Spencer Brittan and Unico won Sunday's $50,000 Grand Prix of Traverse City, presented by North Face Farm to wrap-up Week One of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival. (Taylor Renner/Phelps Media Group)

Traverse City, Mich. - Week One of the first series of the 2016 Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF) concluded on Sunday with the $50,000 Grand Prix of Traverse City, presented by North Face Farm. Eighteen-year-old Spencer Brittan of Sweet Oak Farm and Unico earned the top prize as the only rider of the class to navigate a fault-free jump-off in his first time competing in the Grand Prix Ring at Flintfields Horse Park.

"I've had Unico for three years now," said Brittan. "He jumped just awesome in the grand prix. That was the first opportunity I had to just go clean for the win. We were walking down there and were just planning on going all out. When Lacey had that rail down, my trainer, Lorcan [Gallagher], just said, 'Take about ten breaths - all you have to do is go clean.' So that was the plan."

Germany's Olaf Petersen designed a large first round track with a tight time allowed. The course consisted of three variations of double combinations - a vertical to oxer, vertical to vertical and an oxer to vertical - tight rollbacks and a triple bar fence. Only four of the 32 horse and rider combinations were able to produce clear rounds over the fences, but none were able to master the course completely fault-free. Each of the four exhibitors collected time faults in their first round course thus allowing for a jump-off to take place between the top three competitors with 1 time fault.

David Jennings was the first to return to take on the short course. He piloted Blue Moon 22, owned by Full Circle Farm, to a 4-fault jump-off finish, setting the pace at 40.121 seconds. Next was 22-year-old Lacey Gilbertson, who trains with Michael DelFiandra and Shane Sweetnam at Sweet Oak Farm, and Seabrook LLC's Echo D. She followed Jennings 4-fault trend, but was able to catch his time by one second in 39.021 seconds to move into the lead.

"The course was nice," said Gilbertson. "I thought it was definitely big enough, but not too big for a $50,000 class, and the time was definitely tight, which made it a little tricky.

"The jump-off round was good," continued Gilbertson. "After David had one down, we were just planning to go in and be smooth and clear and then once I had the in of the double down, I knew I had to pick up the pace a little bit because he has so much air time and isn't as quick across the ground. He was so great though."

With this year being Gilbertson's first year competitively riding at the grand prix level, she's thrilled with Sunday's second place finish with the 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding.

"I've had [Echo D] for a year and a half now," said Gilbertson. "He's my first grand prix horse to teach me how to jump big. He's honestly my favorite; he's just delightful to ride. He's easy, brave and he's the perfect move up horse, and he's gotten really good results over the past six months.

"This is my first real year," continued Gilbertson. "It's been really good. Last summer was my first summer moving up on him so this summer I have a little more experience and now I can actually go in the jump-off and take risks instead of just trying to go clear and be good."

It was all left up to the youngest of the jump-off contenders to attempt the only faultless finish of the class and take the win. Brittan and Unico, owned by Paradise Farms, blazed through the jump-off course with ease in 45.452 seconds, but left all the rails up to garner them first place honors.

"I went second to last in the first round so I got a good understanding of the course," said Brittan. "[Unico] was really good in the first round. I thought I was under the time allowed but it was very tight. I thought I went clean, but then we just had to pull it together for the jump-off.

"The courses were really good," continued Brittan. "With Unico, my plan is to always keep him calm. I walked in there just trying to go slow and tidy in the beginning to keep him relaxed for the rest of the course. Then in the jump-off we just tried to do the same thing."

Of the fiery 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Brittan said, "He just has so much energy, I feel like he has plenty of years left."

As the first week of GLEF wraps up, both Brittan and Gilbertson are looking forward to Week Two.

"I was probably doing the ponies last time I was here," said Brittan. "This was my first time riding in the grand prix ring - it was a lot of fun. I think we'll come back next year for sure. Next week is our last week here then we'll go to Kentucky and do a couple of grand prix up there. Unico's been going great so we're just trying to keep him healthy and do as many classes as we can with him."

"I've actually come to this horse show every year since I was 14 except for last year we ended up going to Spruce, but now we're back because we love it so much," said Gilbertson. "I like it; I think it's really good. I think the footing is really nice and the courses have been good. We'll be here through next week and I'll do the grand prix again on Echo D."

Leading up to the grand prix was the $7,500 Show Jumping Hall of Fame High Junior/Amateur Jumper Classic. Kelsey Thatcher, who also won the $5,000 NAL Low Junior/Amateur Jumper Classic on Saturday, was victorious again with Beja, owned by Pony Lane Farm. They bested a starting field of 25 and a jump-off field of 12 to finish double clear in 31.629 seconds for first place. Emma Sargent and her own Winchester finished in second place, tripping the timers in 33.929 seconds after a fault-free performance. Giavanna Rinaldi and Dulf Van De Bisschop, owned by Pony Lane Farm, rounded out the top three after a double clear ride in 34.014 seconds.

The Grand Prix Ring at Flintfields Horse Park kicked off at 7:30 a.m. with the $2,500 East Wind Farm Children's Jumper Classic and the $2,500 Adult Amateur Jumper Classic - a member event for NAL/WIHS/M&S.

In the $2,500 East Wind Farm Children's Jumper Classic, Mackenzie Snider and Robin Vilter's Amigo took the top spot with a double clear round in 33.382 seconds. Olivia Parr finished in second with mount Uccella, owned by Oakland Ventures LLC and El Milagro, in another double clear round in 34.279 seconds, while Hailey Royce and her own Rapidash posted a 4-fault jump-off finish in 35.246 seconds to grab third place honors.

