Paul O’Shea and Skara Glen’s Sienna. Photo © Sportfot.
Zoe Ganek and Bellagio Capture Championship Prize in the Coldwell Banker Children’s Hunter 14 & Under to Conclude WEF 10
Wellington, FL – March 15, 2015 – Week ten of the 2015 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), sponsored by Horseware Ireland, concluded on Sunday with a win for Ireland’s Paul O’Shea and Skara Glen’s Sienna in the $34,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic. Competing at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, FL, O’Shea guided the mare, owned by Skara Glen Stables, to victory in a five-horse jump-off with Laura Kraut (USA) and Deauville S in second and Lillie Keenan (USA) aboard Super Sox third.
Watch Paul O’Shea and Skara Glen’s Sienna in their winning round!
Sixty-four entries showed over Michel Vaillancourt’s (CAN) 1.50m track on Sunday with five clear to advance to the jump-off. Laura Kraut and Julius Peter Sinnack’s Deauville S were first to jump-off, clearing the short course in 38.42 seconds. Lillie Keenan jumped next with Chansonette Farm LLC’s Super Sox with a clear round in 38.59 seconds. Ben Maher (GBR) followed with the fourth place round on Jane Clark’s Sarena in 39.11 seconds. Paris Sellon (USA) and Adare had one rail down in 46.15 seconds to place fifth. Last to go, O’Shea and Skara Glen’s Sienna cleared the course in the winning time of 37.63 seconds.
Skara Glen’s Sienna is a nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare (Chacco Blue x Gran Corrado) that O’Shea has ridden since she was five years old. Last summer, the mare scored the biggest win of her career in the $75,000 Jumper Classic at the Upperville Horse Show, and continues to excel.
“She has always been really special,” O’Shea stated. “When she first came here, she was nice to ride and very confident. You can feel straight away that she just wants to do the right thing.”
Sunday’s course was challenging for most of the class. It was not until halfway through that Laura Kraut produced the first clear round and a few more followed. O’Shea was second to last in the order, and was able to watch and figure out a plan.
“I probably had an advantage that I was towards the end because the last line was tricky,” he admitted. “It was either an extremely short four-stride or a very long three. It was nice to have a bit of time to make up my mind on that. I decided to do the three and she did it really well, so it was an advantage. If you were earlier in (the class), it was tougher today.”
“In the jump-off, my plan was not to go wild. She is still quite young,” O’Shea explained. “I just wanted to go as quick as she could, comfortably, but naturally she is a very quick horse. Luckily it was enough today.”
“She is only nine,” O’Shea pointed out. “She did qualify for the night class last night, but we thought next year would be time enough. We definitely do not want to overdo it. She will not do any night classes this year. We just want to produce her slowly so that as a ten-year-old she is ready for most things. She has not done bigger than 1.50m yet, but she has done everything we have asked her to do very well.”
Ira Gumberg owns Sienna through his Skara Glen Stables, which O’Shea has been riding with for three and a half years.
“He has been a fantastic owner to me. He has really taken care of me,” O’Shea acknowledged. “It is a pleasure to have such a great horse and a great owner.”
O’Shea also rides a young horse named Bachelor for the Tisbo Family, the owners of Suncast®. They bred the horse themselves and have watched O’Shea bring him along for their Tequestrian Farms LLC. “It is very nice of them to sponsor this class every week,” O’Shea added.
The Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Series, always an exciting and competitive division throughout the 12-week WEF circuit, has a fantastic prize for the leading rider of the series this year. Suncast® will provide a pre-paid two-year lease on a beautiful new 2015 Range Rover Evoque.
During WEF 12, the Range Rover Evoque will be on display at the Spectator Entrance of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center and will be on course in the International Arena during the $100,000 Suncast® 1.50m Jumper Championship Series Final (Round 2) to be held on Saturday evening, March 28, 2015, which is when the Evoque will be awarded to the series’ leading rider.
Series specifications and rankings can be found in the WEF Horse Show office. The top riders in the series will be recognized on the Suncast® 1.50m Jumper Championship Series leaderboard by the PBIEC Exhibitor Entrance and will also be included in the WEF Weekly Wire, the printed newsletter available on the show grounds and online at www.pbiec.com.
Also showing in the International Arena on Sunday, the $10,000 Hollow Creek Farm Medium Junior Jumper Classic began the day with a win for Brianne Link and her horse E Bay. The $10,000 Animo USA Medium Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic was held in a California Split with a win for Danielle Torano aboard her own and Jimmy Torano’s Herault in Section A and Vanessa Mannix with her own HHS Cheiro in Section B.
Zoe Ganek and Bellagio Capture Championship Prize in the Coldwell Banker Children’s Hunter 14 & Under to Conclude WEF 10
To finish hunter competition for WEF 10, Zoe Ganek rode her own horse, Bellagio, to the tricolor ribbon in the Coldwell Banker Children’s Hunter 14 & Under. Ganek and Bellagio earned a first and two thirds over fences, out of 33 horse and rider combinations, on their way to the winner’s circle. “He [Bellagio] is the best!” Ganek exclaimed after having a great weekend.
Elizabeth Chung and Extraordinary ended the day as reserve champions in the Coldwell Banker Children’s Hunter 14 & Under. Extraordinary, an entry of Jennifer Bliss, was first and third over fences in the final two classes of the division.
Bellagio is a 10-year-old Warmblood who was bought by Ganek last summer. Primarily an equitation horse, Ganek shows Bellagio in the hunter ring for more practice. “He [Bellagio] is really easy,” Ganek stated. “He just stays on the same rhythm, and he saves me a lot.”
Having only been working together for less than a year, Ganek attributes her success to Bellagio’s attitude and experience. “He [Bellagio] is a really good boy and knows what he’s doing. He knows what his job is when he goes in the ring,” Ganek commented.
Based out of New York, Ganek comes down to Wellington to compete on weekends with her trainers at Heritage Farm. “This was my final week coming to WEF for 2015, so I was happy to end on a good note,” Ganek smiled.
The 2015 Winter Equestrian Festival continues with its eleventh week of competition, sponsored by Artisan Farms, on March 18-22. The highlight event of week eleven is the $127,000 Engel & Völkers Grand Prix CSI 4* on Saturday, March 21. For full results and more information, please visit www.pbiec.com.
Lauren Fisher and Maddy Stover for Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.
Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.
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