Derek Braun and Lacarolus (Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography)
As the first pair to go in the one round 1.40m Open Jumpers in the Rolex Stadium, Braun and MRN Family Corp's Lacarolus laid down a quick and clear round to set the early pace-to-beat at 64.028 seconds.
A few of the 28 additional competitors came close, including Sharn Wordley on Ashland Stables' Popstar Lozonais and Alfonso Diaz and his own Virginia, but their times of 65.082 seconds and 65.290 seconds would only be good enough for second and third.
"I went first, so I just thought I'd kind of go for it a little bit. It was fun," Braun said. "I thought it was a great first day for us. He has the Grand Prix tomorrow, so I just wanted him to look for the next jump. I didn't want him to run too fast. He was great; he was really on."
Lacarolus has been one of Braun's top horses for years, and after coming back from an injury, he is on form and better than ever, as he exhibited on Wednesday afternoon.
"He started showing again this winter, and he's come back stronger than ever," Braun said. "He's amazing. I always can trust him. I always feel like he can win every class that he goes in. He's been close the past few weeks in some grand prix. It's nice for him to go a little bit faster in the 1.40m class."
Braun and Lacarolus will return to Rolex Stadium on Thursday evening for the $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic and again on Saturday evening for the $50,000 Rood & Riddle Grand Prix.
Immediately preceding the 1.40m Open Jumpers, the 7-Year-Old Jumpers had their go in the Rolex Stadium, where David Blake and Pine Hollow Farm's Dinozo demonstrated another commanding wire-to-wire victory.
Blake and Dinozo went clear over the Alan Wade-designed course and advanced to the jump-phase where they turned in a second clear effort, with a quick time of 35.261 seconds.
Benjamin Meredith and Thalys Z, Jordan Gilchrist and Happyboy Van De Doornakkers, Martin Mallo and Tao and Blake and his second mount, Freeman, all also produced double clear efforts, but Blake and Dinozo's time would hold out as the best all the way through to the end.
"I came to the show yesterday, and he felt really relaxed here," Blake said of Dinozo. "I think he really likes Kentucky. I knew the horse was going to jump well. In the first round, he was really relaxed. He never felt like he was going to make any mistake at all. So I said to myself in the jump-off, 'just be nice and neat. He's naturally a quick horse. I think in the future he's going to win a lot of classes without trying too hard at all."
Blake continued, "He's got a really, really good mind for the job, and he always wants to jump clear. Even if he is a little bit spooky or nervous, he always wants to jump clear. He likes this ring a lot because there's a lot of space in there. He doesn't feel too confined. He's more relaxed in this big ring then in a normal, smaller ring. I like bringing him here because I feel like he learns a lot with these courses."
Finishing in second were Benjamin Meredith and Thalys Z, owned by The Thalys Group, on a jump-off time of 35.332 seconds, and third went to Blake and Freeman, owned by Pine Hollow Farm.
Jumper competition at the Kentucky Summer Horse Show continues on Thursday beginning in the Rolex Stadium at 8 a.m. with the 1.30m Open Jumpers. Jumper highlights throughout the week include Thursday night's $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic and Saturday night's $50,000 Rood & Riddle Grand Prix.
