Sonoma, PA - Peter Breakwell of New Zealand took top honors on Sunday, September 22nd in Sonoma Horse Park’s marquee class, winning the $25,000 Balancing Tonic Grand Prix to close out the 2013 SHP Finale, the final show of the popular facility’s seven-week season.
Just a week after winning the $20,000 Stable Mix Grand Prix aboard his veteran show jumper Lucas, Breakwell took a new mount to the winners circle in Finnley 5, a 9-year-old Westfalian gelding that was jumping in just his second career grand prix start. In fact, when the dust settled after a seven-horse jumpoff, new faces, both human and equine, filled out the top three placings. Nineteen-year-old Haley Schwab of San Francisco recorded her best grand prix finish to date by jumping double clear to 2nd place aboard Rydam Regis. And Sweden’s Mattias Ekeroth finished 3rd with The Governor, a 10-year-old Dutch-bred gelding that just stepped up to the grand prix level this year.
Breakwell, of course, is a familiar face on the West Coast grand prix circuit, although it’s been quite some time since he’s won a grand prix with a horse other than Lucas, a 14-year-old, German-bred Hessen gelding. “His owners bought him in Germany and I’ve had the ride for just a few months,” Breakwell said of Finnley 5. “He’s got a little bit of an unorthodox jump, I started him in the 1.20m classes, then the 1.30m and the 1.35m, and last week (at Sonoma) was his first grand prix start.”
While Breakwell was riding for a confidence-building clear round, the cards fell in his favor a bit to allow for the win; Australian rider Harley Brown had the fastest time by more than a second in the jumpoff with his own veteran partner Cassiato, but an unlucky rail pushed him into 5th place. Schwab, a North American Junior/Young Rider Championship medalist who trains with Macella O’Neil of Diamond Mountain Stables in Calistoga, CA, was thrilled with her horse’s performance. She’s been working on strengthening her effectiveness in the saddle in order to put in better clear rounds and faster rides, and has spent considerable time strengthening her connection with Rydam Regis, a 9-year-old Anglo European Warmblood from the Aisle of Mann. “It was nice to come here and jump clean and go into the jumpoff and be pretty quick,” she said. “I’ve done so much work this year, now I can finally walk these courses and confidently say ‘ok, I can do this’.” Schwab, who graduated high school last spring, is taking a gap year before beginning classes at the University of Chicago. She plans to spend time in Europe this winter, riding with Olympic gold medalist Peter Charles of Great Britain.
Another new pair, Mattias Ekeroth and The Governor proved that a week’s time makes all the difference on Sunday. Their 12th place finish in the previous week’s grand prix inspired Ekeroth to concentrate on rideability and control with his young horse, and he was rewarded with a super double clear and a new personal best for The Governor. “Last week I did two classes to warm up, and this week I did three so he was a bit more under control; I went as fast as I could with my horse. I’m focused more on going clean right now, he’s still green when it comes to these types of jumps” Ekeroth detailed.
Top Ten - $25,000 Balancing Tonic Grand Prix
Rider | Horse | Round 1 Faults | Round 2 Faults | Round 2 Time
Peter Breakwell | Finnley 5 | 0 | 0 | 45.84
Haley Schwab | Rydam Regis | 0 | 0 | 47.69
Mattias Ekeroth | The Governor | 0 | 0 | 49.63
Macella O’Neil | Boccaccio | 0 | 0 | 50.19
Harley Brown | Cassiato | 0 | 4 | 44.05
Peter Breakwell | Lucas | 0 | 4 | 46.83
Bjorn Ikast | Royal Flush | 0 | 4 | 46.83
Allison Kroff | Washington | 4
Guy Thomas | S&L Elite | 4
Guy Thomas | Peterbilt | 4