Hayley Barnhill and Zephire (Kendall Bierer/Phelps Media Group)
"I have always loved this horse show," Barnhill smiled. "This is my fourth year competing here, and I am really enjoying the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival. I haven't won one here yet. In the past I have placed in the top four, but I am always a little off from the first place. I think I was second three weeks in a row a couple of years ago, always the bridesmaid, never the bride [laughs]."
Michel Vailancourt (CAN) designed a tricky and technical track, seeing faults throughout the entire course, with eight rails falling at the second airy vertical. A large emphasis was put on the fourth obstacle of the track, a tricky triple combination composed of an one-stride oxer leading to a two-stride vertical-vertical. Out of the 26 horse and rider combinations, only two would master Vailancourt's opening round-Hayley Barnhill and Vivian Yowan.
"You have a plan, you go in and you do it, and then you don't second guess yourself," Barnhill said. "As the first to go, it worked in my favor that I didn't fall prey to the multiple options, and second guess the plan. With Zephire, I know her so well that it was about what was right for my horse, versus how the course was working for everyone else."
Barnhill continued, "It was a nice course. I had one of my other horses entered. I thought it was going to be smaller, but it was challenging enough. There wasn't one place that was trickier than the others. The time allowed was tight, but it was what it should be. I really enjoyed the course."
As the pathfinder of the class, Barnhill was the first to jump off. She took a conservative approach, riding for a clean round, hoping that Yowan would find error in an attempt to catch her pace and clear the course. Barnhill and Zephire stopped the clock in 38.257 seconds.
"It was nice to really have to work for your clear, and then once you have it, work for the jump off," Barnhill said. "Zephire is a really special horse. She has more personality than any horse I have ever had-she is definitely a girl. You have to do it her way, and if you do it her way, she will try harder than any horse I have ever had. I didn't have her do any other classes earlier this week. I just had her come out for this, and I couldn't have asked her to do any better."
It was the penultimate rider, 17-year-old Vivian Yowan and Vornado van den Hoendrik who challenged Barnhill for the much desired first place finish. Unfortunately, two rails would separate the two riders, and Yowan would settle for the second place this time.
"I watched a lot go, and the course was kind of tricky with a lot of options," Yowan explained. "We were second guessing our plan through the whole class because of all the different options. My horse is so scopey and naturally careful, so I know I can count on him."
Yowan continued, "I went in there and knew that there was nothing to lose since there was only the two of us in the jump-off. You either get first or second, and making it into the jump-off was a feat in itself."
Yowan has competed in several grand prix recently, moving up the ranks and aiming for the bigger classes. She is looking forward to the North American Junior Young Rider Championships (NAJYRC) in Lexington, Kentucky, in only two weeks, planning to bring Vornado van den Hoendrik as her top mount.
"I am becoming more and more confident going into these classes, especially with him," Yowan concluded.
She will conclude the first week of competition with the $10,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic. She is thankful to the show management at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival for the additional classes, prize money and amenities as she
prepared for the NAJYRC and the SJHOF Finals.
Barnhill was awarded with not only the blue ribbon, but also an Antares Classic Jumping Girth, Antares helmet and English Riding Supply's stirrups.
Javier Berganza Anderhub and Chantal, owned by Doublethink LLC, were the fastest of the four faulters, landing the third place with a speedy first round time of 74.032 seconds. David Beisel and Ammeretto finished in fourth, while Ryan Genn and Cookie Monster captured fifth. It was another Barnhill ride, Beezie, owned by the ISB Group of Nashville, Tennessee who rounded out the top six.
The Great Lakes Equestrian Festival will continue to welcome riders and thrill spectators over the next four weeks of competition. Feature events for this week include the $50,000 Grand Prix of Traverse City on Sunday, July 5.
Results - $25,000 Antares Welcome Stake
Order Entry #Horse Name Rider Name JF1 TF1 AF1 Time 1 JF2 TF2 AF2 Time 2 Purchase
1 395 ZEPHIRE HAYLEY BARNHILL 0 0 0 77.616 0 00 38.257
2 681 VORNADO VAN DEN HOENDRIK VIVIAN YOWAN 0 0 0 8 2 1047.453
3 412 CHANTAL JAVIER BERGANZA ANDERHUB 4 0 4 74.032
4 132 AMMERETTO DAVID BEISEL 4 0 4 76.000
5 199 COOKIE MONSTER RYAN MICHAEL GENN 4 0 4 76.396
6 396 BEEZIE HAYLEY BARNHILL 4 0 4 78.093
7 207 ARAMON THEO GENN 4 0 4 78.179
8 217 BUGATTI WILHELM GENN 4 0 4 79.688
9 370 VIGGO BETH UNDERHILL 4 3 7 83.241
10 120 CALL ME HANNES DAVID BEISEL 8 0 8 74.548
11 801 TORINO Q MICHAEL MORRISSEY 8 0 8 76.352
12 353 UGANO TAYLOR REID 8 0 8 76.594
For more information or to view schedules, please visit www.stadiumjumping.com or www.greatlakesequestrianfestival.com.
