Wellington, Fla. – Feb. 1, 2019 – On what was forecasted to be a rainy day on Friday at the 2019 CP Palm Beach Masters CSI4*-W, riders took to the grass ring at Deeridge Farm hoping to take the top prize in the $71,200 Suncast Palm Beach Masters Qualifier CSI4*-W. Fifty-two horse-and-rider combinations vied for the blue ribbon, but at the end of a competitive jump-off, it was Alex Granato (USA) and Page Tredennick’s Carlchen W who walked away victorious after going double clear.
Alan Wade’s (IRL) 16-effort course, although a technical track with elements such as a double (oxer-vertical) directly to another double (oxer-vertical), saw a total of 21 combinations produce a fault-free first round. Eugenio Garza aboard David and Monica Garza’s Victer Finn DH Z were fourth to go in the class and were the pathfinders of Friday’s clear rounds. Following their fault-free finish, the clean rounds continued to add up as athletes and their mounts strategically rode through Wade’s track.
With 18 out of 21 athletes electing to return to jump-off, the pace was set with Danielle Goldstein (ISR) and the Golden Group’s Lizziemary being the first double clear round with a time of 37.54 seconds. Just three rounds later, Granato entered the ring aboard his longtime partner, Carlchen W. Granato relied on the 11-year-old German Warmblood’s naturally quick pace to help him surpass Goldstein’s time to put the pair in the lead and keep them at the top, with 11 still to follow in the second round of competition.
Granato and Carlchen W have been partnered together for six years and have gone around the globe together. The pair have represented the United States in two Nations Cups, in Xalapa and the final in Barcelona, in addition to recently winning the $35,000 Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital 1.50m Qualifier CSI4* in November of 2018 in Wellington, Florida.
Despite having the lead for a few rounds, ultimately Danielle Goldstein and her 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games™ mount, Lizziemary, ended the day in second place. Goldstein and her 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare, were ninth to go in the class and the third clear of the day. Lizziemary returned to Friday’s competition for the first time, after taking a well deserved break over the holidays.
With Granato holding on to first place, Jessica Springsteen (USA) and Stone Hill Farm’s Fleur de L’Aube were the twelfth pair to enter the ring in the jump-off and secured third place with a time of 39.42 seconds. Springsteen just recently began showing the 14-year-old Belgium Warmblood mare at higher levels during the fall of 2018, including at a number of impressive venues across the globe such as CSI5* competitions in Geneva and Madrid.
FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE
Alex Granato – $71,200 Suncast Palm Beach Masters Qualifier CSI4*-W Winner
On his round:
“Well I think a little bit of luck was on my side. The horse is naturally fast so I just let him carry his pace and I tried to turn a bit tighter, started working on that and conditioning him on some tighter tracks, and got away with a couple of rubs in the beginning, but like I said, luck was on our side. He kept a quick pace.”
On the Palm Beach Masters:
“It’s a beautiful venue. I think they do a great job. The field held up great with a lot of rain that we had this week and the footing feels really good. It’s a nice break from the other venue down the road. It’s a change of pace for us as riders and for the horses.”
On Carlchen W:
“He’s 11 years old this year. I got to develop a long partnership with him. My partner in the horse, Page Tredennick, and I bought him as a 5-year-old so we’ve brought him through the young jumpers and conditioned him to this level so we have a good partnership. I know him really well and this is our second year really starting to jump at this level. Last year, this was his first big test at this venue and he jumped the World Cup Qualifier with a couple down. From there we got to jump on the CSIO5* Nations Cup team in Xalapa and he was very good and finished our year in Barcelona jumping on the Nations Cup team there. This year he is coming on strong already and he felt like a much more grown up horse this year. I really hope to hold the momentum [through Sunday]. He felt great today, but with being a naturally hot horse, I’ll spend all day tomorrow trying to quiet him down and bring his focus back in and I hope to have a good grand prix on Sunday.”
On his growth with Carlchen W:
“I think he really just needed more opportunities to jump at this level. Like I said, I’ve had him a long time but we really took a long time to develop him. We didn’t want to be in too big of a rush so this past year was his first time even jumping the CSI4* and 5* level so I think for both of us just growing up and getting more experience together and he walked in today feeling much more ready for it obviously.”
On the jump-off:
“I think the jump-off was a nice track. I don’t think there was a whole lot of opportunity to gain a lot of speed from rider to rider. It was a pretty set track and you could only be so tight – there wasn’t a lot of options to leave out or turn inside somewhere that someone else couldn’t do – you had to just tighten up the track and hold on that pace to be faster. I think they did a nice job. I didn’t expect there to be that many in the jump-off but it was a good group and it was a nice class to see that many are ready to be here this year. For Sunday I expect with there being that many clean it’ll be tougher. I walked today and I thought there were a lot of questions so I’d expect the same amount of questions with a little bit bigger track and a maybe more technicality to some of the lines.”
Danielle Goldstein – Second place
On Lizziemary:
“I’ve had her a couple of years now. I’ve jumped a couple major championships with her so I know her really well. I haven’t won a really big class with her in a while so I’m hoping the next few months we can get it together and do something good, but she hasn’t jumped since December. She had a little bit of a break over the holidays so this was our first show back and she feels amazing. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going and she feels good so I hope to stay that way. She is a spirited chestnut mare. I always joke that she’s my flying redhead. We’ll see if we can do it again on Sunday.”
On riding the first double-clear round:
“Honestly I came out [of the jump-off] thinking I left the door wide open so I was not surprised that I got beat quickly. I didn’t think that I would hold onto second [place]. With so many in the jump-off you think somebody is going to catch you for sure. I want her to go well on Sunday so I didn’t want to run as fast as possible but with 18 in it you make the choice to jump the jump-off and you think I might as well make it worthwhile. I thought I was quick but for sure I left the door open so he beat me. I’m happy with the way it went.”
Jessica Springsteen – Third place
On Fleur de l’Aube:
“I have just started jumping her at this level a little bit last fall and then she just had a nice break and I’m just starting her back up here. She’s a very experienced mare, she’s really brave, really scopey so this is the perfect venue for her. I was really excited to show her here this week and I’m really happy with her today.”
RESULTS
$71,200 Suncast Palm Beach Masters Qualifier CSI4*-W
Place / Horse / Rider / Country / R1 Faults | R1 Time / R2 Faults | R2 Time
1. Carlchen W / Alex Granato / USA / 0 | 77.36 / 0 | 36.90
2. Lizziemary / Danielle Goldstein / ISR / 0 | 78.06 / 0 | 37.54
3. Fleur de l’Aube / Jessica Springsteen / USA / 0 | 77.93 / 0 | 39.42
4. Imerald van ‘t Voorhof / Paul O’Shea / IRL / 0 | 79.78 / 0 | 39.73
5. Toulago / Adrienne Sternlicht / USA / 0 | 80.10 / 4 | 38.94
6. VDL Cartello / Cormac Hanley / IRL / 0 | 78.81 / 4 | 39.24
7. Entano / Daniel Bluman / ISR / 0 | 76.82 / 4 | 39.51
8. Indra van de Oude Heihoef / Shane Sweetnam / IRL / 0 | 78.75 / 4 | 39.76
9. Cula Lou V / Wilton Porter / USA / 0 | 78.54 / 4 | 40.50
10. Dicas / Margie Engle / USA / 0 | 77.02 / 4 | 40.61
11. Mr Visto / Lauren Tisbo / USA / 0 | 77.87 / 4 | 40.64
12. Tino la Chapelle / Juan Jose Zendejas Salgado / MEX / 0 | 76.94 / 4 | 41.37
For full results, please click here.