North Salem, N.Y. –  Jumpers competed on the beautiful grass field on the final day of the first week of the Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows. Held at Old Salem Farm, the $50,000 Old Salem Farm Grand Prix, presented by The Kincade Group, Merrill Lynch saw Brianne Goutal of New York, NY, take home the win with Nice de Prissey over McLain Ward on Zander and Quentin Judge riding HH Dark de la Hart. Topping the junior hunters for the Grand Junior Hunter Championship was Caroline Dance of Westchester, PA, on Show Time. Brianne Link and Gabriela Mershad captured major wins in the Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classics.

Watch an interview with Brianne Goutal! Courtesy of ShowNet.biz.

Goutal said of the course, “Guilherme is a very fair course designer. He builds correctly for the level of the field (of horses and riders). For this show on the grass, it's very difficult to ride on, with the changing grade, going up and down a lot. He did a very good job playing with those grades, with verticals going downhill, options uphill. Nothing was too unfair or too big. I think it was right on everywhere.”

Next in was Judge and HH Dark de la Hart, owned by Double H Farm. They too were clear and just off the pace in 39.860 seconds, which would put them in third place at the end of the class.

Goutal and her first of three mounts in the jump-off, Nice de Prissey, galloped around next and were able to just lower the winning time by 6/100ths of a second to 38.902 seconds for victory.

Goutal said afterward that she did not think she would catch Ward's time. “He was really fast,” she affirmed. “I honestly did not think I could get him. Sometimes luck is on your side; the timers were on mine a little bit. My horse jumped incredibly and covered the ground very, very nicely today.”

Molly Ashe-Cawley and Olivia Jack's Carissimo had eight faults in 40.998 seconds for sixth place, and Sydney Shulman and Back Country Farm's Quidam 13 also had eight faults in 42.279 seconds for seventh place.

Goutal went clear in a slower time of 43.953 seconds with her second mount Wirma, which landed in fourth place. Darragh Kenny was the only other rider that could take the win away from Goutal, but a rail down in 40.703 seconds would put them in fifth place. Goutal went last with Zernike K, but after two rails down, she retired on course for eighth place.

Both Wirma and Zernike K have just moved up to the grand prix level this winter and are both “quite green,” Goutal said. She continued, “It's always a new thing with them, the different changes and events. As of right now, they aren't seasoned to walk into any situation. I was happy with the way they handled the field because it's difficult to compete here.”

Goutal and Nice de Prissey, a 13-year-old Selle Francais stallion by Rosire owned by Remarkable Farms LP, were victorious at Old Salem Farm last September at the American Gold Cup CSI-W 4*. Goutal believes that his confidence translates well to the big field at Old Salem Farm.

She said, “He's a big horse. He has a huge stride. He's very, very confident, and he has a lot of power. For him, this kind of terrain is amazing, up and down. He really feels energetic and athletic. He has shown a lot of talent for jumping on big fields, I think. He walked into this field today to compete.”

Goutal first showed at Old Salem Farm when she was eight years old in the pony hunters, and she has a successful history at this event. “I love Old Salem Farm!” she remarked. “It's a great show for me in particular, close to New York City, where I'm from. My family and friends are in town to see me here. It's nice to have something so close to home.”

For Goutal, having a venue at the level of Old Salem Farm means a lot, both as a New York resident and a world-class show jumper. She commented, “I think that this facility has taken over as the nicest show in America, for sure outdoor and for sure any show on a field. I don't think any other show in America compares. They've done a fantastic job with with the schedule, the stabling, the VIP tent. It's done as close to perfect as any show can be. All of the exhibitors are grateful to have a really nice show in our backyard.”

Final Results: $50,000 Old Salem Farm Grand Prix, presented by The Kincade Group, Merrill Lynch
1   345 NICE DE PRISSEY, BRIANNE GOUTAL, REMARKABLE FARMS LP: 0/0/38.902
2   589 ZANDER, MCLAIN WARD, WARD & GRANT ROAD PARTNERS: 0/0/38.965
3   387 HH DARK DE LA HART, QUENTIN JUDGE, DOUBLE H FARM: 0/0/39.860
4   348 WIRMA, BRIANNE GOUTAL, REMARKABLE FARMS LP: 0/0/43.953
5   941 SANS SOUCI Z, DARRAGH KENNY, CAROLINE LLOYD: 0/4/40.703
6   908 CARISSIMO, MOLLY ASHE-CAWLEY, OLIVIA JACK: 0/8/40.998
7   776 QUIDAM 13, SYDNEY SHULMAN, BACK COUNTRY FARM: 0/8/42.279
8   346 ZERNIKE K, BRIANNE GOUTAL, REMARKABLE FARMS LP: 0/RT
9   310 CZARDAS 30, KIRSTEN COE, ILAN FERDER: 1/78.871                   
10  421 PICOLO, DARRAGH KENNY, OAKLAND VENTURES LLC: 4/73.633                   
11  159 WINTU, LESLIE HOWARD, JANE CLARK: 4/74.018                   
12  422 PROF DE LA ROQUE, DARRAGH KENNY, POSTAGE STAMP FARM LLC: 4/75.957