Giavanna Rinaldi and Dulf Van Den Bisschop (Devaney Iglesias/Phelps Media Group)

Wayne, Ill. - Giavanna Rinaldi was the last of four riders to qualify for the jump-off in the Finish Line $50,000 Grand Prix Saturday afternoon. When she entered the SmartPak arena aboard Dulf Van Den Bisschop she was aiming for a double-clear round, but did not anticipate having a two-second advantage over the top time to earn the victory.  

"I knew there was only one other double clear," Rinaldi explained. "I was going out there just for clear and smooth, but then I heard my trainer yell, 'Go!' So, I figured just go for it!"

The young athlete looked over her shoulder to the scoreboard as she jumped over the final oxer and saw a time of 36.776 seconds. She landed with a smile on her face as she gave the bay Belgium Warmblood a well-deserved pat on the neck, knowing she had just sealed the win.

"I'm so excited," Rinaldi said. "He's awesome, I've had him for a few months now, since the beginning of the WEF circuit. We've just gotten better and better each week. I think all of our hard work paid off in this class. He likes a very aggressive ride. He's a stallion so he doesn't really like to be told what to do sometimes. He listened really well to me."

Catalina Cruz designed the meticulous course and Rinaldi was the first to attempt it on Thalys Z, her Zangershiede bay mare.

"I thought it was a really technical track, especially since I went first on Thalys Z," Rinaldi shared. "I wasn't sure what to expect."

The junior rider has experience navigating through many different courses in the jumper ring. For many years, Rinaldi has spent her summers at the Lamplight Equestrian Center. She shared, "I always love coming to Lamplight, because I grew up here!"

Rinaldi rides and trains at Our Day Farm with Maggie, Charlie and Haley Jayne. The farm earned three of the four top finishes in the Grand Prix. However, the second-place finish went to the other stallion in the class, MTM Como No and Tracy Fenney.

Fenney was the first to qualify for the jump-off of the Grand Prix and set the time to beat at 38.605 seconds. The young grey Holsteiner out-did himself and made his owner and trainer proud.

"I am ecstatic about his performance," Fenney expressed. "He always performs well. We imported him in October and didn't really start showing him until January. I started him in Ocala and did some 1.30m and a few 1.40m classes. He just turned 7-years-old about month ago, so we're kind of taking it easy, but he's just so talented that we have the opportunity to do classes like this."

The accomplished trainer also earned the Kastel Denmark Style of Riding Award by showcasing the American style of riding and overall sportsmanship.

"I love their stuff," Fenney said about Kastel Denmark. "Their jackets are beautiful and they do such a nice job with the look of everything. I'm very excited about receiving this award."

Fenney plans to continue working with her new up-and-coming grand prix horse by, "putting some good miles on him, so he's confident." The plans are to show him in some more grand prix events on and off, while giving him time to rest in between.

The co-owner of MTM Farm enjoys bringing her horses to Lamplight Equestrian Center, and plans to continue doing so. For her, training new horses is easiest when they are comfortable in their surroundings and Lamplight Equestrian Center provides that for them.  

Kelsey Thatcher and Everything rode away with the third-place honors. Although the duo had a quick start, a dropped rail on the fourth jump during the tiebreaker held them back. With four faults, the pair had the second-fastest time, clocking in the round in 37.103 seconds.

Coming in close behind Thatcher was Charlie Jayne and Playboy. The pair knocked a rail at the double combination during the jump-off. With a time of 37.667 seconds and four faults, Jayne and Playboy settled for fourth place.

The last of the jumper classes will close out the first week of competition at the Chicago Festival of the Horse on Sunday, July 31. Beginning at 8.m. spectators can look forward to five jumper classics, including the $7,500 Cavalor Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic. For more information on
Lamplight Equestrian Center's Chicago Festival of the Horse Equifest Show Series, please visit www.lamplightequestriancenter.com. A downloadable prize list is accessible online.

RESULTS - FINISH LINE $50,000 GRAND PRIX

1  DULF VAN DEN BISSCHOP / GIAVANNA RINALDI / PONY LANE FARM  0  0  0  76.185  0  0  0  36.776

2  MTM COMO NO / TRACY FENNEY / MTM FARM   0  0  0  80.249  0  0  0  38.605

3  EVERYTHING / KELSEY THATCHER / PONY LANE FARM   0  0  0  72.705  4  0  4  37.103

4  PLAYBOY / CHARLIE JAYNE / CHARLIE JAYNE  0  0  0  79.380  4  0  4  37.667

5  ESQUILINO BAY / CAELINN LEAHY / BELLIS LTD  4  0  4  76.027                                                                       

6  SKYMILES / HOLLY SHEPHERD / LORETTA PATTERSON   4  0  4  77.186                                                                       

7  MTM REVE DU PARADIS / TRACY FENNEY / MTM FARM  4   0   4  77.266                                                                       

8  EMIR D / SHANNON HICKS / HELEN GILBERT   4   0   4  78.550                                                                    
  
9  AL PACHINI / SHANNON HICKS / HELEN GILBERT   4  0   4  79.198                                                                      

10 HAPPYBOY VAN DE DOORNAKKERS / JORDAN GILCHRIST / JORDAN GILCHRIST  4  0  4  80.043                                                               
       
11 THALYS Z / GIAVANNA RINALDI / THE THALYS GROUP  8  0  8  78.090                                                                       

12 ALONSO DU MONSELET / RICHARD CHESKA / RICHARD CHESKA   8  0  8  78.467