Sydney Shulman and Venice (Phelps Media)
"I've had a really good couple of weeks," Shulman said. "I won the Ox Ridge [Hunt Club] and Fairfield [County Hunt Club] grand prix two weeks ago and the week before on two of my other horses, so it's pretty cool to come here and do it on my favorite one!"
From the original starting field, only three riders successfully maneuvered the first round, Alan Wade-designed course without penalty to advance to the jump-off. The others all fell victim to faults both over the fences and on the clock - including 15 combinations who finished with at least one time fault. Three riders, including Alison Robitaille, Conor O'Regan and Ansgar Holtgers, all finished clear over the fences but faced heartbreaking time faults as they tripped the timers, keeping them from the second round.
It was only Shane Sweetnam and Easy Contact Humlan, Shulman and Venice, and Sharn Wordley and Corino who would successfully advance to the jump-off and vie for the lion shares of the prize money in front of the packed stands in Rolex Stadium.
As the early pathfinders, Sweetnam and Easy Contact Humlan, owned by Sweet Oak Farm, were the first to contest the short course, and they turned in an impressive double clear effort to finish on a time of 47.238 seconds.
"I knew he has a big stride, but he's not the quickest horse; he spends a lot of time in the air," Sweetnam said in regard to Easy Contact Humlan's jump-off round. "He's going to jump big tracks; he's a great horse. I knew that I had to try to be quick, but I knew if they executed their plan, they would be faster, so I think I definitely did a lot less strides than Syd did everywhere; my horse just is a slower horse."
Shulman and Venice, owned by Jill Shulman, returned next, and from halfway through the course it was apparent that they were gunning for it. As they crossed the finish, their time flashed 44.823 seconds, nearly three full seconds ahead of Sweetnam's time to move them into the lead.
"I didn't have a very good jump-off in the welcome class on [Venice], so I was a little skeptical going back in today," Shulman said. "She's super quick across the ground; she doesn't spend much time in the air. Her strides not big so I know I can make up time in the turns because she's careful.
"I said to everyone before I went in, 'I'm going to play it safe to the double,' because that's where I messed up on Thursday, but then I saw it. She felt really good, and I think I made it up there and at the liverpool. Then I took a shot to the last," Shulman said.
From there it all came down to Wordley and his own Corino. But as a rail fell out of the cups, Wordley elected to retire, knowing that he would still finish in third, and the victory was Shulman's.
"Venice is just the best. She's so quick off the ground. She's so careful," Shulman said. "We try to do the opposite of any other horse. We jump really small in the schooling ring. We jump small classes to gear her up for a big one. She knows her job."
Shulman continued, "She jumped the $100,000 at Old Salem unbelievably. That was kind of the telling point that she can be my top horse. We just really get along well ever since the day I first got on her. She just tries so hard every single time."
Shulman looks forward to coming to the Kentucky Summer Horse Shows every year, and she and Venice will return to competition next week during the Kentucky Summer Classic.
"It's my favorite horse show. It's my 12th year coming here every year for three or four weeks," Shulman said. "The facility is unbelievable. The show is run so well. You have permanent stabling which is nice. You have more than six rings to ride in everyday with great footing, and I think all of my horses jump great here. I love it. There's always atmosphere."
The Kentucky Summer Horse Show concludes on Sunday with jumper competition resuming at 8 a.m. in the Rolex Stadium.
Class : 651 ROOD & RIDDLE KY GRAND PRIX II sec 2a Results
Pl Nbr Horse Rider Faults Time Faults Time
1 348 VENICE SYDNEY SHULMAN 81.112 44.823
2 1578EASY CONTACT HUMSHANE SWEETNAM 84.688 47.238
3 1767CORINO SHARN WORDLEY 84.464 RT
4 315 MCB MAYA CONOR O'REGAN 1 86.310
5 296 CASSINJA ALISON ROBITAILLE 1 86.379
6 1176WISCONSIN III ANSGAR HOLTGERS 2 87.142
7 1576CASPER LORCAN GALLAGHER 4 81.467
8 350 QUIDAM 13 SYDNEY SHULMAN 4 82.078