Tag Archives: Holiday & Horses

Frances Land and Vieanne Top $33,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Classic

Frances Land and Vieanne. Photo (c) Mancini Photos.

Wellington, FL – November 29, 2013 – Nineteen-year-old Frances Land (USA) and Vieanne were the winners in Friday’s $33,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Classic at Equestrian Sport Productions’ Holiday & Horses competition in Wellington, FL, at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC).

Holiday & Horses continues through Sunday, December 1, with the feature $50,000 Holiday & Horses CSI-W 2* Grand Prix on Saturday, November 30, at 5:30 p.m. Competition concludes on Sunday with the $15,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby (12 p.m.) and $10,000 Open Stake 1.40m.

Anthony D’Ambrosio, of Red Hook, NY, is the course designer in the International Arena at PBIEC this week. For Friday’s $33,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Classic, D’Ambrosio set the course for 38 entries with just four clear rounds to advance to the jump-off. First to go, Frances Land and Vieanne set a blazing fast pace of 35.09 seconds over the short course that could not be topped.

Ireland’s Ronan McGuigan and Capall Zidane gave it their best effort, but finished second with a time of 35.85 seconds. Karen Polle (USA) and With Wings were third with a clear jump-off round in 40.62 seconds. Last to go, Lauren Tisbo (USA) and Tequestrian Farms’ Darcon Scheefkasteel Z had eight faults in 41.11 seconds to place fourth.

Class winners, Frances Land and Vieanne, have had an incredible year together since pairing up for the first time one week ago last year. Land and the 11-year-old KWPN mare (Andiamo x Voltaire) won the $33,000 Pepsi Challenge 1.45m at Spruce Meadows this summer, topped the $50,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Series Championship Grand Prix in Kentucky in October, and won the $45,000 EMO Grand Prix in Georgia just last week. Friday’s victory adds another great accomplishment to their season.

“She has just been on fire this year,” Land smiled after her win. “She has been the most amazing horse for me.”

First to go in the class and therefore first to jump-off, Land explained that her plan was go out with a bang. “I love going first,” she explained. “It is so easy because you can go in and you do your plan, and you don’t have time to get nervous. I just ride my horse the way she is. I like being first or last in a jump-off, and today, going first worked out really well.”

Although she put down a very fast time, Land was not sure if it would hold up. “Ronan is really fast. He is a brilliant rider and the horse is fast as anything, so I was a little nervous,” she acknowledged. “He almost caught me.”

Vieanne is a mare that takes a particular kind of ride, but Land has formed a fantastic partnership with the horse and knows exactly how to get her best effort in the show ring. “I’ve always ridden horses that are quieter and she has a lot of blood,” Land said. “She is a mare, and she is incredibly feisty. She has so much power and so much scope and really takes you, but wants a lot of leg off the ground. I always have to worry about the back rail of oxers. She will take care of the front rail. I have to constantly think about staying up with her so I don’t get jumped loose, so I can give her enough scope to clear the back rail. That has been so great because she is teaching me how to ride a horse with more scope. She has been amazing for my riding. She is teaching me everything.”

Land is currently a sophomore at Emory University in Georgia and will now head back to school. She plans to return to Florida for the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival this winter.

Equestrian Sport Productions’ Holiday & Horses competition will continue through December 1 with a full schedule of exciting competition. For the prize list and more information, please visit www.equestriansport.com. For full results, please visit www.showgroundslive.com.

Lauren Fisher for Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.

Please visit www.equestriansport.com or call 561-793-5867 for more information.

Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.
Equestrian Public Relations
info@jenniferwoodmedia.com

Todd Minikus and Quality Girl Win $33,000 Nutrena Holiday & Horses Opener

Todd Minikus and Quality Girl. Photo (c) Mancini Photos.

Wellington, FL – November 27, 2013 – Equestrian Sport Productions’ (ESP) 2013 Holiday & Horses competition began on Wednesday, November 27, at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center with a win for Todd Minikus (USA) and Quality Girl in the $33,000 Nutrena Holiday & Horses Opener.

Holiday & Horses competition will continue through Sunday, December 1. Upcoming highlights include the $33,000 G&C Farm 1.45m FEI class on Friday, November 29; the $50,000 Holiday & Horses CSI 2*-W Grand Prix on Saturday, November 30 (5:30 p.m.); and the $15,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby (12 p.m.) and $10,000 Open Stake 1.40m on Sunday, December 1.

A total of 46 entries showed in Wednesday’s $33,000 Nutrena Holiday & Horses Opener jumping a course set by Anthony D’Ambrosio, of Red Hook, NY. Thirteen competitors were able to clear the first round course without fault, and ten of those were also clear through the short course. The fastest time of 34.23 seconds belonged to Todd Minikus and Quality Girl, a 10-year-old Oldenburg mare by Quidam’s Rubin x Dobrock, for the win.

Finishing second, Ronan McGuigan (IRL) and Capall Zidane stopped the clock in 35.37 seconds. Charlie Jacobs (USA) and CMJ Sporthorse LLC’s Flaming Star finished third in 35.60 seconds. Lauren Hough (USA) and The Ohlala Group’s Ohlala were fourth in 36.52 seconds, and Quentin Judge (USA) guided Double H Farm’s HH Donnatella to fifth place honors in 37.18 seconds.

“It was a blistering fast jump-off and it kept getting faster and faster, which is always fun,” Minikus detailed. “I’m not a big planner for the jump-offs; I kind of wing it, but I think the two rollbacks were the trick today. I got lucky that it came up where I could just keep continuing, so that was probably where I made the time.”

Quality Girl showed throughout the indoor horse show circuit this fall and had some rest before competing in Wednesday’s class. Minikus thought she felt fresh and ready to go coming back outdoors.

“She had a couple of weeks off and it didn’t hurt her any,” the rider noted. “It seemed like she stayed right in form from the National in Kentucky. She had a couple of funny classes in Harrisburg and Washington D.C., but in Kentucky she really was on the game, and then she was awesome today.”

“Transitioning back outdoors seemed to be no problem,” Minikus added. “She really went nice in the first round. She always goes well in the jump-off for some reason, but the first round she really jumped fresh, so that was good. She is sometimes quieter in the jump-off. The first round settles her a little bit and just knocks the edge off of her.”

There was an impressive group of horses and riders in Wednesday’s class to kick off the winter competition as the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival quickly approaches. As Minikus pointed out, Wellington draws many of the best in the sport, and the competition is never easy.

“It’s welcome to Wellington,” he laughed. “You might as well get used to it because that’s the way it is. It is always a who’s who. Nothing is ever going to come easy, so even at these pre-season shows, you have to come with your ‘A’ game. That’s just the way it is here in Wellington.”

Equestrian Sport Productions’ Holiday & Horses competition will continue through December 1 with a full schedule of exciting competition. For the prize list and more information, please visit www.equestriansport.com. For full results, please visit www.showgroundslive.com.

Lauren Fisher for Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.

Please visit www.equestriansport.com or call 561-793-5867 for more information.

Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.
Equestrian Public Relations
info@jenniferwoodmedia.com