Beezie Madden Defeats Impressive Entry in Duncan Ross Cup
Beezie Madden(USA) once again proved her winning ways against a distinguished roster of top international athletes competing this evening in the Duncan Ross Cup. Not only was this competition high stakes for its important world ranking points but it also offered top prize money and potential qualification to compete in Sunday’s ‘Pan American’ Grand Prix, presented by Rolex.
Riding Breitling LS, an 11 year-old Stallion owned by Abigail Wexner, Madden joined seven top combinations in the jump off and came out victorious. On the Peter Grant (CAN) designed course, Madden said, “I went in the middle of the pack, third out of seven. The two before me both had faults, so I thought the first round was difficult enough, with most of the challenging parts also appearing in the jump off – so I knew a clear round was important. I tried to use a lot of speed around the fences and pull him together for the jumps.” I needed to ensure I didn’t get too flat, especially around to the double which I found with the tricky approach in the jump off would be even more difficult than the first round. The distance in the double was short – so it was just a hard test.”
Following Beezie to the podium for second place was the only other athlete to post a double clear score in the 1.55m competition, Quentin Judge(USA). With a slightly more cautious jump off round, he showed the crowd a great ride aboard HH Quatour who performed spectacularly over the immense fences.
Judge said, “[Quatour’s] a giant horse, but he is very, very careful so my plan in the jump off was to go his speed. He is not super fast but has a very long stride. I knew the combination was going to be very difficult for him, so I slowed down to the double and tried to make it up in other places.” Quentin finished the jump off round clean with a time 2.38 seconds behind Madden.
Following in third position was current Rolex Grand Prix champion of Aachen, Philipp Weishaupt(GER). He snuck in by the narrowest of margins arriving to the finish with four faults and just one hundredth of a second ahead of fourth place finisher Pedro Veniss(BRA), winner of the Rolex Grand Slam event in Geneva last December.
For full results, click here.
Ward and Rothchild go Fast for First in the Friends of the Meadows Cup 1.50m
From the top of the order in the jump off, McLain Ward(USA) rode the fast track to score another first place finish at the Pan American Tournament, presented by Rolex.
The Friends of the Meadows Cup 1.50m on Friday morning of the Pan American Tournament, presented by Rolex saw brilliant show jumping with nearly 40 participants challenging the Peter Grant(CAN) designed course. McLain Ward and his trusty Gold Medal mount from the 2016 Pan American Games, Rothchild, made their way into the Meadows on the Green ring as the first to set the standard with a clear score card.
As the first to step on the turf for the jump off, Ward rode his plan to perfection. Rothchild, a 16 year-old chestnut gelding owned by Segamore Farm, attacked each fence to lay down an unbeatable time.
The fastest clear round to follow Ward was posted by Ireland’s Cameron Hanley aboard Aiyetoro, a 12 year-old bay gelding by Concord. They arrived to the finish-line ahead of the other four qualified athletes in the jump off with a time of 45.34 seconds – a whole 4.46 seconds off the winning pace.
Following for third in this morning’s Friends of the Meadows Cup was the World #1 ranked rider, Kent Farrington(USA), on the beautiful Belgian Warmblood mare, Gazelle. Farrington’s more cautiously ridden clear earned him a top podium finish ahead of his opponents who took the gamble to rival Ward’s time. Unfortunately the gamble came with a cost in the form of lowered fences and faults on the score card.
For full results, click here.
Conor Swail Takes Flight in the WestJet Cup
Ireland’s Conor Swail took GK Coco Chanel for a flight to first place against an impressive entry of talented horse/rider combinations in this afternoon’s West Jet Cup competition.
With a near 90 competitors walking under the grand arch of the Meadows on the Green Ring, Canadian course designer Peter Grant had a difficult task ahead to create a competition that, in the end, found fantastic jumping and great suspense.
Conor Swail(IRL) rode brand new partner, GK Coco Chanel, a 9 year-old Holstein gelding, to victory in only their third competition together. “I actually just began riding him at Thunderbird Show park in Langley BC just a week prior to the Spruce Meadows ‘National’ Tournament. I jumped around the 1.40m during week one of the Summer Series and he was quite good – clear every day – and so we bumped him up for his second week here. To ride, he is a little bit sharp – he gets a bit lit up around the other horses but he has a lot of quality and a great jump.”
When asked about where he found his edge on course, Swail remarked, “The whole way around today he was very smooth and didn’t spend too much time in the air. On the landing I could ask him to move away and he was just so fast – so I believe it was his general ground speed that gave me the advantage today.”
The top five placings were all so close in their finishing time but following behind Swail for second place was Francisco Pasquel(MEX) aboard Naranjo, a 10 year-old Selle Francais gelding, arriving to the finish 0.58 seconds behind Swail.
Beezie Madden(USA) was third fastest of nine double clear performances of the 16 riders returning for the jump off. It was a photo finish time behind Pasquel, coming home just two hundredths of a second off Francisco’s pace.
For full results, click here.