David Beisel and Ammeretto win the $25,000 Welcome Stake at
Great Lakes Equestrian Festival. (Emily Meehan/Phelps Media Group)
Beisel, from Goshen, Ohio and Ammeretto, a bay Dutch Warmblood stallion, were awarded the win of last Sunday's $50,000 Flintfields Grand Prix, presented by North Face Farm, and put in a similarly flawless effort in Friday's feature event of the day. Out of 26 entries that tried their hand at the course, designed by Portuguese course designer Bernardo C. Cabral, 13 horse and rider teams progressed to the jump-off phase, a demanding eight-effort track.
"I got a shot to test out the options in the jump-off on my first horse, Call Me Hannes," Beisel said. "I unfortunately knocked two rails down, but I got a feel for the track. I know my stallion, so I was able to get all the turns done and take the win that way."
Cabral created an option in the jump-off round that was challenging for many of the riders to execute and leave all the rails in their cups. The competitors had the option to turn inside a blue and white in-and-out combination to the third-to-last jump, a black and yellow vertical. That riskier approach would shave precious seconds off the clock. The more conservative option was to take the longer route around the combination, creating a more straightforward approach to the vertical, with a lower probability of knocking down a rail.
Many that chose the tight inside turn knocked the rail, including Beisel and his first ride in the jump-off with Call Me Hannes, a gray Holsteiner gelding owned by Harlow Investment Enterprises, LLC. Beisel and Ammeretto stepped up to the challenge by carving a perfect inside turn that set up the approach to next fence. Their clear jump-off round in the fastest time of 35.581 seconds earned them the blue ribbon and the victory gallop.
"I think if your horse knew you well, and you committed to getting the distance on the black and yellow vertical, it was right there for you," Beisel said. "I think where a lot of people had trouble was (that) once they got the turn they almost got a little stuck getting focused on the jump."
Ammeretto and Beisel successfully kept their focus over all eight jumps in the tricky course. Beisel was pleased with the course and the questions it asked.
"I think Bernardo is an excellent designer," Beisel said. "I love jumping his courses, and I always seem to do well with them. I'm glad he's here in Traverse City. All of his courses all have such a nice flow, and he gives you some options in the jump-off."
Beisel thanked the horses owners, Harlow Investments and Equine Holdings, for supporting him with such incredible horses. He also expressed great thanks to all of his staff, whom he said he couldn't do without.
The second place finisher for the $25,000 Welcome Stake, Erin Haas, from Chelsea, Michigan, was fresh off the win of Thursday's Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumpers. Haas and her Hanoverian gelding, As Di Chupito, came prepared to step up to Cabral's challenge. The horse and rider team were one of only five pairs to go double clear.
Haas explained that her plan was to take the inside turn to the black and yellow vertical. She jumped it clean and clear, breaking the beam at 37.514 seconds, just behind Beisel's winning ride. Michael Morrissey, from Wellington, Florida, tagged closely behind in third place aboard Rae Martin's Torino Q in a time of 38.480 seconds.
"The track I took in the jump-off was the route I was planning on taking after I walked the course.," Haas said. "I gave my horse a little bit more time to get straight approaching the jump. It came up fast with the inside turn, but I tried to stick with it and stay patient. As Di Chupito is very adjustable for such a large horse. Sometimes he'll get a little bit lazy, but it seems like when I start turnin' and burnin', he likes that."
Earlier in the day, Beisel also claimed the victory in the Young Jumper 6-Year-Old division, and was awarded the championship aboard Patrice Schreiber's mare, Eos M. Over the course of the past three days, the pair put in seventh, first, and second place rounds, landing them the tri-colors.
The pair's second-place ribbon in Friday's Young Jumper 6-Year-Old Championship Qualifier was a the result of their 34.107-second jump-off round; a mere .477 of a second behind Lisa Goldman's rapid ride aboard Melissa Hirt's mare, Roc N Groovy. Hirt hails from Maple City, Michigan. Alec Bozorgi, from Antioch, Illinois was awarded third place with a time of 39.328 seconds atop Esperanza, his KWPN mare.
The Great Lakes Equestrian Festival will continue on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. The $10,000 NAL Low Junior/Amateur Jumper Classic, $15,000 SJHF High Junior/Amateur Jumper Classic and the $25,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby, presented by the Gochman Family will all be held in the Grand Prix Ring. Scheduled The feature event of the week is the $50,000 Great Lakes Grand Prix, presented by The Peninsula Group at Morgan Stanley, scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m.
For more information or to view schedules, please visit www.stadiumjumping.com or www.greatlakesequestrianfestival.com.
