Lake Placid, NY — Jonathan McCrea gave Ireland its second consecutive win in the $75,000 Mirror Lake Inn Grand Prix of Lake Placid, presented by Intercat, Inc., when he rode Colorado to victory on the final day of the 42nd annual Intercat, Inc. Lake Placid Horse Show. McCrea’s win, for the Whitney Perpetual Challenge Trophy, follows the win of last year by countryman Darragh Kenny on Gael Force.
Only five of the starting field of 24 reached the tiebreaking jump-off by riding without penalty over the 17-jump, first-round course designed by Steve Stephens at the North Elba Showgrounds. McCrea, whose wife Chrissie was a Grand Prix champion in Lake Placid in 2007, was the third to try the eight-jump, tiebreaker course and he was the first to master it when he finished fault-free in 40.369 seconds on his nine-year-old, Belgian Warmblood, stallion owned by Candy Tribble and Windsor Show Stables of Windsor, CT.
The only other entry to complete the jump-off fault-free was the day’s final entry, McCrea’s fellow Irishman, Richie Moloney. Moloney finished in 40.538 seconds on Let’s Go which left him in second place less than two-tenths of a second behind McCrea. Charlie Jacobs of Weston, MA had the fastest jump-off time, finishing in 33.774 seconds on Secret Love, but a rail down at the first part of a double combination gave him four faults and a third-place finish.
“Originally I planned to do the inside at the option at the vertical, the third-to-last fence,” McCrea said, “but since I was clean at that point and there were only two more after me, I decided that I’d slow down and put the pressure on the last two. He’s not the fastest horse so I thought that this made sense.”
Moloney, who’s competing in Lake Placid for the first time, noted that he chose not to push his horse who was competing in his first Grand Prix. “He really isn’t that fast and I didn’t want to overdo it,” he said. “I’ve only been with him for a few months; I am very appreciative for the chance to ride him and I am very happy with what he gave me.”
Prior to the Grand Prix, Charlotte Jacobs rode Karonda Van da Schl’hof to the win in the Pepsi Beverages Co. High Junior Jumper Classic. Jacobs topped a field of 23 entries, nine of whom reached the jump-off. Jacobs qualified three horses for the jump-off and was the last entry in the class on Karonda Van da Schl’hof. She blazed over the course fault-free in 34.807 seconds to edge Christina Kelly who had led with a clean ride in 35.410 seconds on HH Narcos du Marais. Her win also gave her the horse show’s High Junior Jumper Championship.
Following the win by Jacobs, her uncle, Charlie Jacobs, rode Flaming Star to victory in the FarmVet High Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic. After 11 of 29 entries rode clean to reach the jump-off, Jacobs set the mark to beat with the jump-off’s first clean ride and a time of 35.250 seconds. Although the final four entries all rode clean, none could beat Jacobs’s time, with the closest being second place finisher Paris Salon who had a time of 35.282 seconds on Orlando LA and third place finisher Lou Jacobs who had a time of 35.433 seconds on Kachina. Salon and Orlando LA won the High Amateur-Owner Championship with the two Jacobs brothers tying for Reserve on Flaming Star and Kachina.
With their wins, the Jacobs both earned valuable points toward the $50,000 Year-End Championship Final of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series, a season-long, national series for junior and amateur-owner riders. The $50,000 Hall of Fame Series Final will be held at the Alltech National Horse Show at the Kentucky Horse Park in November.
The horse show’s closing day also saw wins by Charlene Graham on Only You in the Horse Show Services NAL Adult Amateur Hunter Classic; Maddie Sisco on Summer Time in the Horse Show Services NAL Children’s Hunter Classic; Katherine Strauss on Fardella in the Price Chopper NAL Children's Jumper Classic (14 and under) and Rose Borzillo on The Flying Dutchman in the Price Chopper NAL Children's Jumper Classic (15-17). These Classics culminated The Hooker Family Children’s Jumper Division. The horse show’s closing day also featured the Juliam Farm Lead Line Class and the C.M. Hadfield’s Saddlery Parade of Champions.
