Team USA Wins Hollow Creek Farm FEI Young Rider Nations Cup

The top three young rider teams of USA, Canada and Colombia. Photo © Sportfot.

Brazil Sweeps Children’s and Junior Hollow Creek Farm FEI Nations Cup Classes; McLain Ward and Super Trooper de Ness Win $33,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Classic; Katie Dinan and Glory Days Victorious in $25,000 Ariat Jumper Classic; Nolan Wein and Aaron Pick Up Victory in THIS National Children’s Medal 15-17

Wellington, FL – March 2, 2013 – The Hollow Creek Farm FEI Children’s, Junior, and Young Rider Nations Cups were featured at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) on Saturday, March 2, at the 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) in Wellington, FL. With the first round for each age group held during the day session and all three second rounds held at night under the lights, the team from USA won in the young rider’s class and the teams from Brazil won in the junior’s and children’s classes.

Week eight CSIO competition, sponsored by G&C Farm, runs February 27 – March 3, 2013. The $150,000 CSIO 4* Grand Prix, presented by Wellington Equestrian Realty, will be held on Sunday afternoon. The 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival features 12 weeks of competition running from January 9 – March 31, 2013, and will be awarding almost $7 million in prize money throughout the circuit.

The Hollow Creek Farm FEI Nations Cup classes were a huge success thanks to the vision, innovation and support of the Andrade Family. Equestrian Sport Productions’ CEO Mark Bellissimo recognized Hollow Creek Farm for their dedication to the advancement of the sport.

“Thank you to the Andrade Family for their support of these fantastic classes,” Bellissimo stated. “The event exceeded expectations in its first year and we were thrilled with the enthusiasm and passion of everyone involved. We look forward to making this even bigger and better next year.”

Saturday’s Nations Cup competition consisted of two rounds for each division shown over courses set by Anthony D’Ambrosio of Red Hook, NY. After the first round, each team dropped their highest score. In the second round, all eligible teams returned in order of highest to lowest total faults. The winner was determined by the lowest total of each team’s top three riders from each round.

The Hollow Creek Farm FEI Young Rider Nations Cup was a very close class with teams USA and Canada coming into round two tied at the top and the American riders taking the win. Colombia and Brazil also showed in the final round and finished third and fourth respectively.

The U.S. team, represented by Catherine Pasmore and Pasmore Stables’ Z Canta, Mattias Tromp and Beyaert Farm, Inc.’s Casey, Abigail McArdle and David McArdle’s Cosma 20, and Liza Finsness and Ormsby Hilll, was coached by Chef d’Equipe Michelle Grubb.

Grubb was thrilled with the way her team performed and stressed upon them the honor of competing for their country. “They were terrific,” Grubb smiled. “This has been a fantastic week. Our juniors and young riders really came through tonight. The only rider who has competed for the USA is Catherine, but all the other riders really stepped up. I told them that there is no greater honor then being able to represent your country in the sport that you love. I’m proud that they won, but more proud of their performance this week.”

Abigail McArdle and Cosma 20 put in the only double clear rounds for Team USA. Catherine Pasmore was the drop score of eight in round one, but came back strong to jump clear in the second round. Mattias Tromp had one time fault in the first round and five faults in round two. Liza Finsness had four faults in round one and then did not have to return in round two after it was determined that their team could not be beat. Team USA finished on ten faults total.

The Canadian team finished in second on a 15 point total. Their riders included Bretton Chad aboard Santa Catarina LS, owned by Stone Ridge Farms LLC, Nicole Walker riding High Yummy, Amelia Vernon on Jaime Auletto’s Udolente, and Kara Chad riding Alberto II, owned by Stone Ridge Farms, LLC.

In round one, Bretton Chad and Walker jumped clear and Vernon and Amelia Chad each had five faults with one of those scores dropped. In round two, Vernon’s score of nine was dropped, Bretton Chad had five, Walker had four, and Kara Chad incurred one time fault.

After watching their senior team jump to victory in Friday night’s $75,000 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup presented by G&C Farm, the young U.S. riders were encouraged to bring their country a win and all agreed that it was a great experience.

“I’m honored to be able to represent the USA on a team for the first time,” Abigail McArdle stated. “Being on a team is a little bit of added extra pressure since you aren’t just jumping clean for yourself, but for a team. It is a great feeling to have the added pressure, especially when it pays off.”