Vivian Yowan and Emma Wujek both earned Champion honors in the Junior Hunters.
By: Elaine Wessel
Vivian Yowan and Emma Wujek both earned Champion honors in the Junior Hunters.
Traverse City, MI - July 3, 2015 - Junior Hunters took center stage in the Polk Family Main Hunter Ring today at Great Lakes Equestrian Festival, and with the age and size groups combined, competitors needed to outshine the rest of the pack in order to come out on top. Expertly navigating the hunter tracks presented to them, a few select riders were able to do just that to take the division's rosette.
The young riders entered in the Junior division at the 3'6" height, sponsored by Hillside Farm, were the first to have a crack at the tricolors, with Vivian Yowan and Emma Wujek heading into the second day of Junior competition with more than one advantage above the rest. Yowan and Wujek not only had multiple mounts entered in the classes, but also consistently placed at the top of the judges' cards. The California split-division had entrants competing in two jump classes yesterday, with Yowan earning firsts in both portions of the handy round aboard Ransom, owned by Saddle Ridge LLC and Character, owned by Belhaven Stables LLC. Wujek held her own as well, claiming first in the over fences and the second in the handy aboard Claire Azar's Lucky Times, among other placings. Four more horses were split between the two riders, including Laura Stern's Harrison, Amanda Foard's Julian, Boggs Hill Farm's Anytime, and Crackerjack, another Saddle Ridge LLC horse.
Friends Yowan and Wujek, both out of the Lexington-based Boggs Hill Farm operated by trainer Tim Goguen and his wife Kelly, both took more top-three placings to secure their leads, and ended up sharing the spotlight as champions.
"It's been a really great start to the first week of the series for the farm," Yowan reflected after win. With numerous champions and reserve champions crowned in only the first three days, Yowan and her barn mates have been setting a ferocious winning pace.
Yowan seems to have found a few trusty mounts to carry her for her last year as a junior. Although they have only been partnered together for a few months, Character effortlessly helped her to the champion honor today.
"He is so scopey, which makes him great for this. He has done the 4' divisions and the High Performance Hunters in the past, so this is easy for him," she said of her mount.
Ransom and Yowan also took the runner-up position in her section of the split division, earning her both tricolor ribbons.
Look for Yowan later in the month at the North American Junior Young Rider Championship in Kentucky as a part of the Junior Show Jumping team. She will be riding Vornado van den Hoendrik, owned by Stone Hill Farm. The pair was one of only two clear rounds in the $25,000 Antares Welcome Stake this afternoon, ultimately earning the second place.
Champion in the second group of the Junior 3'6" Hunters, Emma Wujek and Lucky Times earned 36 cumulative points to best the rest of the horse and rider pairs. Coincidentally, the grey horse has a tie to the show itself, as it is under the training of Abby Blankenship out of Carmel, IN, the wife of show manager Tom Blankenship.
A few points behind Wujek and "Lucky," Absolut and Martha Ingram rounded out the top two placings. Absolut is owned by John & Stephanie Ingram, LLC.
Bringing the jumps down just a few inches to the 3'3" height, a new group of riders took their turns under the watchful eyes of the judges. Earning a first and two seconds today, Kandis Wrigley's Friend Request, with Helen Voss in the irons, navigated his way to the top of the leaderboard. The pair earned a total of 38 points, ten points ahead of the second-best entry, to take the win.
Voss and the gelding have only been together a few weeks, but the rider has quickly taken a liking to him.
"Friend is a super easy and calm horse. He knows his job in the ring," she said of the horse. Friend Request recently came to Ashland Farm, where Voss trains with Ken and Emily Smith, in order to be sold. The team is travelling to a number of shows throughout the summer circuit, hoping to find the horse a new owner and give him more show experience.
As for Voss, she plans to continue showing this summer, mainly focusing on the equitation, and will appear at her respective Maclay Regionals and Medal Finals later in the year. Texas A&M University will gain another rider to their equestrian team in the fall in the soon-to-be freshman. Although she looks forward to the upcoming events, Voss is happy to be in Traverse City.
"We have been coming here for three or four years. We love this show; it is one of our annual favorites," Voss commented.
Claiming the second position overall, Gg Equine Holdings' Zekiel and Sarah Mechlin also put in two strong trips top end up with 28 points in the division standings.
The Great Lakes Equestrian Festival at Flintfields Horse Park will continue to serve as host for competition over the course of the next four weeks. Tomorrow's hunter action continues with the championships awarded to the Amateur Owner Hunters. Later in the week, riders will have the opportunity to compete in the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby. For more information, please visit www.greatlakesequestrian.com or www.stadiumjumping.com.