Other winners of featured classes throughout the week included:
Wednesday, June 29 – Richie Moloney on Alsvid in the Whiteface Mountain 1.45m Jump-off; Peter Lutz on April in the 1.35m Lake Placid Summit Resort Hotel & Suites Jumper Class; Paris Selon on Orlando LA in the Deeridge Farms High Amateur-Owner Jumper Class; Charlotte Jacobs on Karonda Van da Schl’hof in the High Junior Jumper Class; and Andrew Bourns on La Bella Stella and Todd Minikus on Andino Von Stekerbend in the two sections of the WPTZ News Channel 5 Speed Class.
Thursday, June 30 – Todd Minikus on Romy in the Beacon Hill Horse Transportation 1.45m Power and Speed Class; Richie Moloney on Bailey in the High Peaks Resort 1.40m Open Speed Class; Lou Jacobs on Soleil in the Deeridge Farms Low Amateur-Owner Jumper Class; and Jennifer Goddard on Wynamorka in the Lake Placid Lodge 1.30m Speed Class.
Friday, July 1 – Margie Engle on Indigo in the $30,000 Intercat, Inc. Open Jumper Classic; Jonathan McCrea on Tommy Bahama in the Adirondack Flying Service 1.35m Speed Class; Darragh Kenny on Castello in the J.Lohr Vineyards & Wines 1.40m Open Speed Stake; and Lou Jacobs on Kachina in the Deeridge Farms High Amateur-Owner Jumper Class.
Saturday, July 2 – Olivia Dorey on Rendition in the Crowne Plaza Resort North American League (NAL) Adult Amateur Jumper Classic (18-40 years) and Martha Nevins on Pablo Honey in the Crowne Plaza Resort North American League (NAL) Adult Amateur Jumper Classic (over 40 years); Lou Jacobs on Soleil in the Adirondack Life Low Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic; Michael Hughes on Vendicat in the Sidelines Low Junior Jumper Classic; and Laura Chapot on Zealous in the Jamaica Tent 1.40m Power and Speed Class.
The 2011 Intercat, Inc. Lake Placid Horse Show and I Love New York Horse Show sponsors include: A Placid Life, Adirondack Flying Service, Adirondack Life, Adirondack Store, Alessandro Albanese, Animal Planet, Anonymous, Arbor Hill Farm (The Boggio Family), Bainbridge Companies, LLC, Beacon Hill Horse Transportation, Inc., Cape Air, Carr-Hughes Productions, Casella Waste Management, Jane Forbes Clark, Clifton Park Rental Center, C.M. Hadfield's Saddlery, Inc., Community Bank, N.A., Crowne Plaza Resort & Golf Club, David R. Fowler Custom Tack Trunks, Deeridge Farms, Der Dau Custom Made Boots, Devoucoux, Inc, Eastern Hay, Equifit, Inc., FarmVet, Inc., Fox Run, Ltd., Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort, James Harpel, Hollow Brook Associates LLC, High Peaks Resort, Horseshoe Trail Farm, LLC, Horse Show Services, Horse Watch, Intercat, Inc., J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, Jamaica Tent Company, Janney Montgomery Scott, LLC, Juliam Farm, Kistler Buildings, Lake Placid Lodge, Lake Placid Summit Resort Hotel & Suites, Meadow Grove Farm, Mirror Lake Inn, Mountain Horse, Bobby & Melissa Murphy, On A Fence Designs, ORDA - Whiteface Mountain, P. F. Farm, Parlanti USA, Pepsi Beverages Company, Price Chopper, Purina Mills, Quiet Hill Farm, ROOST - LP-Essex County Visitors Bureau, Ruthie's Run, Sam Edelman Shoes, Sand Castle Farm, Saratoga Eagle, Lora & Michael Schultz, Sidelines, SmartPak, Storm Ridge Capital, LLC, Stretton Enterprises, Inc., The Brown Dog Deli & Wine Bar, The Cottage Café, The Hooker Family, The Levy Family, The Spa @ The Mirror Lake Inn, The Tack Shelter, The Whiteface Lodge, Time Warner Cable, Town of North Elba Park District, USA Animo, Woodlea Farms, WPTZ News Channel 5 and Y-106.3.
For more information, please call the Lake Placid Horse Show Association at (518) 523-9625 or visit www.lakeplacidhorseshow.com.
The 42nd annual Intercat, Inc. Lake Placid Horse Show is followed at the North Elba Showgrounds by the 34th annual Intercat, Inc. I Love New York Horse Show, July 5 -10.