Catherine Pasmore is the only rider on the team that has had Nations Cup experience. She jumped double clear in Hagen and jumped clear for a U.S. win in Buenos Aires. She had a rough start to the day, but had a great show in the end.

“We definitely turned it around tonight,” Pasmore proclaimed. “I’m really happy with it. It is an amazing feeling to represent your country. Whether it’s young riders or a senior team, it is an honor every time they play the National Anthem. I was happy to be a part of this great team and Michelle does a great job bringing everyone together.”

U.S. Chef d’Equipe Michelle Grubb added a thank you to Hollow Creek Farm for their support. “Thank you to the Andrade Family for this week. It has been a fabulous experience for everyone,” she acknowledged. “It has been an honor to lead these riders, be there for them, and enjoy their progress and enthusiasm. The South Americans, especially the Brazilians, are so enthusiastic and they really gained our respect with their really great performances. We applaud them.”

The Hollow Creek Farm FEI Junior Nations Cup had six teams make it to the second round of competition with a win for Brazil. The teams of Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, USA, and Argentina all showed under the lights on Saturday night.

It was another very close class as Teams USA and Mexico each went into round two with four faults, Brazil with six and Venezuela with eight. Brazil scored the victory as three of their riders cleared the second round course and they were able to drop one four fault score to stay on six faults.

Mexico had two riders with four faults in the second round along with two clear rounds, so they added four to their first round faults to finish in second place on eight. Venezuela had two clear rounds, one time fault and one four fault score in round two. They dropped the four to add one point and finish on nine for third place honors.

The winning junior Brazilian team consisted of Carolina Drummond riding LaLa de la Hurie, owned by Madame Catherine Potin, Sofia Scheer riding Levin Z, Stoeterij Zangersheide, Giulia Scampini riding Constantino Scampini’s Keep On Fighting, and Fernando Penteado riding Petit Paul de Beaufou, owned by M. Eric Levallois Et S.A.R.L Pilou. They were coached by Chef d’Equipe Caio Sergio de Carvalho.

Giulia Scampini was the only rider from Brazil’s junior team to jump two clear rounds in the class. Drummond had four and four, Scheer had two time faults and then a clear round, and Penteado had eight and zero.

All of the riders were thrilled with the result and agreed that it was a fantastic opportunity to compete. Sixteen-year-old Penteado has had his horse, a Selle Francais gelding, for two years. “My horse is a young horse at only 8 years old,” he stated. “I bought him in Europe. He’s good, but inexperienced.”

On riding in the class, Penteado smiled, “It is great to represent our country. I feel really happy.”

Eighteen-year-old Carolina Drummond was very happy with her mare and said a special thanks to the sponsor. “I’m really happy to have the opportunity to ride here,” she stated. “We don’t get this all the time. I think we did a great job to win for our country. It’s mind blowing. Thank you to Hollow Creek for the opportunity.”

The riders spoke about what it was like showing in the impressive International Arena at PBIEC in an important night class. Drummond summed it up, noting, “Showing under the lights is very different for us as we don’t have this in Brazil, so it was very shocking when we arrived. We were really excited to be a part of this.”

Scampini, who is fifteen years old, acknowledged all of the hard work that went into making this event happen. “It’s really good to be here and win,” she said. “All of the effort to make this possible is incredible.”

Chef d’Equipe Caio Sergio de Carvalho was very proud of his team and how they pulled through the competition strongly. “Today was a very difficult day,” he admitted. “After the first round the teams were very close and the riders had to do clear rounds. Concentration was very difficult in this time and I am very pleased with the result.”

Carvalho also coached Brazil’s children’s team to a victory in the Hollow Creek Farm FEI Children’s Nations Cup where four teams were eligible to return for the second round. The teams from the United States, Venezuela, Brazil, and Argentina were represented. In the end, it was extremely close between Brazil and Argentina, and Brazil took top prize.

The team from Brazil had only three riders compete in the two rounds of competition after one of their riders had to withdraw from the competition, so all of their scores counted. Their competitors included Siew Chiang Cheng riding Up to You, owned by Yuri M. Guerios, Laura Ramos Rait riding LF Ponderosa, owned by Lincon Goncalves Fernandes, and Vittorio Burger riding Yves Sportiello’s Cheese Z.

In their first round, Chiang and Burger each had one time fault and Rait jumped a clear round. The team went into the second round on two faults and all cleared the course, keeping their score at two for the win.

