At the 123rd National Horse Show’s $80,000 Young Jumper Championship International (YJC) Final, leading grand prix rider Sergio Campos and the six-year-old mare Mill Creek Sandhya redefined the phrase “this close.” It was less than 4/10 of a second separating Campos’ winning jump-off round from second-place finisher High Society, piloted by Darragh Kerins.
Campos described the final course, designed by Jose Gamarra of Bolivia and set in the Internationale Arena to challenge the best six-year-old horses in the country, as “very difficult. I was not expecting such a hard course for such young horses.” But Sandhya, owned by sponsors Phil Henning and Mill Creek Stables of Cambridge, Ontario, nevertheless rose to the challenge. The team were the only competitors to make a daring inside turn to a final in-and-out, which resulted in the clock stopping at a victorious 32.103 seconds. “That was a big chance I decided to take. I don't know the horse that well yet,” said Campos, 30, referring to the fact that the mare arrived in his barn just two weeks ago. “I wasn't even sure if she could make that tight of a turn. I went up to Mill Creek Stables at the beginning of November and rode maybe 20 or 30 horses," added Campos on how his partnership with Sandhya, a chestnut Luxembourg mare, began. “Phil asked me which horse I liked best and I said Sandhya. He told me I could have her for the winter circuit in Ocala. I think from now on there will to be more horses for me from Mill Creek," he concluded with a smile.
The YJC is split into three divisions: five-year-old, six-year-old, and seven- and eight-year-old. Campos and his promising mare captured the $20,000 Six-Year-Old Final over 15 competitors.
The Brazilian-born Campos was also utterly pleased with his second mount in the six-year-old class, Monkey du Parc owned by Dianna Rudolpho of Longwood, FL, even though the French-bred gelding had an unfortunate rail down in the last line of the first round. “I think Monkey was the best of all the young jumpers today—five-, six- and seven-year-olds. He had the best round,” said Campos. “If I were looking to buy a horse based on those classes, he would be my favorite. He just had that most unlucky rail.”
In the five-year-old division, Campos piloted Onno Z, owned by Rae Marie Kennedy of Orlando FL, to a solid third-place finish. While Campos and Onno jumped two stunning clear rounds, their final time of 31.102 was not enough to surpass winner Uno ridden by Mary Moricoli with 30.303. Still, it was considered a sweet success. “When I saw he went clear, I just cried,” said 18-year-old owner Kennedy. “We got third, and that’s great.”
Overall, Campos was thrilled to once again be a part of the National Horse Show and Family Festival, which wrapped up at the Polo Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL, on December 3. “It’s grown a lot since I was here as an amateur in 2002,” he said. “I think this is now one of the greatest horse shows in the world.”
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