The $2,500 Adult Amateur Jumper Classic saw all top three finishers produce double clear rounds. Lindsey Tomeu and Bonapart, owned by DBHC, Inc., claimed first place in 30.732 seconds, while Madeline Cooley and her own Carlina finished second in 34.570 seconds. Brittany Hildebrand and Mindy Hildebrand's Antonis placed third in 38.308 seconds.

The $2,500 Modified Children's/Adult Jumper Classic immediately followed with 18 horses and riders going head to head in the Table II.2.b format class. Catherine Wu grabbed the blue ribbon aboard her mount Ren Round Number with a faultless effort in 25.980 seconds. Maria Roberts and her own Qasqai finished three seconds behind Wu with a double clear round in 28.290 seconds to take second place, while Missy Rossi and Vincent Rossi's Roccana rounded out the top three, riding double clear in 28.363 seconds.

To close out the final day of the first week at the 2016 Great Lakes Equestrian Festival, the Main Hunter Ring played host to the $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Derby, sponsored by Glory Days Farm, LLC. Tackling the bending lines and tight rollbacks, Maggie Gould and Drommels came out on top to win the blue.

Round one of the class saw 25 riders, with course designer Nick Granat offering many different high and low options leading to either a direct or bending line. After round one, it was Gould and Drommels, owned by Taje Warrick, who held the lead, earning a whopping 90 points with a spectacular round that included all four high options.

Ringside, one would never guess that Drommels is recently a jumper turned hunter mount. The 8-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding competed in the Children's Jumper divisions during this year's Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, and this week is only the third hunter show of his career.

Gould commented on her first round, saying, "The first round, I was just trying to keep my cool and canter around a piece at a time. I wanted to let him do his thing and step his way around."

Douglas Boyd rode Calido's Son to finish round one closely behind Gould with a score of 89, also tackling all of the high options in his course. Rounding out the top three after round one was Winn Alden aboard Cassino, following Boyd by only one half of a point with an 88.5.

The top twelve riders returned for the handy portion of the class, facing new challenges including a few tight rollback options. Perhaps the most difficult task was the immediate rollback turn that followed the trot fence, making riders question whether or not to attempt it.

Geoffrey Hesslink and Esco may have finished round one in fourth place with a score of 88, but the pair came back strong in the handy round, skillfully navigating all tight rollback options. Hesslink and Esco's handy round earned an impressive score of 91, enough to move them up in the rankings and take the lead.

"The course was great," Hesslink said. "It really worked to my advantage because it was, for the most part, singles and disconnected lines, which is my strong suit so it worked really well for us."

Hesslink's mount Esco is owned by Garland Alban, and has been with Hesslink since the end of this year's Winter Equestrian Festival. He noted, "Esco is super sweet. He is really quiet and really easy to work with. He has a great personality!"

Gould went second to last in the lineup, with riders and spectators watching anxiously as she challenged Hesslink's lead. Her flawless handy round matched Hesslink's by earning a score of 91, and it was enough to secure Gould the first place ranking with a total score of 181.

Gould explained, "We were a little unsure of which inside turns to do and if to do all of them, but then Geoffrey went and did all of them, and did them well, so then I had to go and follow him and [Drommels] was perfect."

Hesslink ended the class in second place with a total score of 179, with Boyd and Calido's Son rounding out the top three after a handy round score of 84, totaling his final score to 173. Alden and Cassino maintained their top four spot by finishing in fourth place with a handy round score of 81 to total their score to 171.5.

After concluding the last day of Week One of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival, Gould reflected on her years competing at Flintfields Horse Park.

"I love it; it's beautiful here and management does a great job," Gould said. "Morrissey Management Group puts on wonderful horse shows. They changed the footing for this year, which has been fantastic this week and it's just so beautiful!"

Week Two of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival will be held July 13-17 at the Flintfields Horse Park and will continue to welcome riders and thrill spectators over the next three weeks throughout the first series of competition, which runs July 6-31.

The second week of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival has completely sold out of stabling space with limited spots remaining for Week Three, July 20-24. Act now to reserve stabling spots for August, and do not miss out on the chance to compete during the all-new FEI Great Lakes Equestrian Festival series in August.

Series Two kicks off on August 10 and runs through August 28 featuring three weeks of hunter and jumper competition with a FEI CSI2* rating Week Five and Six and a FEI CSI3* rating during Week Seven culminating in the $100,000 Grand Traverse Grand Prix on Sunday, August 28.

The Great Lakes Equestrian Festival is set on 88 beautiful acres and showcases five world-class competition rings in addition to spacious schooling rings. The property features don't stop there as the park offers convenient on-site campgrounds and weekly nights of entertainment for a truly unique attendee experience.

Results: $50,000 Grand Prix of Traverse City
1 UNICO SPENCER BRITTAN 1 80.165 0 45.452
2 ECHO D LACEY GILBERTSON 1 80.551 4 39.021
3 BLUE MOON 22 DAVID JENNINGS 1 80.153 4 40.121
4 ZEPHIRE HAYLEY BARNHILL 2 81.927
5 EVERYTHING KELSEY THATCHER 4 72.986
6 CUPID SHUFFLE MICHAEL TOKARUK 4 74.111
7 ESQUILINO BAY CAELINN LEAHY 4 74.925
8 FENOM VAN KLAPSCHEUT ELIZA LEHRMAN 4 75.592
9 BLUF BRETT BURLINGTON 4 75.674
10 CARLOTTA ANDREW BOURNS 4 76.667
11 VENTURO 9 LORCAN GALLAGHER 4 77.161
12 LACAROLUS DEREK BRAUN 4 77.545