The children’s team from Argentina was represented by Candela Oyarzabal riding La Pasion Arkansas Z, owned by Omar Gonzalez, Melina Vernengo riding Luis Vernengo’s Nero, Manuel Chechic riding Hector Chechic’s Margarita J I A, and Iara Veron riding Norit Larino, owned by Marcelo Luis Brandolino.

In round one, Oyarzabal, Vernengo and Chechic all cleared the course and Veron was the drop score of six. They went into round two on zero. The second round saw four faults for Oyarzabal, two clear rounds from Vernengo and Chechic, and a drop score of five from Veron. With just the four faults from round two for their score, the team finished in second.

The team from Venezuela had nine faults total to place third. Team USA finished on 13 faults to place fourth.

Fourteen-year-old Laura Ramos Rait and LF Ponderosa were the only pair to jump two clear rounds for team Brazil on their way to a win in the children’s class. Ponderosa is an eight-year-old Finnish mare whom Rait deemed “the best mare in the world.”

Thirteen-year-old Burger rode Cheese Z, an eight-year-old Argentinian bred gelding. Chiang’s horse Up to You is a nine-year-old Belgian Sport Horse gelding. All three riders were very happy to win for their country and get the opportunity to show in these classes.

“I am very happy because this is a big opportunity to represent my country, Brazil,” Rait stated. “It made a good reputation of us because we did well.”

Burger noted, “It was very interesting because we got to compete against many countries and get to see how they ride and what their strategy is.”

Chiang added, “This was my first nations cup in my life and it was really exciting. It was really hard because it was against many countries and it was a lot of pressure for our team because we had to go zero and fast.”

Although he was not able to compete today, team member Rodrigo Jadin da Rosa was happy to take part in the win with his fellow riders. “I liked it very much because it was a very good experience. I got to jump in another country and know how they do it here. Even if my horse wasn’t able to jump today, I found it very good to be here because I got to meet other people from the U.S. and other countries.”

Leading rider awards were also presented for each division for the overall performance of the riders throughout the week’s competition, including their Welcome Stakes, Classics and first round Nations Cup performance. In the children’s division, the top rider was Venezuela’s Constanza Romer. In the juniors, USA’s Katherine Strauss was the champion. Manuel Fernandez Hache of Dominican Republic topped the young rider division.

Second Win of the Week for McLain Ward and Super Trooper de Ness

Also showing on Saturday, McLain Ward (USA) and Grant Road Partners’ Super Trooper de Ness were on a roll with their second big win of the week. In a class of 37 entries in the $33,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Classic, ten jumped clear rounds over Anthony D’Ambrosio’s speed track and Ward and Super Trooper were fastest yet again with their time of 61.81 seconds.

Jessica Springsteen (USA) and Stone Hill Farm’s Vornado Van Den Hoendrik held the lead for most of the class with their time of 61.98 seconds to eventually finish second. Daniel Deusser (GER) and Stephex Stables’ Mouse placed third in 62.03 seconds. Alvaro de Miranda (BRA) and RD Jumping Higher Ltda.’s Show Show were fourth in 62.98 seconds, and Reed Kessler (USA) stopped the clock in 65.02 second aboard Ligist to place fifth.

Ward and Super Trooper, an eleven-year-old Belgian Sport Horse stallion by Vigo d’Arsouilles x Polydor, have been building their partnership since the start of the circuit and have had progressed quickly with several big wins. During week two they won a $6,000 Spy Coast Farm 1.40m jump-off class and a $25,000 Suncast 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic. They also topped this week’s modified $43,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 8, which was held as a speed class. Ward is gearing the horse toward the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France.

Katie Dinan and Glory Days Victorious in $25,000 Ariat Jumper Classic

In the $25,000 Ariat Jumper Classic later in the morning, Ward’s student Katie Dinan and Grant Road Partners Glory Days jumped to victory in the $25,000 Ariat Jumper Classic. Sixty-one entries showed in the class and 13 advanced to the jump-off. Dinan and Glory Days won it in 36.66 seconds over Rodrigo Pessoa and Double H Farm’s HH Let’s Fly with their time of 37.15 seconds. Kirsten Coe and Ilan Ferder’s Calypso placed third in 38.78 seconds.

