle Rock, a thirteen-year-old KWPN owned by Bryan Baldwin, and 18.5 points on Rock Star, a fourteen-year-old Warmblood owned by Bright Star 158, LLC. In the Sanctuary Regular Confirmation Hunter arena, Kelley Farmer impressed judges, sweeping the division atop her mounts, Vox and Clearly. Farmer earned the championship tricolor with 43 total points atop Vox, an eight-year-old Bavarian Warmblood owned by Jessica Stitt, and 33 points on Clearly, a twelve-year-old Oldenburg owned by Jane Gaston.
The FTI WEF continues tomorrow with full hunter jumper competition, including championships for the Antares Large Junior Hunter 16-17 division.
For full results please visit www.showgroundslive.com.
About the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival
The 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of top competition running from January 11 through April 1. The FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival 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 $6 million in prize money will be awarded.
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 23 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 $1.4 billion in revenues during fiscal year 2010. More information can be found at www.fticonsulting.com.
Please visit www.equestriansport.com or call 561-793-5867 for more information.