Canada’s Beth Underhill and Viggo Victorious in Amberway Equine Welcome Stake

It was Beth Underhill and veteran mount Viggo that vaulted to the top of the leaderboard during the $25,000 Amberway Equine Welcome Stake at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival Friday, winning the highlight event as the fastest of only four double clear efforts. The pair, hailing from Canada, broke the beam in 42.044 seconds to take home the lion’s share of the earnings ahead of 22 contenders. Keith Bollotte designed the courses for the $25,000 Amberway Equine Welcome Stake, testing riders with a fair yet technical track. Faults were incurred throughout the 16-effort course, with only eight able to clear the opening round and move into the jump-off.

Eventual winner Underhill said, „I thought Keith [Bollotte] did a really masterful job today. He had quite a few entries and he wanted to test the field. I thought it was a very fair track, but challenging. The jump-off was a really fun track to ride. There were places where you could gallop and you had to be careful, but all of his tracks have been fair and on point.“

David Beisel and Underhill were the busiest riders of the class, each qualifying with two mounts over the shortened course. Beisel was the first to test the 8-effort track with Ammeretto, owned by Equine Holdings LLC. The pair, known for their speed, did not disappoint in the race against the clock, posting the speedy time of 41.332 seconds. An unfortunate rail at the opening fence would cost them the victory, but give Beisel the opportunity to prepare for his second mount, Call Me Hannes.

„I thought that the first round was fun, as it was a long course and the horses needed to stay focused,“ Beisel said. „Some of the horses got a little lost going to the last line, but they both jumped great in the first round. It was nice to have two in the jump-off because I got to feel where I wanted to go with the second horse, and I thought they both jumped great.“

Beisel and Call Me Hannes kicked off the week with a win in the 1.40m Open Jumpers, preparing for the $25,000 Amberway Welcome Stake and Sunday’s $50,000 Grand Prix of Michigan. They duplicated their double-clear effort from earlier in the week, tripping the timers in 42.597 seconds today.

Beisel has been working with Call Me Hannes, purchased from Derek Petersen, for about a year and a half. Beisel worked with the horse, then eight years old, to bring him to the grand prix level, an achievement they gained in Traverse City last summer.

Beisel would hold the lead until Underhill entered the ring to challenge his time two rounds later.

„He is really relaxed this week. He grew up and is super comfortable now. As he keeps playing the game, I think he will turn a little tighter and learn to go a little faster,“ Beisel said.

Underhill was able to watch Beisel set the time to beat on Call Me Hannes, and from watching his track, she had a general idea of what would work well for her veteran partner Viggo.

„I always try to watch David [Beisel] because he is such a phenomenally fast and smooth rider. He is deceptive because he is so smooth,“ Underhill said. „I had a good sense of the track to take. I was fortunate that every time I turned the forward distance was showing up. My horse thrives on that. He is better jumping out of a gallop. The course today was in his favor.“

Beisel wore a target on his back as Underhill and Viggo picked up the pace and tackled the track, utilizing Viggo’s large stride to cover the ground and shave the seconds. They landed from the final oxer in 42.044 seconds, setting a new benchmark for the remaining three competitors to attempt to catch.

Underhill said, „I am so proud of my horse, I haven’t jumped him since Sunday’s grand prix, I thought that I would let him get fresh. I was a little worried during the first round when he was so fresh and up. He is quite hard to ride when he is like that; he gets a little bit ferocious. He is a bit big for me anyway, and I was hoping that it wouldn’t come unraveled.“

„He stayed really focused, and I thought he jumped better in the jump-off when he was a little more settled. He really rose to the occasion in the jump-off and he did everything I asked him to do. I could not be more thrilled,“ Underhill smiled. „What really pleased me was how careful he stayed off the jumps at that speed, and was very economical. Everything I asked him to do, he delivered.“

Ryan Genn and Cookie Monster, owned by father Wilhelm Genn, also posted a double clear effort, but their more conservative speed would garner them the third place finish behind Beisel in 43.380 seconds. Erin Haas and As Di Chupito posted the final clear effort of the jump-off, stopping the clock in 43.758 seconds for the fourth place.

Wilhelm Genn and Welcome COR, owned by Ann Anastasio, were the fastest of the four-faulters, earning the fifth place with the time of 41.035 seconds as the last to return for the jump-off. Beisel rounded out the top six with Ammeretto with his four-fault ride early on in the jump-off.

Underhill has plans to ride Viggo and barn mate Cadermie in the $50,000 Grand Prix of Michigan on Sunday, which will be their last day competing at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival.

„We are so excited to be here and it has been a wonderful two weeks. I am quite sad to go home, and next year we are going to stay for longer,“ Underhill concluded. „I am off to Toronto from here because I am on the selection committee for the Pan Am Team for Canada, so I want to be there and see how our team fares. That will be very exciting, but next year I plan to stay longer, because we have all had such a good time here.“

The Great Lakes Equestrian Festival will continue tomorrow with the $10,000 SJHOF High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic, as well as the $7,500 NAL Low Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic. The feature event for the second week of competition is the $50,000 Grand Prix of Michigan on Sunday, July 12.

For more information or to view schedules, please visit www.stadiumjumping.com or www.greatlakesequestrianfestival.com.

Junior Riders Show Supersized Talent in the Hunter Ring During Week Two of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival

The third day of competition served as the first day of showing for the Junior Hunters at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival, and although they may be young, a number of select riders proved to have talent beyond their years. Horses and riders still have to return to the ring tomorrow to earn a champion title, but the Gochman sisters, Claire Azar, Vivian Yowan and Martha Ingram all solidified their claims as formidable contenders with strong performances resulting in top placings today in their respective divisions.

