Darragh Kenny and SIEC Ledgepoint (The Book LLC)
To ensure that the grass Grand Prix Field is as good as it can be for the duration of the horse shows, classes were moved to the sand ring today in the rainy weather. Winning the $5,000 Open Jumper 1.40m class for the second day in a row was Darragh Kenny. He rode Gabriela Mershad's SIEC Ledgepoint to the win with a clear round in 56.866 seconds in the class of 43 entries. Second place went to Sydney Shulman on Zartouche, who had a time of 58.011 seconds. McLain Ward and Dulien van de Smeets had another top finish after they stopped the timers in 58.432 seconds.
Kenny used this class as practice for SIEC Ledgepoint to get him ready for Mershad to show in the High Amateur-Owner Jumpers this weekend. Ledgepoint has only been in the barn since the end of March, but Kenny has known the horse for years and watched him compete in the FEI World Equestrian Games for Hungary in Kentucky and the European Championships for Ukraine last year.
“He's very experienced. I've known the horse for a long time; he's a super horse, very easy. He's very brave and jumps big classes,” he described. “He's a quick horse, but he's not naturally a galloping horse. He just has a really big stride. It's very easy to leave out strides and turn back tight to big jumps because he has so much scope.”
Kenny knew that SIEC Ledgepoint would be a good match for Mershad. “The way I work, I try to have horses for my clients that have a lot of experience so my clients can learn a lot on them. If you buy a horse from a professional [rider], it's schooled properly, it hasn't had bad experiences, it rides very well, it's jumped big classes,” he explained. “It makes it a lot easier for a young girl to get on and ride it, it knows how to do everything. She wants to try and move up a level in her riding. She moved up and jumped some big classes at WEF and did really well. He's a proven commodity. It's a good match for her to move up on.”
Find more Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Show news, and watch the $50,000 Old Salem Farm Grand Prix live on Sunday, at www.usefnetwork.com/featured/2014OldSalemSpringShow/.
Final Results: $5,000 Open Jumper 1.40m
1 SIEC Ledgepoint, Darragh Kenny, Mershad Stables LLC: 0/56.866
2 Zartouche, Sydney Shulman, Elizabeth D'Loren: 0/58.011
3 Dulien van de Smeets, McLain Ward, Blue Chip Bloodstock: 0/58.432
4 HH Casallo, Quentin Judge, Double H Farm: 0/62.537
5 O' Vol de la Roque, Cara Raether, Trelawny Farm LLC: 0/62.541
6 Orfeo di Valmarina, Giovanni Principi, Giovanni Principi: 0/64.344
7 Balous Day Date, Candice King, Louisburg Farm: 0/64.743
8 Carneyhaugh Manx, Peter Lutz, Katherine Gallagher: 0/66.084
9 Alexandria, Darragh Kenny, Pebble Lane LLC: 0/66.636
10 Contiki, Nicholas Dello Joio, Judy Richter/Coker Farm: 0/66.925
11 Magnus Orfeo, Mary Manfredi, Libertas Farm LLC: 0/67.837
12 Vasco, Adam Prudent, Plain Bay Sales/Patrick Flin: 0/68.148