David Jennings and Nandy Fontaine were paired again by owner Emily Reiney and jumped to a win in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, to top a field of 29 at HITS Ocala (ESI Photography)
The course, designed by Dave Ballard of Tottenham, Ontario, Canada, challenged twenty-nine riders with oxers, verticals, combinations, rollbacks and a time allowed of 74 seconds. Many riders appeared cautious in the first round, resulting in time penalties and rails down. The triple combination at fence 11 proved to be troublesome, with the most rails down.
The dash for cash began when thirteen returned to jump off, with 42 seconds as the time allowed. The top five were double clear with Kelley Robinson and Enzo, riding for Cimarron Farm of Russell, Ontario, were the first to go, setting the Great American Tim to Beat at 38.28 seconds. This would eventually give them fifth place. A crowd favorite, Ammeretto – the little guy with the big jump – and David Beisel of Goshen, Ohio threw caution to the wind with a blistering all-out-effort and time of 33.57 seconds, taking second place for Equine Holdings LLC.
Third went to Titus 2:11 with a seemingly effortless jumping style, ridden by Jared Petersen for Derek Petersen, both from Archer, Florida with a time of 34.03 seconds. The extremely versatile Coco and professional Scott Keach took fourth for Southern Cross Equestrian of Reddick, Florida with a time of 34.57 seconds.
“Nandy Fontaine is rusty after an extended lay-off,” stated David Jennings. “He is a high-energy horse with a lot of talent. He loves to train and he loves to jump.”
Having ridden him to past wins for owner Emily Reiney, she called Jennings to show him as a sale horse. “As we saw today, this horse can rise to the occasion,” added Jennings.