This was Dinan’s second big win of the circuit aboard Glory Days, a 12-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding by Cardento 933 x Diamond Serpent, that her family recently purchased from rider Daniel Zetterman. Dinan and ‘Glory’ won the $15,000 Artisan Farms Young Rider Grand Prix during week six and are working their way up to the bigger classes as they get to know each other.

“He felt great today. It was very exciting,” Dinan smiled after her win. “We are trying to take it slowly, but not too slowly. After the last win we decided that it would be good to do the two national 1.45m and 1.50m classes this weekend to get two more rounds under our belt that are a little bit bigger with the hope that maybe we can step up to some FEI classes by the last few weeks of WEF.”

“I couldn’t be happier with him; he felt fantastic,” Dinan said. “It was a 13-horse jump-off with some very fast riders and I went fifth, so I knew that there were going to be people going fast behind me and I tried to really set down a good pace. I felt like I was really fast in the beginning and the last few jumps felt really good.”

Dinan was rocking her pink gear this week to raise awareness for the American Cancer Society and this weekend’s Pink Party in Wellington. Glory also wore his pink saddle pad and boots for a good cause. The new pair is doing quite well together and will show again in Sunday’s 1.50m class.

“He had a pretty light beginning of the year, so we are just getting back into the groove,” Dinan noted. “I am thrilled. So far he has been great and I feel like I am really getting to know him. There have been things that we have been working on that I have been able to do in the ring. It is so nice to have these two classes here over the weekend and this is such a fun weekend.”

Nolan Wein and Aaron Pick Up Victory in THIS National Children’s Medal 15-17 at FTI WEF

Nolan Wein and her own Aaron bested a class of twenty-four aspiring equitation champions in the Taylor Harris Insurance Service (THIS) National Children’s Medal 15-17 class during week eight of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF). Wein, of Gladwyne, PA, and her eight-year-old Warmblood gelding topped the class with a score of 89. The top four was rounded out by Kelsey Brown and Califernia with a score of 88, Isabella McCary and Balou Grand with a score of 87, and Adam Rittenberg aboard Alchemy with a score of 86.

Wein imported Aaron from Europe six months ago and is more than pleased with her quick progress with him. “This is his first season in Florida, but so far he’s been great,” Wein commented. “He’s really sweet, very straight-forward and super nice. We love him!”

Wein has found an ideal partner in the big bay gelding and was delighted with their performance in Saturday’s class. “The course rode really well. I played to our strengths and just tried to go in there and ride very naturally. I can get him in a good rhythm and he’s very straight-forward and easy to the jumps. He’s not spooky at all,” Wein described.

“I thought the test was pretty challenging,” Wein continued. “There were definitely some decisions that had to be made [when deciding what track to take], but I made my plan and stuck to it.”

Wein’s plan clearly paid off, securing her first victory in the class with Aaron. Nolan’s trainer, Rebecca Conway, viewed today’s win as indicative of their path to qualifying for the THIS National Children’s Medal Finals, held in October at the Capital Challenge Horse Show. “Every week she’s shown in the Taylor Harris she’s gotten better and better. We’ve gone from fourth to third and now she’s won it. I hope this means good things for finals and that she’ll keep improving,” Conway stated.

“Nolan has the fundamentals of being a great rider,” Conway continued. “She has a good eye and the horses like her. She’s a hard worker and [Aaron] is a good horse.”

Taylor will continue to compete in the THIS National Children’s Medal 15-17 class during the upcoming weeks of the FTI WEF to hopefully accrue more points towards her goal of qualifying for finals. She enjoys migrating south to the FTI WEF for more than just the Florida weather. “The horse show is really nice. Everything is beautiful here and obviously it’s warm, but we love the show in general because it’s run so well,” Wein concluded.

Week eight of the FTI WEF, sponsored by G&C Farm, will conclude on Sunday with the ASPCA Maclay, presented by Sidelines and Alessandro Albanese, hosted in Ring 9 of the PBIEC. The $150,000 CSIO 4* Grand Prix, presented by Wellington Equestrian Realty, will be featured in the International Arena to complete the week. For full results, please visit www.showgroundslive.com.

Lauren Fisher and Laura Cardon for Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.

About the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival
The 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of top competition running from January 9 through March 31. The FTI WEF 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 $7 million in prize money will be awarded. For more information, please visit www.equestriansport.com.

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 24 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 $1.56 billion in revenues during fiscal year 2011. More information can be found at www.fticonsulting.com.

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

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