Mimi Gochman and Kyle Owens Claim Four Tricolors in the Hunter Ring at Great Lakes Equestrian Festival IV
By Elaine Wessel
Traverse City, MI - July 24, 2015 - Nearing its final days of the four-week series, the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival played host to a large group of riders throughout the day at Flintfields Horse Park in Traverse City. Many riders aimed at hoisting division titles in the Juniors or the Amateur-Owners during the day's competition. Two riders boasted an advantage above the rest of the pack in their respective divisions after being awarded top ribbons on not only one, but two mounts.
One of the largest hunter classes of the day, the Junior 3'3" Hunters brought a crowd of young riders to the Polk Family Main Hunter Ring. Mimi Gochman and Caldwell entered the day's competition with the lead after riding to third and fourth place finishes Thursday, and managed to fend off the rest of the field and hold on to the top spot with three top results Friday, never placing below fourth.
Gochman's ride is owned by well-known trainers Scott Stewart and Ken Berkley, and although the horse and rider have accumulated numerous tricolors and top honors over the course of the Traverse City show series, the pair don't have an extensive history together.
"I'm getting to know him still because I've only been riding him a few weeks, and this is only our second show together. So far he has been a really great horse and fun to ride. He listens super well," Gochman said.
Not to be outdone, the 10-year-old Gochman also clinched the reserve spot on Romance, owned by her father, David Gochman. Unlike Caldwell, the young rider has been paired with Romance since the ripe age of 18-months and has racked up an impressive number of accomplishments with the horse over the years.
"I've had Romance a really long time and he was actually the first horse I ever rode. He's brought me from the Low Children's to the Juniors, and is just awesome. I know him really well, and he is really fun to ride," Gochman commented.
No strangers to Traverse City, the New York City-based Gochmans have made the Michigan horse show a family affair for a number of years. Like mother like daughters, as both Mimi Gochman and her elder sister, Sophie, have followed in mother Becky's footsteps as horse enthusiasts and successful hunter competitors. In addition, the Gochman patriarch, David, had generously sponsored the show and will be the presenting sponsor for Saturday's $25,000 USHJA International Derby.
"This is so exciting and I love this show, it's always fun for us to be here. The horses enjoy it here, it's just as nice for them as it is for us. They can go and graze outside the barns and we can ride them on the trails. That's my favorite part," the young champion reflected.
Following the end of the four-week series, which concludes Sunday, the Gochmans will make the southern trek to Lexington, Kentucky for Pony Finals, taking place at the Kentucky Horse Park next month.
Just before the Junior sections, the Amateur-Owner divisions took center stage, and the 18 to 35 age group at the 3'3" height was first on the agenda. Kyle Owens and his two mounts, Fifty Fifty and Messick, sat atop the leaderboard after completing the first day of divisional classes with a first place, two second places, and a third place position split between the two horses. Only one entrant, Katherine Heywood aboard Balida, was able to thwart Owen's horses from a double one-two finish. Messick and Fifty Fifty maintained their momentum Friday with more stand-out performances, garnering top marks from the judges hat never placed the pairs below fourth position.
Just like the 3'3" Juniors, the 3'3" Amateur Owners produced another double tricolor winner, with Owens and Fifty Fifty clinching the top prize, closely trailed by counterpart Messick. This was Messick's second tricolor ribbon in the division, as the reserve horse was the victor last week.
"These two need very different rides. Messick likes to hunt the jumps with a long rein and he kind of just wants me to stay out of his way, so I can coast with that one. Fifty needs me to hold on to him a bit more and ride him up to the jumps because he jumps a lot better from that distance," Owens said.
The champion rider only recently purchased Fifty Fifty, sight unseen, during the Florida show circuit, but the partnership has been increasingly successful for the team.
"We just bought him in Florida, and we got him off of a video, which is actually how I found all of my horses," Owens said. "I never really tried them, but I've been lucky that they all panned out. In addition to than Fifty Fifty and Messick, he also owns four others.
Owens and his horses, as a part of Peter Pletcher's PJP Farm team, have a full schedule ahead of them headed into the fall season. They will depart Traverse City and travel to Kentucky for the mid-August Pre-Green Finals, followed by more shows in Texas, the home base state of Pletcher's enterprise. The Capital Challenge in Washington D.C. will come next, followed by appearances in the Indoor circuit.
Next on the schedule, Weatherly Stroh aboard Sigfried and her fellow competitors returned to the ring for the elder age section of the Amateur-Owner division at the same height. Stroh and her mount took the lead with two second place finishes Thursday, and fought to retain the lead Friday, with Barbara Goldberg and Aha sitting as the next-closest pair in the point standings. Ultimately, Stroh came away with the win due to consistently strong showings in the ring over the natural track, with Goldberg and Aha riding their way to the reserve honors.
Great Lakes Equestrian Festival IV has two final days remaining, with more hunter action still to come. Saturday's highlight will be the highly-anticipated $25,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby, and Sunday will bring with it the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby.
For more information or to view schedules, please visit www.stadiumjumping.com or www.greatlakesequestrianfestival.com.