Lexington, Ky. – July 28, 2019 – The Kentucky Summer Horse Show closed out in the Rolex Stadium with a variety of show jumping classes, including the $10,000 Under 25 Classic and the $5,000 1.40m Open Jumpers. Open to competitors who have not reached the end of the calendar year over 25 years old, the U25 class provides the opportunity for up-and-coming riders to gain experience jumping more challenging 1.45m course. The technical 15-effort course was designed by Marina Azevedo and athletes incurred both time and jumping faults during the day’s competition. Only one horse-and-rider combination, Siena Vasan and Tokyo D’Ellipse, successfully completed the course clear from any faults, which solidified her top placing.
The second combination to enter the ring, Samantha Rice on NRG Farm LLC’s Ringwood Zebo, a 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, laid down a steady ride, only knocking one rail out of its cups and finishing in 82.329 seconds. They held onto their lead for the majority of the class until Riley Mackillop laid down another 4-fault finish, ensuring a jump-off of the 4-fault combinations unless one of the final two riders could jump clear. Mackillop finished his round in 78.13 seconds and one rail down with Amigo, a 15-year-old Zangersheide gelding owned by Hollow Creek Farm.
Second to last in the class, Vasan cantered into the ring ready to make her Under-25 grand prix debut. Making the trip from her homebase of Delray, Florida, Vasan is gearing up for her senior year in high school, while staying focused on her training with Kim Price. Crossing the timers at 82.329 seconds with zero jumping faults, Vasan sealed her first place finish in her first U-25 class on her 12-year-old Selle Français gelding, Tokyo D’Ellipse.
Earlier in the day, Daniel Beisel topped the leaderboard with a clear round in the $5,000 1.40m Open Jumper on his 10-year-old KWPN gelding, Essince W, stopping the clock in 64.345 seconds. Placing second in the class with a clear round in 71.466 seconds, was Diego Perez Bilbao on Helios, his 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, while Rachel Kennedy rounded out the top three with a 4fault finish in 60.507 seconds on Fandango, her 16-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding.
Competition will continue on Tuesday, July 30 with the start of the High Schooling Jumpers in the Rolex Arena and the day will conclude with the $5,000 1.40m Open Jumpers to kick off the Kentucky Summer Class July 30 – August 4.
FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE
Siena Vasan – Under 25 Classic winner
On her performance today:
“I’m feeling really good. This is actually my first Under 25 class ever, so I didn’t really come in with a lot of expectations. I did the High [Junior Jumper] Classic yesterday and had a little miscommunication so we decided to enter him in this class today. He’s in really good shape right now, he’s super fit, he’s jumping better than he ever has and he’s hasn’t put a foot wrong all summer.”
On her horse:
“I’ve had Tokyo for almost two years now. We bought him in August of 2017 and I needed a horse to move up to the Medium [Junior] Juniors and I started in the Low [Junior Jumpers] and he’s taken me really far — for me he’s a horse of a lifetime. He’s just incredible. He always wants to please and he never does anything wrong. He’s the greatest horse.”
On her past results with Tokyo D’Ellipse:
“We’ve had a really good summer. We were second in the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Classic in Tryon and then I showed at the Chagrin Hunter Jumper Classic a few weeks ago and we won the High [Junior Jumper] Classic there, so I was coming here feeling good and hoping to do well. I didn’t do quite as well as I wanted to in the High [Junior Jumpers], but I’m really happy I got to come into this class and come out on top, especially as my first time doing the U25.”
On the Under 25 division:
“I’m really excited to be doing the U25. Since I’m still 17, it’s a great way to get into the 3* and 4* grand prixs and I’m really hoping also do Tokyo during the U25 series during WEF and then also have some other horses in that division as well. It’s a great building block up to the higher levels. There are finals for it, so you can practice the championship format. It’s also great for the Young Rider competitions. Any 3 or 4* competition, or even the 5*, it’s a great way to get up to that level.”
On Sunday’s course:
“I thought the course was very well suited for my horse. He’s not the fastest horse in the world, but he has a very big stride so he can make up a lot of room. I made up a lot of time after the four stride line to the single oxer, I just let him gallop a little bit. Despite having such a long stride, it’s also really easy to get him to come back and collect so he was able to shorten up in the lines that were a little bit shorter. I think that’s what helped make my round smooth and why I was able to jump clear today.”
On her future:
“I’m definitely going to attend college and hopefully I still keep riding. I know throughout my senior year, I’m going to keep riding hopefully doing the High Junior [Jumper] classes and the Under 25 classes. As for college, I’m not sure where I’m going yet but I’m hoping that throughout college and the rest of my life I’ll be able to keep riding because I love doing it so much and I want to keep doing it in the future.”
On showing at the Kentucky Summer Horse Show:
“I love coming to Kentucky! I’ve been coming here since 2012 and I’ve done everything here from the Children’s Ponies to the Under 25. I’ve done Pony Finals, equitation finals and I just love coming here. The show grounds are absolutely beautiful. It’s a competitive atmosphere. The jumper courses are technical enough that if you can jump around here, you can jump around at WEF or at Spruce [Meadows] or any other high level or national competition. The footing is absolutely incredible. The stables are nice, the stalls are big. There are great accommodations, great food in Lexington, and the weather is absolutely beautiful. We’ve been really lucky with it. I just want to thank the show organizers and sponsors for this class. You don’t see a lot of Under 25 classes at other horse shows that I’ve been to this summer so it’s been really nice to have that to build up for WEF.”
RESULTS
Under 25 Classic
Place / Horse / Rider / Faults | Time
1. Tokyo D’Ellipse / Siena Vasan / USA / 0 / 82.329
2. Amigo / Riley Mackillop / 4 / 78.130
3. Ringwood Zebo / Samantha Rice / 4 / 81.711
4. Quality Iris / Ty Simpson / 8 / 73.879
5. Chloe / Katherine Dash / 8 / 81.425
6. Deavantus / Rachel McMullen / 13 / 87.239
7. Caribic / Anna Beth Athey / 28 / 94.886
8. Kecho Du Sud / Kelly Arani / Eliminated
$5,000 1.40m Open Jumper
Place / Horse / Rider / Country / Faults | Time
1. Essince W / David Beisel / 0 / 64.345
2. Helios / Diego Perez Bilbao / 0 / 71.466
3. Fandango / Rachel Kennedy / 4 / 60.507
4. R.K. Vincent Santa Monica / Shannon Clifford / 4 / 68.409
5. First Finch / Logan Taylor / 4 / 70.760
6. S & L Elite / Sydney B. Carr / 11 / 82.395
