Segal and Ubris came out on top after a lightning fast five-horse jump-off that saw all but one contender go double-clear. “I thought the course was really good again,” said Segal, after her win. “I was really happy with how my horse jumped.”
Sarah Segal and Chartwell's Ubris Win the $75,000 Horseware Ireland Grand Prix at HITS-on-the-Hudson II, on Sunday, May 31, 2015 (ESI Photography)
Segal said she had planned to do some tighter inside turns in the jump-off, but that strategy didn’t work out. Instead, she said, “I ended up going fast around and it worked out in the end.”
Going first on the shortened course was Ronan McGuigan, who won last week’s $50,000 HITS Grand Prix on his Capall Zidane. The pair finished clean in 42.882 seconds, setting the Great American Time to Beat.
Going second, Darragh Kerins took to the ring on Thunder D'Amuray, owned by Kerins and Maarten Huygens. They had no faults, but finished behind McGuigan’s time, in 45.308 seconds. Segal went third, on the 11-year-old bay mare Holsteiner Warmblood owned by Chartwell. Just as on Friday, Segal galloped as fast as she could and finished the round in a striking 39.641 seconds, shaving 3.2 seconds off McGuigan’s time to land in first place.
Peter Lutz on Robin De Ponthual, owned by John Gallagher went next and finished clear, seven-tenths of a second shy of Segal’s time to narrowly grab second place with a time of 40.359. Julie Welles was last go and finished in a quick time of 40.254, but with four faults, to place fifth.
Next week, HITS-on-the-Hudson III brings riders another $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix on Friday, June 5, and ups the prize amount on Sunday afternoon for the $100,000 Purina Animal Nutrition Grand Prix. The season closes in September with the FEI-rated Saugerties $1 Million Grand Prix CSI-5*, presented by Wells Fargo.
$75,000 Horseware Ireland Grand Prix - HITS-on-the-Hudson II
Place Horse Owner Rider Prize Round 1 Faults JO Faults JO Time
1 Ubris Chartwell Sarah Segal $22,500 0 0 39.641
2 Robin De Ponthual John Gallagher Peter Lutz $16,500 0 0 40.359
3 Capall Zidane Ronan McGuigan Ronan McGuigan $9,750 0 0 42.882
4 Thunder D'Amuray Darragh Kerins & Maarten Huygens Darragh Kerins $6,000 0 0 45.308
5 Ramses du Lavillon Mclain Ward & Missy Clark Julie Welles $4,500 0 4 40.254
6 Twan Stephex Stables / Missy Clark Julie Welles $3,750 4 * *
7 Temptation Sharon Milchovich Michael Desiderio $3,000 4 * *
8 Superbad The Coverboy Group Amanda Flint $2,250 4 * *
9 Magnus Orfeo Great Span LLC Mary Manfredi $2,250 4 * *
10 Don't Go Catherine Tyree Catherine Tyree $1,500 8 * *
11 Goldbreaker Amanda Derbyshire Amanda Derbyshire $1,500 8 * *
12 Quipit L.F. Quipit Group Ragan Roberts $1,500 8 * *
Caitlyn Connors and Bink-A win $10,000 Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper High Classic, presented by Vetera® XP Vaccines
Caitlyn Connors and her Bink-A mastered a challenging course to claim first place in Sunday’s $10,000 Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper High Classic, presented by Vetera® XP Vaccines.
“It was very technical,” said Connors of the course. “That’s actually my second high junior class I’ve done with him [Bink-A]. He was very, very good though. He took care of me and I tried to help him as best I could.”
Caitlyn Connors and her Bink-A won first place in the $10,000 Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper High Classic, presented by Vetera® XP Vaccines, at HITS-on-the-Hudson II, on Sunday, May 31, 2015 (ESI Photography)
Connors was one of four riders who went clear in the first round. The class was offered as II.2.A/B option, with the choice to return for the jump-off immediately or to come back at the end. Ashley Baker and her D Elia Van Het Molenhof were the first to go clear in Round 1 and immediately went on to the shortened course. They had one rail, earning four faults, and finished in 38.195 seconds to ultimately take third place.
After the first round was complete, Connors and two other riders returned for the jump-off. Connors and Bink-A went first and finished in 34.500 seconds, setting a time that would be impossible to beat. Going next was Katie Gray on her Q Two, but a crowd-disappointing refusal towards the end of the course earned them four jumping faults and three time faults to place them in fourth. Catherine Tyree, who had a total of four mounts in the jumper classic, went last in the jump-off on Phenix Royal, owned by Joseph & Mary Tyree. Finishing in a clean 35.893 seconds, Tyree ended the day in second place.
Connors, 14, an eighth-grader from Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, who trains with Anne Kursinski in Frenchtown, New Jersey, said the footing was great. “He worked well with it,” she said.
The $10,000 Junior/A-O Jumper 1.45 Meter Classic held each week at HITS Saugerties is a qualifier for the Vetera® XP Vaccines $250,000 Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Prix at the HITS Championship on September 5-6 in Saugerties.
$10,000 Jr/A-O Jumper High Classic, presented by Vetera® XP Vaccines - HITS-on-the-Hudson II
Place Horse Owner Rider Prize Round 1 Faults JO Faults JO Time
1 Bink-A Caitlyn Connors Caitlyn Connors $2,800 0 0 34.500
2 Phenix Royal Joseph & Mary Tyree Catherine Tyree $1,800 0 0 35.893
3 D Elia Van Het Molenhof Ashley Baker Ashley Baker $1,250 0 4 38.195
4 Q Two Katie Gray Katie Gray $900 0 10 57.952
5 Corleone Joseph & Mary Tyree John Brennan $800 4 * *
6 S & L Slingback Kadley Holdings LLC Addison Gierkink $700 4 * *
7 Enjoy Louis Joseph & Mary Tyree John Brennan $600 4 * *
8 Don't Stop O Libertas Farm LLC Kelly Tropin $400 7 * *
9 Free Style VD Polderhof Joseph & Mary Tyree Catherine Tyree $375 8 * *
10 Cordero Zaffiro Taylor Burns Taylor Burns $375 8 * *