It took the Gochman family approximately 18 hours to make the trek from their home base in New York City to the northern sector of Michigan, but judging by the two young girls‘ strong placings today, it seems the trip was worthwhile. Sisters Sophie and Mimi Gochman, ages 12 and 10 respectively, dominated the Junior Hunters at the 3’3″ height this afternoon, riding their way to the first through fourth positions in the first class of the division, as well as three of the top four spots in the second, much to the chagrin of the 11 other entrants in the division.

Five horses were split between the two girls, with World Time and Romance ultimately earning the largest share of the points for the young riders. Sophie navigated World Time to the first and third place finishes, closely followed by Mimi and Romance in the points after a second and fourth ranking by the judges. The girls‘ affection for their horses, both owned by father David Gochman, was apparent as they praised the geldings following their impressive rides.

„Romance can get a bit spicy sometimes, especially when you jog him, but he is a dream to ride,“ Mimi noted of her mount. Mimi’s younger sister proclaimed her horse, World Time, to be a lover of candies and kisses, both of which he will surely receive plenty of after his top placings with Sophie today.

The girls have been riding horses since the ripe age of 18 months, following in their mother’s footsteps as lovers of the equestrian sport. Although the girls‘ father doesn’t ride, he has his own stake as the patriarch of such an involved equine family, as well as generously sponsoring the four weeks of the Traverse City-based horse show.

In the same division with the fences raised to a height of 3’6″, a collection of riders for the 15 and under age group took to the ring hoping to earn the advantage headed into tomorrow’s competition. Last week, Claire Azar’s grey gelding Lucky Times earned the title of champion with fellow rider Emma Wujek aboard, but this time it was the owner in the saddle. Azar and her mount navigated the over fences and handy rounds to the tune of the first and fifth places to take the early lead in the division.

„Lucky is so sweet and gentle. I love that about him. He is great to ride if you are patient and he can jump out of any distance, which gives me a lot of confidence,“ the leader commented of her horse. „I liked the course a lot today too, and it played well to our strengths. There were lots of rollbacks and a trot jump in the handy, but it wasn’t a problem for us.“

The high school freshman, out of Indianapolis, Indiana, only recently acquired Lucky Times at the end of the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida, but has accumulated a number of wins with him in that short time. The pair is coming off a strong performance last month at the Showplace Spring Spectacular in Wayne, Illinois, and they are hoping to qualify for the ASPCA Maclay Finals in the fall. Azar also owns Playboy, who she rode to a blue ribbon in the show ring today as well, but chose to only enter him in one of the day’s classes. Described as sassy by his rider-owner, Playboy is a relatively new addition to Azar’s horses, having been purchased last fall, and is her main mount in the equitation ring. She and „Hef,“ as he is known in the barn, also hope to compete in the equitation indoor finals later this year.

The young rider was just recently listed as one of five Junior riders to keep an eye on according to the equestrian blog „Meg At…“ based out of Wellington, Fla.

„I remember seeing the article and thinking it would be cool and interesting to read, but I didn’t expect to be in it! I saw it and thought ‚Oh my gosh that’s me!‘ “ Azar reflected with a smile.

The pair will look to retain their lead tomorrow for the conclusion of their portion of the division and defend Lucky’s title for another week.

The eldest age section of the Junior Hunters, the 16- and 17-year-olds, was next to showcase themselves in the hunter ring, and it looked to be a three-horse race between Boggs Hill Farm’s Anytime, Belhaven Stables LLC’s Character, and the Ingram Family’s Absolut. Vivian Yowan had the rides aboard Anytime and Character, while Martha Ingram was in the irons on mount Absolut. The two riders proved why they consistently top the judges‘ cards, as they were the only two competitors to successfully compete an inside option rollback turn to the final birch oxer during the handy round. All other pairs either took the longer approach around another obstacle, or risked the tighter turn and ended up with a run-out.

The points are very close after today’s exhibition, which should prove for an exciting finale as it will come down to tomorrow’s performances to determine the overall winner. Character currently sits atop the leaderboard with a first and second place finish, but is trailed closely by Anytime with the first and third place ribbons. Absolut trails by only a few points with the second and third place finishes ahead of the rest of the pack. Both horse and rider pairs earned a tricolor last week in the division, with Yowan and Character just edging out Ingram and her ride.

The Junior Hunters will conclude tomorrow, as well as the Amateur-Owner Hunter divisions, but riders will have a chance to compete one more time at the end of the day in the two-phase $2,500 Junior/Amateur-Owner 3’3″ Classic. Sunday will present riders with an opportunity to take home a stake of the prize money in the $5,000 USHJA National Derby, sponsored by Camping World, and the $10,000 Great Lakes 3’6″ Hunter Classic.

For more information, please visit www.greatlakesequestrian.com or www.stadiumjumping.com.

2015 GREAT LAKES EQUESTRIAN FESTIVAL FAST FACTS:

WHEN:
2015 FESTIVAL DATES
July 1-5
July 8-12
July 15-19
July 22-26

WHAT:
A four-week long hunter and jumper equestrian festival.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Weekly $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby
Weekly $25,000 Jumper Classic
Weekly $50,000 Grand Prix
Week 4 $25,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby

WHERE:
Flintfields Horse Park, 6535 Bates Road, Williamsburg, MI 49690 – 10 miles east from the beautiful Resort town of Traverse City.

Source: Press release