"I changed my plan a little bit after I saw the last few go," he said. "I figured I'm going to have to pick a place or two where I'm going to have to challenge myself a little extra."
That little extra turned out to be more than enough, as he and Zephyr galloped and jumped to the fastest clear round, stopping the clock 1.58 seconds ahead of second-placed Cara Cheska with Imprimis. With the second- through fifth-placed riders within .17 seconds, Dorman's was a remarkable performance.
"I'm a little surprised today, I'll tell you," said Dorman grinning. "I didn't think I was that fast!"
Wilhelm Genn and his flashy chestnut Bugatti were the first to jump clear, posting a time of 38.36 seconds. But because David Jennings and Sweetheart had earlier stopped the clock in 31.95 seconds with a rail down, most everyone knew the door remained open.
Cara Cheska and Imprimis then took over the top spot with an incredible performance. After jumping the first two fences clear and fast, the pair rolled back to the two-stride Cherry in-and-out.
"My plan was to go wide in the seven and roll back wide to the cherries, and I caught it going forward," she said. "He landed so far in, he almost did one stride, and chipped in two strides. Somehow, he missed it, and I screamed 'Oh my god!' And then I was so disheveled I did one too many to the [next fence], and then I just took off after that.
"But he was so good to not stop or punch it out," continued Cheska. "He's the kindest and sweetest horse, and the faster you go the better he jumps and the harder he tries. So, it was very, very exciting."
After seven contenders completed their rounds without nudging Cheska from the lead, Dorman and the 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Landor S--Tobelia), owned by Wyndmont, entered the Grand Prix Ring.
In the jump-off, Dorman said he was most concerned with the left-hand inside turn after the in-and-out. He had already negotiated the jump-off track with Valinski S, with a rail down, so that experience came into play.
"[Zephyr] cuts really good to the left, and I was afraid he might get there almost too crooked," said Dorman. "But it kind of worked out, and running for him is easy. He has a huge stride, and he's willing to slow right down off the ground. I felt pretty comfortable after that to take a shot and flat-out run because he has a lot of scope."
they sailed over the final fence and the timers read 31.81 seconds, the crowd roared their approval.
"Two [grand prix] wins in two weeks...you can't be happier than that," said Dorman, who visited Horse Shows by the Bay for the first time from his home base of Wellington, Florida with trainer Ronnie Beard. "I'm very happy. We'll definitely be coming back next year."
When asked about his goals with Zephyr, Dorman smiled. "He's still young, but we're going to start out doing the World Cup qualifiers in the fall, see where that leads us," he said. "He'll let us know if he's ready or not. I think in the end he'll be an international horse; we'll have to see. It's been quite a while since I did the World Cup Final, the early 1990s, so, it would be nice to get back there one more time before I put my stirrups up for good."
Watch Michael Dorman and Zephyr.
For Cheska, of Waukesha, Wisconsin, this was her best performance with the 10-year-old Belgian Warmblod (Rodrigo VDL--Gwen), whom she began showing in April. And it was their first grand prix jump-off.
"I was really excited to be among the 14 clear, and I know he's fast, but honestly, I have no experience in the jump-offs with him at the grand prix level," she said. "So, I just wanted to be in the top 10, so I'm so ecstatic to be second."
Imprimis, owned by Windswept Farm of Sylvania, Ohio, is an American-bred, and his roots run deep in the Cheska family.
"Mrs. Bullard [of Windswept Farm] owns the horse. She owned the mare [Gwen], whom she got from my brother-in-law Richard Cheska. And the stallion [Rodrigo VDL] was our horse. Her daughter showed the mare throughout her career, and she bred the mare to our stallion. Mrs. Bullard was there the day Imprimis was born and has kept him," said Cheska.
Bullard was on-hand at Horse Shows by Bay to watch her horse compete, and she gave Cheska some advice before she went into the ring. "I told her to just trust him and let him run, and she did," said Bullard.
Cheska took over the ride on Imprimis after he'd had successful partnerships with Darah Kenny, Donald Cheska and Hayley Barnhill through the young horse and grand prix levels.
"There aren't many people like Mrs. Bullard who take the time and care for the animal and try to do the right things for him and let him progress on his own," said Cheska. "She has, and now she gets to see the results because of it. And it's special that way, too."
In the R.L. Polk Family Main Hunter Ring, the $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Derby, sponsored by Walgreens, drew a competitive field of 34 and was the featured hunter class of the afternoon.
Sarah Mechlin rose to the top of the class with Cheveaux after winning the Classic Hunter Round and the Handy Hunter Round with scores of 94 and 96, respectively.
Mechlin imported Cheveaux, a 7-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, two years ago, and has brought him up the levels.
"I've had him since the very beginning, and the Portell family has been so supportive," said Mechlin. "They were one of my first customers after I opened my business in St. Louis. They were the first people who said, 'Here's some money. Go find a horse.' It's been really fun to see that horse progress."
Cheveaux does the First Year Greens with Mechlin and the 3'3" Junior Hunters with Sarah Portell and has done a handful of derby classes. He earned the First Year Green Hunter championship during Series I.
"I thought the first course rode beautifully," Mechlin said of the tracks designed by Thomas Hern. "From the moment I picked up the canter, he never changed his rhythm and took me right where I wanted to be. He was so soft and light."
Mechlin returned last in the Handy Hunter round, which featured the top 12 in reverse order of standing.
"There's always a lot of pressure into the second round when you go in on top," she said. "And Martha Ingram and Greg Crolick put in some really solid handy rounds right before I went in, so the pressure was really on. So, I was like, 'OK, 'Benson,' take care of me. We've got to stay on top. We have a big act to follow.'"
Cayero and Martha Ingram placed second with scores of 92 and 94, while Borencio and Greg Crolick took third with scores of 88 and 92.
Mechlin expressed her thanks to trainers Heather Irvine and Tammy Nimbach of Hillside Farm. "They have been so supportive of me my entire professional career," she said. "Especially at these shows, they set jumps and help me with the horses in my program as well as catch riding on Heather's horses, and those opportunities are invaluable."
$40,000 Grand Traverse Bay Grand Prix Results
Place/Horse/Rider/Faults/Time
• Zephyr/Michael Dorman/0-0/31.81
• Imprimis/Cara Cheska/0-0/33.39
• Ammeretto/David Beisel/0-0/33.41
• As Di Chupito/Erin Haas/0-0/33.46
• Shiver/Liza Finsness/0-0/33.56
• Attack II/Amanda Derbyshire/0-0/35.36
• Viggo/Beth Underhill/0-0/35.84
• Rolls/Javier Berganza Anderhub/0-0/37.24
• Bugatti/Wilhelm Genn/0-0/38.36
• Sweetheart/David Jennings/0-4/31.95