Kentucky Summer Horse Show Day One Jumper Results
Class : 435 OPEN JUMPER II sec 1 1.40m
Pl Number Horse Rider Faults Time Total Time
1 1533LACAROLUS DEREK BRAUN 64.028
2 1766POPSTAR LOZONAISSHARN WORDLEY 65.082
3 617 VIRGINIA ALFONSO DIAZ 65.290
4 132 KARLOTTA SCOTT CODY AUER 66.799
5 1764CROWN JEWEL SHARN WORDLEY 67.039
6 1587BELUGA SHANE SWEETNAM 4 4 61.836
7 1291ELIOS BRITTNI RAFLOWITZ 4 4 65.747
8 522 WILKINA LITHYA MARTIEN VAN DER HOEVE 4 4 65.981
Class : 404 SEVEN YEAR OLD JUMPER II sec 2b 1.30m-1.35m
First Round Jump Off
Pl Nbr Horse Rider Faults Time Faults Time
1 438 DINOZO DAVID BLAKE 67.686 35.261
2 1400THALYS Z BENJAMIN MEREDITH 71.653 35.332
3 430 FREEMAN DAVID BLAKE 70.622 36.824
4 604 HAPPYBOY VAN DE JORDAN GILCHRIST 76.515 39.347
5 1089TAO MARTIN MALLO 72.810 40.381
6 630 HERCULES ROBERT MENDOZA 73.213 4 36.788
7 949 DOUBLE T KYLE TIMM 74.087 4 40.936
8 1707SANDRO'S SUMMIT DAVID O'BRIEN 4 68.920
Class : 430 OPEN JUMPER II sec 2b 1.35M
First Round Jump Off
Pl Nbr Horse Rider Faults Time Faults Time
1 1040CRIMANA Z ANDREW WELLES 71.405 31.219
2 1482BARLANDO CONOR O'REGAN 70.126 33.128
3 1038HH CASALLO ANDREW WELLES 71.879 34.542
4 1093ALFI CARLOS QUINONES 72.904 35.547
5 51 NOMINATION HASTACHELSEA SUNDIUS 70.346 36.683
6 953 CALIDA 55 KYLE TIMM 71.171 39.661
7 1686RAINO DU JARDIN JUAN CARLOS MAURIN 73.391 4 33.221
8 1811HAMIRO KYLE TIMM 1 74.166
Class : 425 OPEN JUMPER II sec 1 1.30M
Pl Number Horse Rider Faults Time Total Time
1 273 GAELLE VAN MARKIBLYTHE MARANO 62.166
2 1085CARA MIA GARRETT WARNER 63.327
3 318 CONNOR O'REAGAN 65.508
4 275 CARA BLYTHE MARANO 66.341
5 1186PRESTIGE DANIEL BEDOYA 68.001
6 78 RAFINO LINDA LANGMEIER 68.809
7 1170WAY OF LIFE H ANSGAR HOLTGERS 69.111
8 941 QUIDAM CAPRICE KYLE TIMM 69.543
Strong Start for Kelley Farmer on Day One of Kentucky Summer Horse Show
Veteran hunter rider Kelley Farmer is back in Kentucky preparing for the USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals and showcasing her winning ways atop her elite fleet of hunters to kick off day one at the 2015 Kentucky Summer Horse Show.
As partial owner Larry Glefke watched from the sidelines, Farmer piloted Point Being to double blue ribbons and a third during the Second Year Green Hunters.
"I love Point Being; he's such a good horse," Farmer said. "He's the horse that won the $50,000 Hunter Classic in Tryon. He tries super, super hard. He's super careful, which I love. I think he's right on track for Derby Finals; I'm really excited."
In the irons on Glefke's So To Speak, Farmer claimed the blue on the flat, also taking a second place ribbon over fences. Tim Goguen and Saddle Ridge LLC's Ransom were hot on her heels, finishing second and third over fences and third on the flat.
"Literally today was So To Speak's first day back showing," Farmer said. "He actually had a minor injury, so he hasn't shown since the tenth week in Florida. I was hoping to have him back in time to be ready for Derby Finals, so I think I took the right amount of time. I couldn't be happier with him."
Earlier in the day, it was Goguen who claimed the top spots in the First Year Green Hunters. With Rookie, Goguen earned a blue on the flat and over fences, finishing second to himself in the third class. Goguen's other mount, Capella, took home that blue ribbon and a third in the flat class, marking a successful first day for the Lexington-based rider.
"Rookie went really well," Goguen commented of his earlier ride. "Capella made a mistake in the first class; he had the rail. He went well the second time, and he won. Rookie can move well, so he won the hack. They've been very, very good coming out of Florida. They're two lovely, lovely horses."
During the Green Conformation Hunters, Winn Alden and her own Covert swept the field, taking home all three blue ribbons. Sarah Rice and Before Anything Else followed closely behind with two seconds and a third.
As the day came to a close with the High Performance Hunters, it was once again Farmer's name that topped the leaderboard. So To Speak's smooth rounds claimed him two out of three blue ribbons, with the talented Dalliance, owned by Avatar Real Estate LLC, taking two seconds and a third. Point Being earned a first and third, and Symbolic rounded out the lineup with two fourths.
Farmer was extremely pleased with they day's results, as all of her horses are preparing for the USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals in August. Farmer also plans to compete in the Finals with Mindful, who is happily resting until then.
"The others don't quite have the knowledge that he does yet," Farmer laughed.
In addition to offering a full range of competitive hunter divisions, the Kentucky Summer Horse Show features the $5,000 Hallway Feeds USHJA National Hunter Derby on Sunday, July 26.
To learn more about the Kentucky Summer Horse Shows please visit www.kentuckyhorseshows.com.